Sunday, June 7, 2015

Meet PAT JOHNSON-President of Word Weavers


Just loving words won’t make you an award-winning poet, but attending WordWeavers just might. Our group located in Utah Valley-South (around Provo) has a long and proud legacy of award winning poets over many years—and is still going strong.  It’s not all about the competition or publishing poetry books, however.  We also really like each other; we like to help each other; we like being helped; we like new voices.  Meeting the third Wednesday of every month at 7 PM, WordWeavers is in need of new members due to the outright thefts of Cindy Bechtold to the new Write On chapter in Utah Valley-North, a few snowbirds, and fancy people doing exotic things like writing books and running for office.

WordWeavers is a guilty pleasure and a welcome respite once a month.  I have been a member for a few years now, and when I take inventory of the poems I've written and read, they are a rich trove indeed.   I wish I had been writing poems since kindergarten, but, no, I'm still a beginner.  After teaching in the Alpine School District for 20 years, I retired in 2006 complete with a wide-brimmed straw hat for sitting on the porch reading and writing.  Predictably, retirement didn't flesh out quite like that, but I find satisfaction in writing a poem now and then. Lots of experience helping high schoolers become writers and submitters to the literary magazine, led me to joining Wordweavers.  Find a link to this group on utahpoets.com.

beyond happy valley by Pat Johnson 
yesterday, I chased the dark gray cloud,
raced through its warning storm,
escaped limits of propriety
to meet Bryan and drink coffee
his thoughts wove deep
and frank and free
unlike the child he used to be
and for a time a lingering light
followed even me 
today, I hurried out of town
free, to write with friends,
but Pigpen saves my cloud for me
at home, we'll link again

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