Tag: poetry

Poems

The Conqueror

ROMPoetry

fearAnd I ran for miles
I ran through blackened fields hissing
Below my scarred feet, through dirt roads
Sidelined by progress and the advent
Of the telephone and the cultivated rose
And I ran for being here

We remember
In our bones if not in our behavior,
The struggle inside the web,
The thorn of the hackberry
And the stronger man’s grasp,
Made strong by words
And not by muscle

And I swam too far
I swam out through the river
Til time could not reach me
And the gnats circling
Above the rotting branches
Punctuating every stroke
Finally abandoned me

We remember
Each life blossoming in the new,
The courageous choked in the bully,
The weak reborn in a singer’s lullaby
To the world ever-changing
And never-changing and waiting
To surrender
Its
Hold
On
Fear

–Shaun Perkins

Events

Stories around the Campfire

ROMPoetry

DSC04730Tonight is ROMP Tellabration! For those of you who don’t know, Tellabration is a celebration of storytelling that usually occurs the Saturday before Thanksgiving–it is an international event where people from all over the place plan local storytelling events.

The museum’s Tellabration will include a visit to the museum, of course, but also stories around a wonderful warm fire, thanks to Ken, the Fire Master (level 2). We will also have smores and hot chocolate. So, even though it’s going to be COLDDDDDDD, the fire will be hot and the stories will be even hotter. Also, the museum is heated by a cast-iron wood stove.

We will have a few rounds of poker poetry inside and play some other word/poetry games (don’t be scared–you don’t have to be a poet!).

There will be an inappropriate and hilarious funeral story, a psychic story, perhaps a frog or outlaw story, (or a frog outlaw), a story told with a drum, and much more, including the story you bring.

We are easy to find, 2 miles west of Locust Grove on Rd. 560, then 1/2 mile north on Rd. 438 to Perkins Rd. Follow Perkins Rd. until it curves to the right and over a little hill, and there we are.

It all starts at 5:00 at the museum, and storytelling around 6:00. It’s appropriate for all ages and free, though donations are accepted. ROMP is a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

If you need more information or directions, call Shaun, 918-864-9152.

Events

ROMP Tellabration

ROMPoetry

museumnightTellabration is an international celebration of storytelling with events happening in November the weeks and weekends before Thanksgiving. The Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry will host a Tellabration which will include stories and poems and story-poems. Visit the museum and the ROMP Shop, have some cocoa, and then enjoy the stories around the campfire–while also making some delicious smores.

Saturday, November 15

5:00-8:00 p.m.

Click on VISIT US for directions if you have never been here.

Call 918-864-9152 for more details.

If you are coming from out of town and are interested in staying the night, the Poet’s Retreat is currently available. Book it now!

Bring a story to tell or simply sit back and listen to them.

Musings

This World is Open

ROMPoetry

worldisopenWe have these stories about the perfect place. That first Biblical story of the land of love and fruit created in the image of the fruit-maker, the lover of all things sensory, all things finite and mortal. Potential blossomed on the vines trailing across the garden paths.

Paradise in the stories where people go to find the lost world of hope and opportunity, where the streets glisten with welcome and the seasons adopt the human to nurture through change. Continue reading “This World is Open” →

Musings

Poem Town

ROMPoetry

national-poetry-month-520x271I just submitted a grant application for a project I’ve been thinking about . . . maybe all my life. Poem Town. There’s some inspiration there from Edgar Lee Masters who created Spoon River Anthology, a collection of poems from former residents of Spoon River talking from the grave. When I taught high school, we always created a town and emulated Spoon River by collaborating on a cast of characters and then writing poems to go with each one. Imagining a town and its inhabitants and the stories that intertwine and create the community is an exciting, inspiring act. Continue reading “Poem Town” →

Events

Dark & Scary

ROMPoetry

FIREIt’s almost here! Dark and Scary at the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry. We will check out the museum, have cookies and cocoa, and tell scary stories around the campfire when it gets dark.

DARK & SCARY
Oct. 25, Saturday
6-9 p.m.
Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry
Locust Grove

Bring a favorite scary poem to read. If you entered the Scary Poem Contest—come prepared to share your poem and take home a prize! FREE. FREE. FREE.

Beware the Sasquatch, the coyote, and . . . other scary things in the dark…..Let’s entertain them with poetry.

ROMP is easy to find. Click the Visit Us page. To Google the address or put it in your GPS, just type in Perkins Rd, Locust Grove, and you will find us. Call if you need help. 918-864-9152.