National Poetry Month

By Victoria (Tori) Martinez

Thirty years ago, the Academy of American Poets inaugurated April as the first National Poetry Month, what has since become my favorite time of year.

A recent question from an audience member at a poetry reading invited me to reflect on where my love of poetry began. My first encounter with a poem was in elementary school. It was a lovely poem by Robert Frost that quietly but profoundly ignited the writer in me.

Below is the poem he wrote that made me fall in love with poetry.

Stopping By Woods on A Snowy Evening

“Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.”

Although it’s been decades since I first read that poem and felt chills run up my spine, I found it is still influencing the way I write. In fact, my debut book of poetry A Call to Awaken includes a poem inspired by this Robert Frost poem. The theme of my poem echoes that similar admiration of nature in all its glory. However, the content of the poem takes a different turn giving voice to the deep emotions of my family and friends as they witness how nature is being neglected, harmed, and as access to sacred spaces in nature becomes more limited in our current times.

As a young girl I remember my grandfather taking me into the woods to measure waterflow in the rivers, or to count birds, and inspect trees as part of his job with the Forest Service. I remember my father taking me hunting and fishing, sharing cultural knowledge on the foodways of our people. We went camping all summer long and would gaze up at the stars until we fell asleep. Nature has always been an integral part of my life so I wanted to write a poem about protecting it. I invite you to read that poem below.

Public Lands

Whose woods these are

They think they know

It belongs to the American people though

In the heartland are these tall trees

And rivers that flow

And purple mountains majesty

Reaching high toward those starry dreams

They do not see us stopping here

To enjoy these woods

And watch the deer

If they did, they’d think it queer

To stop without a gas station near

But we enjoy the stars so bright

In these protected dark skies

Keep the woods there

Lovely and sweet

Say they’re not for sale

To the deep pockets of greed

For it seems we’ve

Miles to go before we see

The promises kept

To meet public needs

So miles we’ll go before we sleep

O’er moonlit lands

And the wilderness we dare defend

As this year’s National Poetry Month begins, I present this challenge to you to write a poem inspired by your favorite poem. If you don’t have one, perhaps use this Robert Frost poem or you could take one of my poems from my debut poetry book A Call to Awaken and let it inspire your own words.