It’s April, which has been declared National Poetry Month; a celebration of poetry created in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States.
I’m not a poetry aficionado; much of it is way over my head. But some of it – oh, some of it speaks to me very deeply. So in honor of National Poetry Month, in each Gimbling in the Wabe in April I’m going to share a poem that has touched me, sans commentary, just for the wonder and the glory of it.
This week, here is a thought provoking poem from one of our national treasures, Nikki Giovanni.
ALLOWABLES
I killed a spider
Not a murderous brown recluse
Nor even a black widow
And if the truth were told this
Was only a small
Sort of papery spider
Who should have run
When I picked up the book
But she didn’t
And she scared me
And I smashed her
I don’t think
I’m allowed
To kill something
Because I am
Frightened
~ Nikki Giovanni
