Writing free verse is like playing tennis with the net down. ~Robert Frost
Hear ye, hear ye: Our fabulous Glen Park Branch Library invites you to express what makes you smile in Glen Park, in free verse, rhyme, haiku, or whatever style suits you. This project was inspired by the many messages of love now memorialized on the Burnside tiled stairway. Many wrote about Glen Park, who in just a word –home, oasis, hearth, haven – spoke to stability, security, happiness.
Looking for inspiration? Stop by the library to read our neighbors’ poems and ask library staff for these helpful “guidelines” for your own. The library requests that you bring in or submit your own poem online by February 28th. You can also help this endeavor by turning our online submissions into handwritten love poems to Glen Park. Just look to the side of the display for the print outs and choose one to transcribe.
In case you haven’t made it into the library yet, we hope you’ll appreciate these five heartfelt excerpts from our neighbors:
With your little hand in mine
We walked up Monterey Blvd.
With each step, our world seemed
sunnier.
a sunny one bedroom flat across from
bart
the first place we lived together
figs from the vendor on the corner of
diamond and bosworth
Oh Glen Park Library, wise and dear,
A treasure nestled close for all here,
My Valentine, you’ll never be so far,
A quiet space my guiding star.
Eucalyptus trees
emitting heavenly scents
from a rainy day
In the former quiet
Of Glen Park village,
Downtown workers
Streaming in at 6 pm.
The ginkgo leaves’ fans
Blow all over
Everyone’s shoes
Carrying one away to China