Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Laurel Snyder - Bluster

Bluster
by
Laurel Snyder

A wind there was, a wild wind
That beat the boats against the sand
And made the branches bend and snap
And churned the sky aswirl.

Until the prairie…

A wind there was, a running wind
That galloped, raced, and chased across
The plains so far, so wide, so long
The wind could sing and soar.

Until the mountain…

A wind there was, a weathered wind,
That wiggled up and all around
And found its way past moss and stone
And made its way back down.

Until the lake…

A wind there was, a heavy wind,
That gathered drips and mist and rain,
And stormed across the far north shore
To cast them down again.

Until the city…

A wind there was, a misplaced wind,
That banged against tall walls and poles,
And made folks pull their jackets close
And blew some trash around.

Until Susan…

A wind there was, a tired wind
That found a girl out in a yard
And wrapped its arms around her tight
And showered her with leaves.

Until Susan smiled…

The wind sighed softly in her hair
And whispered everything it knew
Of mountains, plains and water too,
And made her murmur, “Oh!”

Until the wind died…

A girl there was, a wild girl,
Who dreamed of lakes and mountains tall,
Who longed to run the prairies wide,
And climb and soar and sing…

©Laurel Snyder. All rights reserved.

Poetry can lift my spirits or, dare I say, make them climb and soar when someone like Laurel Snyder lays down a verse. The anthropomorphized wind keeps me sailing on (well, until I meet Susan, of course, but then I sail on with her!). And I gotta say - to me i screams "picture book!!!!!" Who's with me?


Of course, it'd be no surprise to see a picture book from Laurel Snyder: she's had many published. And it'd be no surprise to see prose from her, either, as she's written novels and commentary and more. Oh, and poetry, of course she writes poetry. And in all of it, there's an honesty, an openness, and an underlying feeling of hope that always makes me want to read on.

One of my favorite parts of hosting this event is I get to say publicly stuff like... "I'm an unabashed fan!" Which I only say it because it's true! And that fandom is one big reason I'm thrilled to have Laurel Snyder here as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday saw Emily Jiang's Painting with Sound. Tomorrow... Robert Paul Weston with Freddy and the Yeti! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.



7 comments:

Alex said...

The Longest Night is one of my favorite poetry books so far this year. I will have to look for this book also...love the poem Bluster.

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes said...

You did it, you succeeded in introducing me to another poet who takes my breath away. This is pure beauty unleashed.

Lee Wind, M.Ed. said...

Beautiful.
thanks, Laurel - and thank you, Greg!
Lee

Bob Schechter said...

A cousin in structure to the Scatterpillar poem, sort of a picture book progression that cries out for illustrations . . . not that they don't stand up on the page by themselves. I enjoyed this, especially for its strong use of meter that stands up even without rhyme. Blank verse 4-4-4-3 beat stanzas, with the little linking phrases in between. Words quite nicely.

tanita✿davis said...

Man, I love Laurel Snyder's way with words.

Charles Waters said...

I agree Greg. A picture book for sure. An illustrator would have a field day with the words of this poet. Thanks for highlighting her.

Robyn Hood Black said...

We Georgians love claiming Laurel Snyder as one of ours. What gorgeous writing! Thanks for sharing "Bluster," which will drift around with me a while, I think.