National Poetry Month

National Poetry Month begins today. You may receive a poem a day from the Academy of American Poets if you register to do so.

If you live in a decent-sized city, you will also have the opportunity to attend more readings and slams than usual. If you prefer to read poems on the Worldwide Web, there are many excellent electronic literary magazines that publish poetry (Lily, Wicked Alice, The Pedestal, Moondance, New Works Review, flashquake, New Verse News, The Barefoot Muse, Umbrella, and many, many others), and you can also check out Verse Daily, Poetry Daily and Poetry Super Highway, where there are new poems every week. And don't forget Poets Against War.

To start your National Poetry Month reading, here is a sestina I wrote, excerpted from the September, 2006 issue of Mobius.