The forecast calls for broken clouds

Sunday came with broken clouds...yeah. It sounds like the beginning of a poem and were I someone capable of poetry I might have been able to turn that into something free verse and beautiful, but alas...I lack the skill. The term broken clouds actually came from my local paper today - it was a forecast I had never heard and I thought - man if I could write poetry - that would be my opening line. However, all I can give you is the opening line. I think at some point we all sit and write poetry - at least most of the girls I know have attempted it. Personally I love poetry, its actually one of my favorite things about singing...impressive is opera, and an aria can break your heart, but when you sing poetry, you are breathing and singing life into a soul. It is a privilege and an honor to do so and to do it well is one of the most gratifying things I can think of. I was watching CBS Sunday morning today and there was a poetry recitation competition among high school students. There were fifty competitors - one from each state - and they recited poems they had learned. It was so touching to see these teens not just memorize and recite a poem, but to embody that poem and bring the words to life. I remember as a young eighth grader having to memorize and recite a poem; probably what most eighth graders learned - Robert Frosts' "Two Roads Diverged..." I think for me, that is where it all started. Give me sonnets of Shakespeare, the verse of Swinburne, the beautiful and bewitching words of Burns...don't marry yourself to the rhyme of poetry, but rather the rhythm of its voice, the beauty of its secrets and the song that lies hidden within.