A short getaway to the Ozarks--again

by Pat Laster What's a good way to celebrate April as National Poetry Month? From Tuesday night through Thursday night in Eureka Springs, a gathering of poets from Arkansas and surrounding states participated in an intensive Lucidity Poetry Retreat held at the Inn of the Ozarks. The final official meeting was the Awards Banquet, but many of us prolonged our goodbyes at a local cantina. Poets from as far away as Michigan and Illinois, and as close as Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma traveled again this spring to Eureka not only to renew inspiration and gain new techniques for writing, but also to savor the ambience and fellowship of like-minded folk. Laughter and conversations around tables at Myrtie Mae’s restaurant or Sparky’s enriched the experience further. New friends became old friends and old friends became “family.” On Thursday afternoon, the group was free to ride the trolley, visit the masseuse, the flea markets, the trinket shops downtown, Thorncrown Chapel, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, or nap. My carpooler and I visited the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow and stopped back by the hospital’s Purple House thrift shop. Upper Spring Street was empty of spring flowers, but still rife with settings for novels, poems, essays and stories. I made sure to pick up an issue of the Lovely County Citizen, which is also full of writing possibilities. Cap’n Stephen and (Mrs.) Burt Manning from near Hot Springs, Dorothy Johnson from Little Rock, Christine Henderson from Searcy and Betty Heidelberger from Lexa/Sherwood, Diane Stefan from Mountain Home, Pat Durmon from Norfork and myself were the Arkansas poets attending. The last poem I’ve selected for National Poetry Month was written by Faye Boyette Wise, a Saline Countian who says her only claim to fame is being born on the fourth of July. She is too, too modest. Mrs. Wise is to Benton what Kitty Yeager is to Arkadelphia: the unofficial ‘poet laureate’ of the city. This poem, APRIL COUPLETS comes from Faye’s book, Blessed Connections, and is used with permission. Walking my boundaries is daily delight With marvels of morning blessing my sight. Sky in the east is a rosy-mauve hue. Johnny Jump Ups tint meadow floor blue. Lavender petals of apricot blooms Are silky string-art from angelic looms. Hear the brook babble where small foxes drink The sing-along-song of a bobolink. Spider webs woven by spinners of night Leave shimmery veils to sparkle in light. A breeze lifts my hair and tickles my face And I laugh aloud for love of this place. Earth is so lovely it’s simple to see How much more beautiful heaven must be. Sudden rain showers surprise April’s calm. I catch clear droplets like pearls in my palm. When God walks his boundaries, world neighborhood Hope He laughs aloud and still calls it good. Bon voyage to another April. c 2012 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press