March on the internet finally wore me down: I deleted the Facebook app. After learning how many poets in my community had ditched the platform years ago, I was a little embarrassed that I still had it. Even without social media (or certain forms of social media), the internet itself persists and with it, our curiosity. Here’s a look at what’s on our collective minds this month, per Google Trends.
1. Tracy Morgan
Seeing Tracy Morgan on the trending list worried me: I remember his terrible limo accident from 2014. Is Tracy okay? Well, yes and no. Apparently he got sick while courtside at a Knicks game, creating an unpleasant delay.
Sickness is traditionally poetic. It is vivid and sensory, all-consuming, emotional, and something universally experienced. I immediately recall a clever line from Vladimir Mayakovsky’s “The Backbone Flute:”
“This is, perhaps, the very last love in the world to dawn like a consumptive's flush.”
Mayakovsky was prone to satirizing grandiose poetic metaphor, especially in love poems.
Today I read another memorable poem about sickness: “Duplex for the Sick & Tired” by Kay Ulanday Barrett. It hits.
2. St. Patrick’s Day
My great grandparents arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in June 1905, leaving their birthplace and home in Leitrim, Ireland. Of course I was going to choose St. Patrick’s Day from the trends list.
Yeats is the obvious choice, and who doesn’t fantasize about living alone in a bee-loud glade? But, instead, I’d like to share a poem by Irish poet Derek Mahon, who passed away in 2020.
3. Astronauts Return
This month, two NASA astronauts returned after a nine-month stay on the International Space Station. Theirs was meant to be a much shorter mission, but global politics interfered.
Like sickness, space is a common topic of poetry. It is mysterious, beautiful, and maybe the place where our souls were forged. We’re stardust, right?
I love a space poem; I had a list of them already pinned for a project, so I was ready for this. Here’s a great one called “Listening in Deep Space” by Diane Thiel.
4. Angst
Angst is a trending topic: is this the adolescence of the internet? I thought it might’ve been because the word showed up in an NYT Connections puzzle, but most of the angsty headlines I found were political: “Angst pervades a pair of Republican town halls — one in Trump country, the other in a swing state.” — AP News
Dictionary.com defines angst as, “a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish.” Yes, I’d say that’s definitely trending right now.
Back to Yeats, I think “The Second Coming” is a pretty solid angst poem, but let’s look for something more recent. Here’s one to call out and soothe our collective angst, written by Chungmi Kim.
5. Temptation Island
Without looking, I know this is a TV show. I’ve never seen it. When I google, it’s not immediately obvious to me why this topic is trending: there are behind the scenes stories and “burning questions” answered. Finally, one headline lets me know that the show just returned to Netflix.
Well, here’s another opportunity to read a poem by Airea D. Matthews, featured in last month’s roundup as well. If you’re in the market for poetry that’s relatable—the kind of stuff we’re all searching for— you may want to grab one of Airea’s collections.
That’s it for March, and now it’s finally spring. Are we reborn yet?
Written by Allisonn Church
Allisonn Church was born in a small rural community to a mother who pinned butterflies in glass cases and hid scarab beetles in her jewelry box. Her first favorite poem was “The Willow Fairy”’ by Cicely Mary Barker. Find a list of Allisonn's published work at churchpoems.wordpress.com.