Helen Frost has challenged us to write an ode poem this month, following these instructions:
Choose an object (a seashell, a hairbrush, a bird nest, a rolling
pin). It should not be anything symbolic (such as a doll, a wedding
ring, or a flag). Write five lines about the object, using a different
sense in each line (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell). Then ask the
object a question, listen for its answer, and write the question, the
answer, or both.
Click HERE to read her sample poem, "Ode to a River."
Post your poem on our March 2017 padlet.
All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday,
March 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of
her latest novel-in-poems from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux/Macmillan:
Lily Yeh speaking at the 2017 Convening Culture Conference
Hello and welcome to the Poetry Friday roundup!
My intention for today was to share my takeaways from the 2017 Convening Culture conference on February 22-23, sponsored by the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs. But as I reviewed my notes and composed my thoughts, I realized that I had too much material for just one blog post. If you have time, I hope you'll visit yesterday's post— the first part of my two-day review. I feature Dr. Elif Akçali, a professor of engineering at the University of Florida whose decision to embark upon a year of saying yes led
to a creative journey that profoundly changed the way she
approaches her life and work. We'll call today's post "Inspiration from the Convening Culture Conference, Part II."
I love the photo at the top of the page. It brings to mind the glowing impression of Lily Yeh I was left with after her keynote presentation on day two of the conference. The conference was not one I expected to attend, nor was it a conference that I would have thought to seek out, yet it made a profound impact thanks to this slight, yet remarkable woman.
Lily Yeh is an internationally celebrated artist whose work has taken her to communities throughout the world. As founder of Barefoot Artists, Inc, she brings the transformative power of art to impoverished communities around the globe through participatory, multifaceted projects that foster community empowerment, improve the physical environment, promote economic development, and preserve indigenous art and culture.
As you might have guessed, that description came straight from her bio. Impressive, right? But let me tell you, those words are nothing compared to the impression I was left with after seeing her in person. She's a soft spoken woman, kindly, unassuming, takes up very little space... until you hear the passion behind her words, witness the reach of her healing, and see the results of her life's calling—then her aura fills the entire room. Imagine a Mother Teresa of the art world. That's Lily Yeh.
Beauty is intimately engaged with darkness, with chaos, with destruction. You need to walk into the darkness and hold it in your arms. Broken places are my canvases, people's stories are my pigments, and people's talents and imagination are the instruments.
– Lily Yeh
Lily Yeh's calling began in 1986 with an abandoned lot in North Philadelphia that she was invited to turn into a park.
She was scared. She didn't have much money and was warned that the kids would destroy everything she built. But then "the call" came, so fragile and clear:
If you don't rise to the occasion, the best of you will die and the rest will not amount to anything.
After that, she was scared to be a coward! So she responded, "Yes, at least I can do something with the children." With a group of residents, mostly children, she transformed the lot into an art park with mosaic sculptures, murals, and landscaping.
From there, the projects grew and multiplied. More parks were born from other vacant lots, and in 1989, The Village of the Arts and Humanities was incorporated as a non-profit organization that began offering year-round arts and educational programs. Talk about a success story!
Yet the project she talked about that touched my heart most was not so close to home. It was her transformation of a rough mass grave in Rwanda into the Rugerero 1994 Genocide Memorial.
In 1994, during a period of only 100 days from April 6 through mid-July, approximately one million Tutsi and moderate Hutu sympathizers were killed in Rwanda—the largest organized killing of human beings in the shortest period of time in modern history. Rugerero was one of the villages that was struck hardest by the brutality. By example, an extended family of 134 was reduced to only four survivors. She describes what she saw when she looked at the mass graves:
There was no poetry. There was no beauty. . . . to truly honor the dead, we have to bring beauty and to remember them in that light. . . . it has to be better.
Rather than me describing what she did, I will leave the storytelling to this eight minute movie of the Rwanda Healing Project. Poetry in action, as I like to call it.
If you missed last week's interview with Helen Frost, she's challenged us to write her version of an ode poem—a 6-7 line poem with specific instructions about structure and content:
Choose an object (a seashell, a hairbrush, a bird nest, a rolling
pin). It should not be anything symbolic (such as a doll, a wedding
ring, or a flag). Write five lines about the object, using a different
sense in each line (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell). Then ask the
object a question, listen for its answer, and write the question, the
answer, or both.
I confess, I've broken the rules. My object of choice is most definitely symbolic, but I was so moved by this video, I wanted to pay tribute to what Lily Yeh accomplished. Perhaps you'll give me a pass... just this once.
At risk of completely overwhelming you, if you are interested in hearing more about Lily Yeh, in her own voice, I found this video which covers some of what she discussed in the keynote presentation I attended.
Please accept my gift of this final quote as I send you off on your Poetry Friday rounds:
My role is to light other people's pilot lights so we shine together and we light up the horizon. – Lily Yeh
Helen Frost's challenge to write her version of an ode poem is off to a great start! Three poems were featured this week in addition to my own: Brenda Davis Harsham's Ode to Wrapping Paper, Michelle Kogan's Ode to Spring Soil, and Lana Wayne Kohler's Ode to a Piano. Linda Mitchell is featuring her ode poem today at A Word Edgewise and Catherine Flynn is featuring hers at Reading to the Core. I hope you'll post your ode poem on our March 2017 padlet!
On February 22-23, I attended the 2017 Convening Culture Conference sponsored by the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs. It's an annual conference that brings together artists and individuals working in arts and culture across Florida. To be honest, I had never heard of the conference before. It was brought to my attention because Lee Bennett Hopkins was to be inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame during its closing reception.
2017 Florida Artists Hall of Fame inductees Don Felder, Billy Dean, Lee Bennett Hopkins, and Jim Stafford with Secretary of State, Ken Detzner.
Hosted by the University of Florida, a mere 20 minutes from home, I decided to attend and see what I could learn. I suspected that the conference would probably have more to do with visual arts than poetry, but sometimes trying something new—stepping out of the box—is, by itself, worth the price of admission. What I discovered is that it was worth a whole lot more than that.
The theme of the conference was "Exploring Innovation and Entrepreneurship through Arts and Culture." Facilitated discussions and informative sessions touched on different ways to approach innovation on a
variety of levels, including divergent thinking, cross-community and multi-discipline collaborations. It also highlighted the work of artists whose work exemplifies that spirit of innovative creativity and entrepreneurship.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that artists (including writers) are natural entrepreneurs. The problem is:
Artists are small businesses with terrible bosses.
So saysColleen Keegan, strategic planner and arts activist with Creative Capital Professional Development. According to Keegan, the biggest obstacle for artists is working too much. "You cannot create from a state of stress . . . don't should all over yourself." (Sound familiar?)
Reading over my notes from two weeks ago, there are a number of things you probably aren't all that interested in—the 57 pages of support materials from the Florida Grants Intensive I attended, for example. (Anyone have $25K they want to give me so I can apply to have the State of Florida match it?)
What I wouldlike to share with you are a few inspirational tidbits (besides the ones quoted above). For that, I'll be turning to two of the invited speakers: Dr. Elif Akçali (featured in today's post) and Lily Yeh (featured in tomorrow's post).
The plenary session on Wednesday morning with Dr. Elif Akçali was titled "The story of a collaboration: What did engineering learn from dance?" An Associate Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Florida, Dr. Akçali spoke about the year she turned 40 years old—the year she decided to say yes to everything. One of those yeses was in response to a faculty member in the dance department who asked if anyone was interested in collaborating. You can probably imagine how uncomfortable an engineer might feel in the creative arena, but she followed through, found a connection, and the experience was transformative.
It was fascinating to discover how these two individuals from such different experiences of thinking and doing came together collaboratively. What they ended up with was something that
could not truly be evaluated under the umbrella of engineering or under the umbrella of dance. It was a field
unto its own. Two of the outcomes from their partnership were:
1) a process engineering tool to edit dance works, and
2) a curriculum change to teach choreography and storytelling to industrial and systems engineering students so that they can understand and communicate "the story" of their senior design on a deeper level.
As it turns out, Dr. Akçali also encourages her students to write poetry on engineering topics. Why? Because to think differently you need to act differently. I encourage you to watch this ten minute video where Dr. Akçali makes the case for divergent thinking. (It includes some of the same material she shared at the conference.)
Don't hold on too tightly in a collaboration—let go of the ego.
Realize that one partner will always be ahead of the other, so you need to be a patient teacher in those situations.
Be ready to transform, change views, approaches, and opinions.
And finally, a quote from Isaac Asimov, from The Roving Mind (1983):
Knowledge is indivisible. When people grow wise in one direction, they are sure to make it easier for themselves to grow wise in other directions as well. On the other hand, when they split up knowledge, concentrate on their own field, and scorn and ignore other fields, they grow less wise—even in their own field.
Helen Frost has challenged us to write an ode poem this month, following these instructions:
Choose
an object (a seashell, a hairbrush, a bird nest, a rolling pin). It
should not be anything symbolic (such as a doll, a wedding ring, or a
flag). Write five lines about the object, using a different sense in
each line (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell). Then ask the object a
question, listen for its answer, and write the question, the answer, or
both.
Click HERE to read her sample poem, "Ode to a River."
Post your poem on our March 2017 padlet.
All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday,
March 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of
her latest novel-in-poems from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux/Macmillan:
Helen Frost has challenged us to write an ode poem this month, following these instructions:
Choose an object (a seashell, a hairbrush, a bird nest, a rolling
pin). It should not be anything symbolic (such as a doll, a wedding
ring, or a flag). Write five lines about the object, using a different
sense in each line (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell). Then ask the
object a question, listen for its answer, and write the question, the
answer, or both.
Click HERE to read her sample poem, "Ode to a River."
Post your poem on our March 2017 padlet.
All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday,
March 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of
her latest novel-in-poems from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux/Macmillan:
Helen Frost has challenged us to write an ode poem this month, following these instructions:
Choose an object (a seashell, a hairbrush, a bird nest, a rolling pin). It should not be anything symbolic (such as a doll, a wedding ring, or a flag). Write five lines about the object, using a different sense in each line (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell). Then ask the object a question, listen for its answer, and write the question, the answer, or both.
Click HERE to read her sample poem, "Ode to a River."
Post your poem on our March 2017 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, March 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of
her latest novel-in-poems from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux/Macmillan:
Helen Frost is the author of numerous novels-in-poems for upper elementary and teens, non-fiction for younger readers, plays, poetry for adults, and resource books for teachers. Her body of work reflects an adventurous life, an enduring sense of curiosity, a love of children, and an ardent appreciation for her craft. She was born in South Dakota, the fifth of ten children and the product of a supportive environment that instilled a can-do attitude and a desire to live life to its fullest. Along the way to that full life, Helen has lived in several places, writing and teaching in a variety of settings, including a progressive boarding school in Scotland and a one-teacher school in Alaska! She now lives her intrepid life from a home base in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Read more about Helen's life and works at her website.
Have you seen Sylvia Vardell's sneak peek list
of poetry-related books for 2017? The
number of verse novels on that list is impressive. But while
novels-in-verse have clearly been gaining momentum in recent years,
there are some verse novelists who have been writing narrative poetry
well before it became trendy to do so. These are the verse novelists I
will return to again and again, and Helen Frost is among them.
Helen's first novel-in-poems, Keesha's House,
was awarded the 2004 Printz Honor Award. Subsequent verse novels
have also received honors, including the 2009 Lee Bennett Hopkins Award
for Diamond Willow; a 2007, 2010, and 2012 Lee Bennett Hopkins Honor for The Braid, Crossing Stones, and Hidden respectively; and the Children's History Book Prize in 2015 by the New York Historical Society for Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War.
Watch book trailers for this and other
Frost/Lieder collaborations HERE.
As luck would have it, Helen has two books coming out this month, both on March 14th, and both with starred reviews.
Wake Up!(Candlewick Press, 2017) is her most
recent in a series of collaborations with photographer Rick Lieder that
explore the natural world through lyrical and captivating portraits
for beginning readers.
WHEN MY SISTER STARTED KISSING
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0374303037
Find at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or via Indiebound.org.
Her other March release is the heartwarming novel-in-poems When My Sister Started Kissing (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2017). As the title suggests, it'sa coming of age story involving two sisters—Claire (10) and Abigail (13).
Having lost their mother at a very young age, Claire and Abigail have always been close, and until now, they've always enjoyed their summers together at the family lake house. But this year things are different. Mom's belongings have been replaced by a new stepmom and a baby on the way. Also, Abigail is exploring her identity, her independence, and her budding interest in boys, while Claire is not quite sure what to make of any of it. The novel is insightful and sensitive to the complex nature of family relationships in transition, and sympathetic to the trials of becoming a teenager and the personal growth entailed.
If you're familiar with any of Helen's distinctive novels-in-poems, you already know the importance she places on using language and structured form to help convey story. For her, the structure of poetry and the sound of language is a "precise paintbrush" used to illustrate the essence of different characters. For example, in When My Sister Started Kissing, Claire's rhyming quatrains are set against Abi's free verse poems that resemble lightning; Claire's kayak poems show movement through water; and then there's my favorite—the voice of the lake. Lake poems are centered on the page to appear lake-like, but they are also acrostics. Reading down the first letters of each line spells out lines from other poems by William Blake, Gwendolyn Brooks, Pablo Neruda, William Stafford, Emily Dickinson, William Butler Yeats, and others. According to the "Notes on Form" at the back of the book, they represent the current running through the lake.
You'll read an example of a lake poem later on in our interview, but for now, let's explore the current that runs through Helen Frost. We'll begin as we always do, with a few favorites.
A favorite color: Turquoise
A favorite smell: My husband cooking dinner
A favorite children's book: Shadrach, by Meindert DeJong
A favorite childhood memory: Sharing a room with sisters: squabbling over boundaries within the room, talking in the dark, figuring out each others secrets, climbing out our window onto the roof on a starry night, sharing clothes, lighting candles and playing with a Ouija board—no end to these memories, each leading to another.
A favorite place: Mingulay, an uninhabited island off the coast of Barra, in the Western Isles of Scotland (The Braidis partly set there.)
A favorite country you'd like to visit: I’ll mention where I will be visiting on the day this interview is published: the beautiful country of Burma/Myanmar, in the city of Mawlamyine, a Sister City to my city of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
From a young age you showed signs of being a poet (a keen observer, crossing the line between imagination and reality, discovering the power of words), yet writing wasn’t always your topmost priority. Correct me if I’m wrong, but even while you found community with other creative writers throughout your life, there were many years it seemed like you were not in a huge hurry to get published. Writing took a back seat to other life choices—you followed your intuition, lived at your own pace, and amassed a wealth of experience to draw on later. What role did writing play for you during the time when you were teaching and exploring the world? Did you keep a journal? Write poems? Stories?
Such an interesting question. Yes, I think you are somewhat wrong, but I’m intrigued by the perception. It may be true that I wasn’t in a hurry to get published (people often are in too much of a hurry, and I encourage new authors to have patience with the process), but I was always writing, and I was sending things out for publication for many years before my first books were published. I spent almost twenty years honing the craft of poetry—attending workshops and writers conferences, learning from, and nurturing friendships with, other writers, etc.—before my first collection of poems was published. (I was sending out individual poems and many were published during that time.) Then it took another ten years or so to learn the craft of writing for children before my first book for young readers was published. During all those years I was also making a living, mostly as a teacher, and I got married and had children—but always, writing was at the core of whatever I was doing.
It’s true about amassing a wealth of experience, though of course at the time you are living it, it doesn’t feel like that—you’re just living, and then the years go by and you find that you have experienced a lot!
Helen Frost on an Alaskan adventure (with friends Agnes and Magoo the dog).
With such a fascinating personal background, I find the connections between your novels and your real life intriguing. Where did you find the inspiration for When My Sister Started Kissing?
I do have a lot of sisters, four older and three younger (as well as two younger brothers), and like most kids would, I found their love lives interesting—more interesting than my own, I must admit, especially in my pre-and-early-teen years. And we did have a summer cabin on a lake that we went to. And there were neighbors there,
and some were boys. But I don’t think I’d go quite so far as to call
all that an inspiration for the book, because when I first started
writing it, the setting was a school, the characters’ online lives were
important, some of the characters were more villainous than I eventually
allowed them to be; so, all in all, looking back on the process, it is
hard to separate inspiration from evolution.
The family summer cabin on Lake Kabekona in northern Minnesota.
Woodcut print by Helen's cousin, Ann Kronlokken (1981).
You describe your work as “novels-in-poems” rather than “novels-in-verse.” Is that because of the more structured verse forms you use, or is there another reason you make that distinction?
It’s probably a somewhat snobby holdover from the years I was focused on poetry for adult readers. In that world, “verse” is usually used to describe Hallmark greetings, or other less substantive kinds of poems. I always try to bring some elements of “real poetry” into my novels; formal structure is the most easily recognized, but that’s just what’s on the surface. Poetry is, for me, more about a way of seeing the world, a depth of perception and precision of language. But once I’ve said that, it sounds self-aggrandizing to call my novels poetry, so I’m actually fine with either term these days—novels-in-verse or novels-in-poems.
One thing I love about your novels-in-poems is the visual impact. Each of the narrators in When My Sister Started Kissing (including non-human ones) has a different poetry form that serves as a unique “voice” to help tell the story.
You Make Me Happy Heartstone Lake remembers
The baby, Claire, in a sunsuit and
yellow hat, sat on her father's shoulders, the
great wide world spread out before them. Two
egrets flew home to their nest, as thunder
rumbled, far off in the distance.
The mother, Cari, lifted Abigail—
You are my sunshine, they sang together,
gently rocking. Cari waded in up to her ankles.
Everyone was smiling then, held close by the
rhythm of the song: You make me happy.
Blue sky, one cloud, an open beach
umbrella shading their red blanket. Did the
raindrops fall from the sun itself? I remember
no cold wind, no whitecaps, just a few small
indentations on my glassy surface,
not enough to make them pack up and
go home. Cari smiled at her husband, Andrew, and at
Baby Claire, who whimpered. I did not know why. Did she
realize, before the others did, what was coming, what it meant?
It seemed to happen all at once: Claire cried out, the sky
grew dark, lightning sent its dazzle through me. Cari
held Abigail tight in her arms for a split second,
then fell, her face in mine.
From When My Sister Started Kissing Used with permission by Margaret Ferguson Books, an imprint of Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, Macmillan, 2017
What aspects do you consider when matching a character with a poetry form?
I think about voice and personality, and what is going on in the story. It’s different in each book, and I usually give notes at the end of the book to describe what I’m doing. Finding the form is part of the exploration of my writing, so sometimes I only see what I’m doing after I’ve done it!
Please share a favorite poem from When My Sister Started Kissing and tell us why it’s meaningful to you.
Pointers Claire
At times, it seems like Abigail is still the same as she’s always been. When we got back from the beach today, we came into our room and stretched out on our beds to relax.
Pam has this blog called “Pointers from Pam.” Little tips about how to get extra use out of all the things normal people throw away, like the cardboard tube inside a toilet paper roll:
“Cut one up and paint it to make napkin rings! Use them to keep your socks in pairs!” Umm… really? Would anyone actually do that? Abigail and I try not to laugh at something that dumb,
but sometimes in private we make up pointers of our own: “If your parents won’t let you do something you want to do, try asking when they’re too busy to say no.” And: “They might believe you
if you tell one of them the other one said yes.” Even though I’m not a teenager, we call ours “Tips for Teens.” But today when I say, I have a tip for teens, Abigail walks over to the mirror to gloss her lips,
kisses a piece of Kleenex, then kisses the air and announces, I’m not going to make fun of Pam anymore. What? One trip to the mall, a haircut, a new swimsuit, and now she’s on Pam’s side? Wow, Abigail, I say, how mature.
From When My Sister Started Kissing Used with permission by Margaret Ferguson Books, an imprint of Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, Macmillan, 2017
I love “Hints from Heloise” (now called simply “Heloise”)—the ideas people have that they write down and send to her can be so funny. I love to think of the people writing them and getting excited about seeing them in print or online. They make me laugh, and then every so often one is really useful, and that makes me laugh at myself. So I had fun writing this poem, and I enjoy seeing the girls’ relationship, with each other and with their new stepmother, Pam, come into focus in this scene between the two sisters.
Just for fun, imagine your next book is a memoir. What poetry form might you use to represent yourself?
I’m not sure—maybe some kind of spiral form that circles back on itself like a crown of sonnets, but more experimental than that.
What’s coming up next for you?
Look! I’m Standing. is scheduled for Spring, 2019 (Candlewick). It’s a picture book collaboration with Rick Lieder about a Sandhill Crane family. I’m working on some other things that aren’t under contract yet, but I’m not quite ready to talk about them.
Helen Frost in her tricycle days.
If you had all the world’s children in one room, what would you tell them?
You are so beautiful.
So smart. So good.
The world is lucky to have you.
Finally, what have you chosen as this month’s ditty challenge?
I call this an “Ode Poem” and the title can be, if you wish, “Ode to…(your object)”. Choose
an object (a seashell, a hairbrush, a bird nest, a rolling pin). It
should not be anything symbolic (such as a doll, a wedding ring, or a
flag). Write five lines about the object, using a different sense in
each line (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell). Then ask the object a
question, listen for its answer, and write the question, the answer, or
both.
Here's an example:
Ode to a River
You smell like rain today, as you wash her feet with splashing light. She leans in to caress you and you whisper something she can almost understand: a taste, a memory a question. Why did you leave me? River, she needed stillness. You could not stop.
Helen Frost
Wow. Go ahead, folks, reread it—I've read it at least 23 times already.
Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to soak in Helen's poem to better understand the form, then find a voice that's all your own. I know you can do it!
But before diving in, would you please join me in thanking Helen for this fantastic interview today?
Not only that—Helen has also offered a personalized copy of When My Sister Started Kissing to one lucky DMC participant!
(Winner to be selected randomly at the end of the month.)
HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
Post your ode poem (be sure to follow Helen Frost's instructions) on our March 2017 padlet. Stop by any time during the month to add your work or to check out what others are contributing.
By posting on the padlet, you are granting me permission to share your poem on Today's Little Ditty.
Some poems will be featured as daily ditties, though authors may not be
given advanced notice. Subscribe to the blog if you'd like to keep
tabs. You can do that in the sidebar to the right where it says "Follow
TLD by Email." As always, all of the poems will be included in a wrap-up
celebration on the last Friday of the month—March 31st for our
current challenge.
TEACHERS, it's great when students get involved! Ditty of the
Month Club challenges are wonderful opportunities to learn about working
poets and authors while having fun with poetry prompts. Thank you for
spreading the word! For children under 13, please read my COPPA
compliance statement in the sidebar to the right.
FIRST-TIMERS (those who have never contributed to a ditty
challenge before), in addition to posting your work on the padlet,
please send your name and email address to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail
(dot) com. That way I'll be able to contact you for possible inclusion
in future Best of Today's Little Ditty anthologies.
BLOGGERS, thank you for publishing your poems on your own blogs– I
love that! Please let me know about it, so I can share your post! Also remember to include your poem (or a direct link
to your post) on the padlet in order to be included in the wrap-up
celebration and end-of-month giveaway.
Thank you to everyone who contributed personified feeling poems for last month's ditty challenge. I thoroughly enjoyed such lively dialog! We received three latecomers to last week's wrap-up—poems by Buffy Silverman, Sandie Vaisnoras, and Matt Forrest Esenwine. You can find them HERE.
Random.org has determined that a personalized copy of Stone Mirrrors: The Sculpture and Silence of Edmonia Lewis by Jeannine Atkins will go to . . .
BRENDA HARSHAM
Congratulations, Brenda!
Finally, I know reading these Spotlight posts are a workout all by themselves, but I couldn't resist taking part in Heidi Mordhorst's "All-Billy" celebration of poems by Billy Collins. Here's one of my favorites, "Budapest":
