Today is National Poetry Day and it's all about water. We've got a fair bit of that around here.
Here are some poetic ways that we celebrate in Harringay.
-Katherine Gallagher wrote a poem to celebrate a local treasure:
Summer Odyssey (Railway Fields, for DB)
-Harringay was the home of poet Michael Donaghy and his wife, Maddy, who has written about him here. You can hear Michael reading some of his works in the Poetry archive here
-Another Harringay resident was the poet Eva Salzman. Examples of her work can be found here.
-We like to write a bit about poetry here on HOL too. Here are some posts about events, favourite poems and and some attempts by contributors to write a Haiku for Harringay.
-We also post poetry events regularly on HOL. Here's a few we've featured in the past.
-Are you a Harringay Poet? Let us know!
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This year's theme is Water
Here are two of my favourite watery poems
maggie and milly and molly and may
by e. e. cummings
maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang so sweetly
she couldn't remember her troubles,and
milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea
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Water Everywhere
by U. A. Fanthorpe
Officially they do not acknowledge this god.
Officially they honour assorted immortals
In stone buildings with pioneering roofs.
Their houses betray them. Above ceilings,
Tanks for the precious stuff. Below, a shrine
To the godhead. Here they may stand alone
In confessional boxes, or lie full length
In his hollow bed, singing. Here he sometimes speaks
In loud, disquieting, oracular tones.
Fish are considered holy; where they go
We found contemplatives, with green umbrellas,
Making symbolic gestures at the stream.
In the hot month they consecrate their gardens
With a wet rite involving children, rubber, dogs.
On Sunday mornings they lustrate the car.
They pretend to disparage the god and his rainy gift,
Using set litanies: Lovely weather for ducks!
Last Thursday we had our summer. Flaming June!
(Black comedy is native to this people).
Daylong, nightlong, ministers of the god
Recite on different airways his moods and intentions.
The people claim not to believe. But they listen.
Their literature is great. They never read it.
Water, water everywhere the only
Line they can quote. Though ignorant of the context,
They reckon these words cover everything.
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Got any watery poems to share? Your own or someone else's...
Water, Water: National Poetry Day 2013 from Leo Crane on Vimeo.
