April is National Poetry Month, sponsored by the Academy of American Poets. April 30, tomorrow, is Poem in Your Pocket Day. The goal is to make poetry part of your day by choosing a poem to share with others.

Not sure which poem to share? The Academy of American Poets has lots of resources including a printable PDF with several poems and a very fun zine that features “Pockets,” a poem by 12-grader Rowan Yordy. You can also print a blank template to make your own poetry zine.

As regular readers of the blog may be aware, my favorite poet is Wendell Berry. His meditations on living simply in a complex world resonate with me. Ten years ago, I celebrated National Poetry Month by sharing a few April poems along with one of my favorite Berry poems, “The Peace of Wild Things”.

For this year, I am feeling less peaceful and more reactionary. Thank goodness, there is a Wendell Berry poem for that. In fact, there is a full anthology called The Mad Farmer Poems.

You can listen to Berry reading “The Contrariness of the Mad Farmer”. My favorite of the collection is “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front”. You can read the full poem at the link. Here is a taste of Berry’s ire at the world that is surprisingly contemporary:

So, friends, every day do something
    that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
    Love the world. Work for nothing.
    Take all that you have and be poor.
    Love someone who does not deserve it.
    Denounce the government and embrace
    the flag. Hope to live in that free
    republic for which it stands.
    Give your approval to all you cannot
    understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
    has not encountered he has not destroyed.

I wasn’t able to find audio of Berry reading the poem, but I did fine this fabulous jazz performance that included a reading of his poem. Enjoy: