Confession Tuesday

It is the last Tuesday in March, which according to my daughter is not going out like a lamb.

Well, these are the dog days of spring for me, where time is at a premium. In fact, all of my time is scheduled out. Before I go to bed, I write out a to-do list. In the morning, I go out an make a time map, so I can see how much time I have for festival planning and grading.

In fact, I'm writing this post out in the parking lot of the kids school as I wait for the end of their school day. Nothing is wasted today, not even time. 

It is what it is for the next week or so. 

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As I look over to the car next to me in the parking lot, there's another woman typing on her iPad, too. We are all so overscheduled and ridiculously busy for no good reason, I want to be busy looking for buds pushing up through the snow in the front yard. Now that's important. 

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One upside to sitting in the parking lot on a warm afternoon (and by warm, I mean 45 degrees and sunny), I'm listening to Krista Tippet interview Mary Oliver on the show On Being. I've heard Mary Oliver read before, but it's been so long I couldn't remember what she sounded like. Her voice sounds strong. 

I'm listening to her talk about the "I" in poetry. She says (I'm paraphrasing) that she wanted the I to represent the possible reader, not just herself. The I is more than ego. It is a way for the reader to join the poet in the poem. I think it gives the poet ownership. 

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I haven't written a poem since January, but I'm gearing up for a Poem a Day/National Poetry Writing Month challenge. As busy as I am, this is the one time all day where I make myself sit down and do something for myself.

Goodbye March, Hello April!