Poetry Friday: Munch on a Poem and Read to Me – Jane Yolen and Mark Strand

Our current bimonthly theme (until the middle of November) is Books about Books and the River of Words. And so I thought of sharing a few poems that would celebrate this love for words and books. I am so glad to have chanced upon this website by Reading Lady which provides a rich compilation of wondrous poetry on this subject. Here are two poems that caught my eye, and I am hoping that it will catch yours, too, dear Poetry Friday friends. Our lovely host this week is Betsy from Teaching Young Writers. The second poem is dedicated with much love to Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup for pretty obvious reasons. 🙂

Read to me 
by Jane Yolen

Read to me riddles and read to me rhymes
Read to me stories of magical times
Read to me tales about castles and kings
Read to me stories of fabulous things
Read to me pirates and read to me knights
Read to me dragons and dragon-book fights
Read to me spaceships and cowboys and then
When you are finished- please read them again.

Taken from Word Light’s Flickr Images. Click on the image to be taken to the websource.

Eating Poetry
Mark Strand

Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.
There is no happiness like mine.
I have been eating poetry.

The librarian does not believe what she sees.
Her eyes are sad
and she walks with her hands in her dress.

The poems are gone.
The light is dim.
The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up.

Their eyeballs roll,
their blond legs burn like brush.
The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep.

She does not understand.
When I get on my knees and lick her hand,
she screams.

I am a new man,
I snarl at her and bark,
I romp with joy in the bookish dark.