This weekend, a friend of ours from Spokane, Washington was in town. He's also a poet, so he, Heidi, and another friend of ours held a reading at a local bookstore.
A nice crowd came, including a very cuddly little dog. A poem isn't a poem until it's read out loud; hearing Heidi's work -- and our friends' work -- was a great start to the weekend. When Heidi performs her poems, they become more alive than just words on a page, and when the poem really works, the crowd and Heidi both share in a moment of loving language.
Of course we don't know if our child is going to like poetry, or if our child will like movies, or hockey, or stamp collecting, but we know they'll follow hobbies, sports or arts. What's most important, we think, is that our child will find something that moves them, something they care about, something that challenges them, and something they can share with others.
