Dear Poet Project...Five Months Later
By Camila Lopez, Senior, iPreparatory Academy
By Camila Lopez, Senior, iPreparatory Academy
Credit: Academy of American Poets, Jeanetta Calhoun Mish
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Last year in Creative Writing, I entered the Poets.org 2020 Dear Poet project, an initiative to get students to read poetry and watch videos of poets reciting their poems in order to write to a poet about their poem or about writing. I wrote a letter to Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, a Poet Laureate Fellow and the poet laureate of Oklahoma for the Academy of American Poets, in response to her poem, for michael. Five months later, Ms. Mish chose my letter! She sent me a handwritten response to my letter. It was so exciting to know that a professional poet read my letter and took the time to write back a thoughtful and heartwarming response. |
Jeanetta Calhoun Mish’s Letter
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Jeanetta Calhoun Mish’s poem:
For michael Jeanetta Calhoun Mish listen: one day when you were three, in the time of living in the mountains in the time of waterfalls and rainbows hummingbird was lost-- he was trapped inside a window. fallen to the corner of the sill his body heaving i scooped him up with my mommy hands-- the hands you gave me to hold you when you cry and you gently caressed his feathers shimmering iridescent in the late afternoon light outside, under a trembling aspen i raised my arms, opened my hands and hummingbird flew toward the sun i want to tell you this story so you know that the tiniest moments hold the clearest blessings i want you to know i have learned to let go |
My letter to Jeanetta Calhoun Mish:
Dear Jeanetta Calhoun Mish,
I recently read your poem, “for Michael”, as part of the amazing poetry unit in my creative writing class. Your poem gave the recent Mother’s Day holiday a new perspective for me, and it was exactly what I needed in the trying times we are living through. As a junior in high school, starting to make decisions about going away to college, your poem reminded me of all the memories and love I am going to carry with me when I embark on new journeys away from my parents. It's definitely a bittersweet feeling to realize the things you will miss once you start to become your own person, once our parents have “learned to let go.” The first time reading your poem, the close relationship you portrayed was so heartwarming and special to read. Even through my computer screen, your words about the hummingbird’s “shimmering iridescent” feathers as you “scooped him up with your mommy hands” transported me into this scene, and I felt how special that lesson and story were for you, just as they are for billions of mothers and children around the world. We really are nothing without the lessons our parents have taught us: the good and the bad. I also noticed parallels between the hummingbird’s story and my own. There are times in my life where, like the hummingbird, I have “fallen” and been “trapped” in the situations I dealt with. I am fortunate that my own mother is the first to pick me up and push me to flourish and fly “toward the sun” as I accomplish my goals. To further my understanding of the poem, I also wanted to ask you, is the story about the hummingbird true, or did it come from the inspiration provided by the lesson you wanted to teach your young son? How does your family inspire your poetry and writing in general? What else do you find inspiration in when the “blessings” are not so evident? Thank you for the beautiful poem. I hope to keep the words with me in my future travels and use them to help me grow. Sincerely, Camila Lopez 11th grade Miami, FL |