MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
We're going to take some time now for one of our favorite things, poetry. We're in Romania at the moment, but April is still poetry month in the U.S. And we're going to celebrate, as we usually do, by asking listeners to submit poems via Twitter and TikTok using the hashtag #nprpoetry. And since we've been reporting on a lot of challenging issues on this trip, we thought this might be a good time to take a break and share some submissions that stood out to us, like this TikTok poem from user MyAltoLife.
MYALTOLIFE: (Reading) I can hear the train pull into the station. It's the train I need to get on. But instead, people rush past me, rush through the turnstile, and they get on the train, and I don't. Isn't that just like life?
MARTIN: Other listeners submitted poems that were a bit more whimsical.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Reading) When I awake in the morning light, the land remains dark. I hang my thoughts on a better way and get down on my knees. But I won't pray. I'm just looking for my glasses.
MARTIN: Other listeners submitted poems about poems, like this one from TikTok user Mdorsey41.
MDORSEY41: (Reading) I write the same words every day with different intonation, different length, inflection, metaphor and beat, and all to say that I desire, weep, I worship, I confess, I grieve, forgive, forget, repeat.
MARTIN: Just like last year, the repetition of daily life amid a pandemic came up a lot. Here's one example from Twitter user Writerofmusings.
WRITEROFMUSINGS: (Reading) I live inside my normal box, each day the same as last. Each morn, put on my normal socks for going nowhere fast.
MARTIN: Or this poem from James Rogers (ph) called "Why I Own A Calendar." (Reading) It's Monday in my head, Tuesday on the calendar, Friday in my heart and Sunday in my bones, while every part of me wishes it were Saturday once more.
And as spring weather hits parts of the U.S., it seems nature was on a lot of people's minds this week, like this haiku submitted via Twitter from user TomSterling16. (Reading) Above the small pond, dragonflies engage flies in aerial combat.
Or this one from Twitter user Imagary29. (Reading) alone with the rain, sometimes this is the calm voice you needed to hear. And finally, another TikTok submission from LoveandOthers (ph).
LOVEANDOTHERS: The laughter of a child, the smile that drives you wild, the touch of a lover's hand, the feeling of your toes in the sand. Spring brings forth life anew, starting fresh on our list to do, time spent with family and friends, never wanting these moments to end.
MARTIN: Thank you so much to all the listeners who submitted poems. Our celebration of poetry month continues tomorrow. We'll be speaking with Romanian poet Claudiu Komartin. He will share a poem he wrote about how the war in Ukraine is affecting his country. In the meantime, if you'd like to participate in our celebration of poetry month, there's still time. You can post your original 15-second poem to TikTok with the hashtag #nprpoetry. Please remember to keep it radio friendly and 15 seconds or less. Of course, we'll also still be doing the original Twitter poems. You can tweet those @npratc, also with the #nprpoetry hashtag. And the original Twitter rules apply. Poems must be 140 characters or less. Starting next weekend, a professional poet will join us each week to talk about some of the submissions that caught their eye. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.