The first poet I ever heard read her work in person was Gwendolyn Brooks. I was in college and she came to one of my poetry classes. I had only read one or maybe two of her poems and both of those were for this class. She sat in a stiff chair at the front of the room. I remember it being springtime, the windows were open and the sound of traffic outside punctuated her readings. I cannot tell you now what she read, only that she read them slowly, looking up at smile at us a couple of times. I can only tell you that her voice bounced from desk to desk, heart to heart, her smile was sweet and her words were powerful.
I chose this poem today to round out National Poetry Month…I thought it’s a kind of “two birds with one stone” thing…this being about Robert Frost and all…enjoy-