Sky Picked Blue (Danny Schmidt)

For years I have donated to The Academy of American Poets, and what should show up in my mail yesterday but the poster (above) for this year's National Poetry Month (which I only just realized is the 25th Anniversary), with a quote from the amazing Joy Harjo (full poem below).  I actually taped it up on the wall in my kitchen to remind me that poetry feeds my soul!

Also in yesterday's mail was a gift from Mari; she has been raving about this debut novel (see below) since pre-publication (she bought an early copy from Book of the Month Club), and I cannot wait to crack the spine later today.  Thanks, little sis... 💝

NR:  Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes

SONG:  Sky Picked Blue by Danny Schmidt (the song is from this collaborative CD by Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkin:  "For Keeps is a relational record. At its core is a group of songs, half written by me and half written by Carrie, that revolve around relationship. Not necessarily our relationship, but Relationship with a big R. As our personal lives have woven into our artistic lives, it seemed only appropriate that our first collaborative album explore the many dimensions of Relationship.")

BOOK:  The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

POEM:  For Keeps by Joy Harjo

Sun makes the day new.

Tiny green plants emerge from earth.

Birds are singing the sky into place.

There is nowhere else I want to be but here.

I lean into the rhythm of your heart to see where it will take us.

We gallop into a warm, southern wind.

I link my legs to yours and we ride together,

Toward the ancient encampment of our relatives.

Where have you been? they ask.

And what has taken you so long?

That night after eating, singing, and dancing

We lay together under the stars.

We know ourselves to be part of mystery.

It is unspeakable.

It is everlasting.

It is for keeps.

QUOTE:  "I find ultimate delight when a story is matched by equally riveting language, but people read like they eat: Sometimes we want comfort, sometimes we want to work to crack something open. And so I know that the writing pivots I might dislike are someone else’s bonbons." ~ Elizabeth Acevedo in a NYT By the Book interview