100 Poems to Bestill Your Young Heart is an exuberant collection poetry by Portland writer Kenneth Woods. Woods -- who is still in high school himself -- writes with the passion and pathos of every teenager with a wild heart and alert perception.
Some of the poems are funny, others are tender, a few overwrought, and all demonstrate an honest willingness to expose and examine the life of an American teen. It is a collection that would appeal to Woods's contemporaries, but has plenty to offer older generations.
One of my particular favorites is a short poem called "Can't Put My Finger On It" because I love the idea of "clarity of mind" coming together with "clarity of time":
Why do all my good ideas
Come to me
When I don't have
Anything to write
Them down with?
Why can I never
Have the clarity of mind
When I have the clarity
Of time
And space and
All other things that
Allow me to put them to
Any good use?
NOTES
April is National Poetry Month, so a great time to support young poets. 100 Poems to Bestill Your Young Heart is available on amazon, in paperback or kindle. It would make a great graduation gift, especially for creative types.
