Saturday, April 29, saw the conclusion of the Tioga Arts Council’s National Poetry Workshop Series celebrating the relevance that poetry has in our culture today. <\/p>\n
Participants crafted lyrical, moving written pieces addressing personal experiences of a wide variety. With both Memorial Day and Mother’s Day approaching, poems of deep personal connections to other human beings were composed and read aloud. <\/p>\n
Few things in life are more powerful than the relationships humans have with one another, our deepest memories and emotions link us inescapably with past interpersonal exchanges from the moment of birth until our last drawn breath. <\/p>\n
We are a species that is capable of challenging, exciting, frustrating, harming, motivating, cherishing, enraging, nurturing and destroying one another. <\/p>\n
We are complex, mercurial beings who have the potential to create both amazingly beautiful and fearful things. <\/p>\n
Rhianna Poe of the Town of Owego, N.Y. focused her energy on the complicated, exquisitely nostalgic relationship of mother and child. An intimate association that is possibly the most indelible bond we have in our lifetime, a connection that significantly informs our learned reaction to others and our overriding worldview. It is a link that is undeniable and ever changing. <\/p>\n
~<\/p>\n
By Rhianna Poe<\/p>\n
I carry inside of me pieces of my mother<\/p>\n
For at one time I was a piece inside her<\/p>\n
I carry pieces of my older sister, of my grandmothers before her and my great-grandmothers before them, because we all share pieces of each other<\/p>\n
I carry pieces of every woman that has come before me and I already carry pieces of the daughters I may or may not have someday<\/p>\n
I carry pieces of every woman, every where, for myself, I am woman<\/p>\n
I carry pieces for the women who need a hand, the women who need a shoulder, the women who can no longer carry pieces, but may again one day<\/p>\n
I hold pieces of every woman in the existence of this world, for because of them, I am woman.<\/p>\n
~<\/p>\n
By Rhianna Poe<\/p>\n
I\u2019m carrying a load of laundry up the stairs<\/p>\n
\u2018hey mom, want to go get groceries?\u2019<\/p>\n
no, she says<\/p>\n
I\u2019m tired<\/p>\n
She\u2019s tired a lot<\/p>\n
Napping<\/p>\n
Not walking much<\/p>\n
It\u2019s only been a few weeks<\/p>\n
But the change happened overnight<\/p>\n
My hero<\/p>\n
Met her kryptonite<\/p>\n
The strong<\/p>\n
Resilient <\/p>\n
Powerful<\/p>\n
Woman<\/p>\n
Is tired<\/p>\n
And napping<\/p>\n
Sleeping days away<\/p>\n
The physical pain she feels<\/p>\n
So apparent in her small<\/p>\n
Calculated movements<\/p>\n
Almost a shell of who she was<\/p>\n
Who I looked up to<\/p>\n
The woman who raised me<\/p>\n
Carried me<\/p>\n
For 9 months<\/p>\n
Then 20 years more<\/p>\n
Now I carry her burdens<\/p>\n
And her laundry.<\/p>\n
The Tioga Arts Council is located at 179 Front St. in Owego, N.Y. You may visit the council’s Facebook page to view upcoming events, stop in and visit to view a rotating monthly art instillation featuring area talent, or call the office for more information at 687-0785. <\/p>\n
The Tioga Arts Council would like to thank Dante Di Stefano for sharing his craft and knowledge of poetry writing with our community. The council is considering another writing workshop series in August. People interested in this type of program are encouraged to contact the council for more details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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