Professor Offers Ode To Boston
Tell Me More is celebrating National Poetry Month with the series 'Muses and Metaphor.' Listeners are sending their own poems via Twitter. Today's poetic tweet comes from Luisa Igloria. She teaches creative writing at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
And what perfect timing because now, it's time for the latest in our series Muses and Metaphor. That's how we are celebrating National Poetry Month, by hearing your tweet poems. That's poems at 140 characters.
Today, we hear from Luisa Igloria.
LUISA IGLORIA: My name is Luisa Igloria and I live in Norfolk, Va., where I direct the MFA creative writing program at Old Dominion University. I wrote these lines on Monday, April 15, thinking about how in the kind of world we have today, we need so much more to be kind to each other. Later, I heard the news and saw images of the Boston Marathon bombings. My brother-in-law ran in the marathon. Thankfully, he is unhurt. But as we know, this isn't the case with so many who were there that day. I included this tweet poem and a larger poem I wrote last week. I guess you could think of it as a kind of ode to Boston. Here is my tweet poem.
Oh love, oh neighbor, oh stranger huddled in fear, waiting for parole. How much more we belong to each other and wait to be consoled.
MARTIN: Now, we know those went by pretty quickly, so let's hear it again.
IGLORIA: Oh love, oh neighbor, oh stranger huddled in fear, waiting for parole. How much more we belong to each other and wait to be consoled.
MARTIN: That was a poetic tweet by Luisa Igloria.
We'd also like to hear from you, as we celebrate National Poetry Month and William Shakespeare's birthday - just saying. Tweet us your original poetry, fewer than 140 characters. Use the hash tag #TMMPoetry. If your poem is chosen, we will help you record it for us, and we will air it in the program this month. You can learn more at the TELL ME MORE website. Go to NPR.org/TellMeMore.
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MARTIN: And that's our program for today. I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Let's talk more tomorrow.
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