A month for poetry and songs
By Barry Vitcov
“See You in September” sung by The Tempos, “September in the Rain” by Dinah Washington, “The September of My Years” by Frank Sinatra, and “September Song” by Willie Nelson are just a few September songs I remember from way back when. There’s something about September that inspires songs and poetry. Marisa Peterson’s poem evokes much more than “never.” Her poem is full of memories of canning Romas, blanching green beans, and the meals that followed through the seasons.
Might you have similar seasonal memories? You are encouraged to submit poems related to the seasons. See below for how to submit.
September Poems
By Marisa Peterson
I will never read my September poems —
they never made it to paper because
they floated through my kitchen on the scent
of savory tomato sauce simmering on the stove.
I couldn’t jot down the words or phrases
wafting through my mind while chopping
onions, garlic, basil and plump red Romas.
But I preserved the poems — in pint jars.
No one will ever read my unwritten haiku
about our delicate Japanese anemones that bowed
with such dignity in chilly September gusts
or my stanzas for the literal last roses of summer —
a cluster of seven pink tea roses ranging from tight bud
to full blown velvet whorl which I considered
a metaphor for stages in a poet’s life —
because I was blanching green beans.
I will never read my September poems at an open mic —
but the canning jars composed a tone poem
after I removed them from their boiling bath.
The jubilant ping! of each lid sealing chimed its praise
of our harvest bounty which we’ll celebrate
with every pasta supper throughout the coming winter.
As a teacher, Marisa Petersen combined her love of words with her wanderlust genetics. She taught Spanish in New Mexico, New York and Oregon — and English in Spain, India and Romania. She writes poetry to record vignettes of her life in other countries, happenings in her neighborhood, and surprises in her unwieldy organic gardens. Her work has been published in Timberline Review, The Jefferson Monthly, and several anthologies. Marisa and her husband now live in Medford — and they keep their passports current.
Poetry Submissions Welcomed!
You are invited to submit original work to the Poetry Corner. There are only two restrictions: First, poems need to show a connection to Ashland and/or Southern Oregon. Your interpretation of that connection is fairly loose! Second, poems need to be aligned to the left margin. The publishing platform used by Ashland.news has issues with the creative use of space! There are no length restrictions but try to keep your poems to no more than 30 lines. Be sure to include the title of your poem, your name as you would like it to appear, the city or town in which you reside, and, if you wish, your preferred pronouns.
To submit poems, send to Barry Vitcov at [email protected].
Dec. 16: Corrected submission email address.
