I have a little book of 101 Poems That Could Save Your Life,
subtitled ‘an anthology of emotional first aid’, edited by Daisy Goodwin, which
I turn to from time to time when I need a poem to help me get through a day. It
has an emotional index with entries such as ‘Bad Hair Day’, ‘Career Crisis’ and
‘Is This Relationship Going Anywhere?’ There is also one entitled ‘Just Do It’,
about seizing the day and getting motivated. It contains just three poems: the
first is by Ezra Pound:
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And the days are not
full enough
And the days are
not full enough
And the nights are
not full enough
And life slips by
like a field mouse
Not shaking the grass.
Ezra Pound
I love the message and how it
has been delivered in so few words.
The second poem in
this section is ‘Tiger’ by A.D. Hope and the third is ‘The slow starter’ by Louis MacNeice.
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Whether we are
tigers who roar, bursting the night and shaking the stars, or slow starters,
watching the clock and counting days, we poets make our marks on life. This week I would like you to write about just doing it and
leave your imprint in a NEW poem. You
may want to keep it short and sweet, like Ezra Pound, or in a longer poem with a
maximum of four stanzas.
Seize the day by clicking on Mister Linky and filling in
your name and url – not forgetting to tick the small ‘data’ box. And please
remember to read and comment on other toads’ poems – don’t slip by like a field
mouse!