Write about your father, for what happened to him has already happened to you. Recite your town, for how it felt in summer rain is a mote in your eye. Write of your mother as of the sun simultaneously rising and setting, for she is in the arc and marrow of your days. Write of your body, the house you rent. Write in restaurants – among mouths – hungry. Write on the back of an envelope, back of anything; words wait behind things. If your mind is a dragonfly, write a slug, thick and glistening. Write one pear ripening on a white plate in a room lit by a candle. Eat the pear. Write of the world’s sour-sweet musk and promise. Of the dream’s urge and tease. Of the hole where the secret’s buried. Include laughter. Don’t use the word love; you don’t know how to spell it. Do go on.
–Veronica Patterson, from & it had rained
#liveloveland is celebrating Loveland Poetry Month this April by sharing words written by local poets! A new Loveland Poet Laureate program has been established, and Veronica Patterson is both its namesake and its first laureate. Go #liveloveland this month by reading some local poetry! Tell us about what you’re reading by tagging us with #liveloveland #poetry on social media.