Twitter Poetry

Valerie, whose birthday is today, inspired me. My brilliant and creative stepdaughter asked about Twitter, and it made me think: how about poetry on Twitter? The medium is ripe for it.

For those of you who haven't been completely overwhelmed by Technology, Twitter is a new service that allows users to send brief messages, called tweets. These tweets are limited to 140 characters, including spaces.

Writer Tom Watson, who has pondered this idea, illustrates that sometimes the poetry isn't intended. Sometimes it just is, like his friend Steve Bowbrick's tweet about driving to see his mother in Ireland:

Driving down to West Cork used to be a quiet pleasure.
Now it's a melancholy chore.
Still, the sky is absolutely full of stars.

Now, that is poetry.

If you haven't already done so, sign up for Twitter, which is free, and start following me (cfcohen).

Now, get to the fun work: write a short poem, as many lines as you want, but using no more than 140 characters (including spaces and symbols). Drop me a line and let me know, and I'll be sure to start following you — and enjoying your poetry.

Don't be discouraged and think you have nothing to say. I know the Internet is full of people showing us they really don't have anything to say, but this is different. Even the act of putting a frozen pizza in the oven is ripe for poetry. Watching the leaves blow about the parking lot? Poetry! (Well, it can be.)

So, go tweet me! I can't wait to see what you have to share.

And now, if you'll indulge me, this is a tweet for Valerie. Happy birthday, Val!

Though far away, she
is with me every
day

Her words —
a tweet,
a message, a call —
make me smile

I thank the Web, her
father, but
mostly,
always,
her