Awaken -- me!

I met a couple of poets on Sunday that opened me up to new places in my voice. One in particular, David Kirby, had a poem I read that made me think, Hmmm, why aren't I referencing more literary and musical allusions in my work?  It seems so natural for me.

Then today I read a poem by James Wright where he is taking on a quote by the famous British poet Matthew Arnold.  Arnold had said man and nature could not be fast friends.  Wright's poem was about how his experience is quite different.

With all of that roiling around in my mind, here is the poem I wrote today:


I have my own way of receiving seeds.
They are dropped and sometimes
      lay fallow for a long time.
Then there is recognition -- a sprout.
Sometimes a forest grows.

I met two poets, and their seeds
have been received in fertile soil.
Awaken -- me!  They are here.
"All My Jellies" and Odes and
intricate structures that force
something new.

Awaken -- me!  A poet
who teaches.     A garden.     A forest.
A stream of music and knowledge and words
and love
            love
                  love.