Today, April 1
is the first day of National Poetry Month.
In honor of this important month I am posting a poem I wrote a couple of
weeks ago. I will try to post more poems
during April – no fooling! I encourage everyone
to look up the National Poetry Month website at
Join the
celebration – write a poem; read a poem; take a poetry workshop. Poetry is fun; it is free and wonderful – it
will inspire you and give you new ideas.
Poetry might help you understand a personal dilemma or work through a
difficult or sad situation. Poetry has
done this for me and for many others throughout history. I am certainly not a brilliant poet but
writing and reading poetry is always satisfying. Recently, I went to a free poetry writing
workshop given by the Washington State poet laureate, Elizabeth Austen. It was held at the public library in Poulsbo
Washington and attended by about twenty folks from around Puget Sound. Ms. Austen is giving these workshops in every
county in the state of Washington this year.
Part of her pledge as the state’s poet laureate is to make poetry
accessible to everyone. To this end, in
addition to the free workshops, she is posting Poetry Prompts everyday during
April at her website
Look this site
up too and write a poem.
My mother was
in the habit of reading a poem every morning before she got up. Her ‘Poem of the Day’ book was always at the
ready on her bedside table. What a wonderful
way to start the day. It only takes a
couple of minutes to read a poem but it can be the best minutes of the
day. Try it.
My poem today
is about retirement. In two months I
will have been retired for two years.
Wow. I feel as if I’m just
getting started on a whole new life.
Retirement
Retirement means making my own granola.
I've left behind
The glamour and the drama
Of the working life,
Like so much baggage
Abandoned on the bench
At a long forgotten train station
For anyone to take or mistake
For what they lost or found?
I don't miss it nowadays
I'm finding out
Everything is new.
I want to give you my
granola recipe too. It is very easy to make even if you are not retired! I modified it from a
recipe that was originally published in the New York Times and given to me by
my friend Linda. My husband and I eat this
granola almost every morning for breakfast.
We add plain yogurt, a little milk and some sort of fruit. It is delicious and healthy whether you are
retired or rushing off to work. Enjoy!
 |
| Almost time to make more granola! |
Joanna’s
Modified Olive Oil Granola With Pistachios
6 cups
old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2
cups raw pistachios, hulled - sometimes I can't find raw ones so I use roasted salted nuts and reduce the added salt
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, hulled
1 cup
coconut chips - baked and unsweetened
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1
teaspoon salt
1/2
teaspoon ground cardamom
1.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine oats, pistachios, pumpkin
seeds, coconut chips, maple syrup, olive oil, salt, and cardamom. Spread
mixture on two rimmed baking sheets in an even layer and bake for 45 minutes,
stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown and well toasted.
2. Let
cool to room temperature and transfer granola to a large airtight jar.
3. Serve with fresh plain yogurt; Fresh fruit –
berries, sliced apples, oranges – all are nice; and milk.
Based on
a recipe courtesy of Melissa Clark as per Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
I don’t know
if you’ll be able to write better poetry if you make and eat this granola but I
know you’ll enjoy it and feel healthy and happy when you are gobbling it up. Maybe you can write a quick poem while you eat breakfast tomorrow. After all that might be more enjoyable than reading or watching the news.
