Poetry and Planning

April is National Poetry Month, and I had hoped to be all planned and organized for all the cool things I would do to celebrate this month. So far, that hasn't happened. Three days into April and I have yet to produce a blog post worthy of the occasion.

But wait. Me? Planned and organized? This really is a laugh when I think about it. Here is how planning and organizing usually works out for me:

• I'll plan to write out a thoughtful, detailed grocery list. But half the time I leave my half-written list on the refrigerator when I head out the door.
• I'll say that I'm going to plan meals week by week, but I usually end up having to thaw something in the microwave after work or make pancakes and bacon on the busy nights.
• I spend the day organizing my desk or linen closet or pantry and tell myself, "Now it will be easy to keep it neat." Guess how that works out.
• When I finally get the end of the dining room table clear of papers, it only takes 24 hours or less before the pile grows again.
• I once told my hubby he'd never have to search for clean socks in the morning. But how many times has he woken me up to say, "Beck, did you wash any socks?" (oops)

This isn't always a bad thing. The novels I have written from start to finish have not been planned. My favorite picture book manuscripts were written without really knowing where they were going when I started out. My best poems have been those that have come to me when I least expected them. The best blog posts, best meals, best moments have mostly been the result of little or no planning ahead or organization.

So, forget about me planning anything for Poetry Month. I'm sure whatever I come up with will be better for having NOT been planned.