I’m participating in Teachers Write! this summer, so I’ve been thinking about writing a lot this week. (If you haven’t heard about this fabulous online summer writing camp for teachers and librarians, you can learn more on Kate Messner’s blog.) With all these thoughts whirling around in my head, it seems appropriate today to share a poem that speaks to the writer in all of us.
“The Cities Inside Us”
by Alberto Rios
We live in secret cities
And we traveled unmapped roads.
We speak words between us that we recognize
But which cannot be looked up.
They are our words.
They come from very far inside our mouths.
You and I, we are the secret citizens of the city
Inside us…
Read the rest of the poem here.
Be sure to visit Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s Poem Farm for today’s poetry round up.
Reading to the Core 
What a perfect poem for everyone participating in Teachers Write! and for everyone tries to understand this mystery of writing! Thank you for sharing this new-to-me-gem.
“We each take a piece/Through the eye and through the ear.”
Indeed.
Happy PF!
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Happy writing with Teachers Write! I love the poem, and it reminds me of a favorite Li-Young Lee poem: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-city-in-which-i-loved-you/ Thank you for sharing.
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Yes, perfect poem for writers of all stripes. Thanks for introducing me to Rios’ work! Have fun with Teachers Write! this summer :).
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It’s been such a learning experience at Teachers Write! And, as everyone has already said, this is a perfect poem for that endeavor – we’re all taking in each others’ work and making something new of our own, right?
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I haven’t contributed yet to Teachers Write, but hope to! This is a beautiful poem, a different look at the words inside us, isn’t it? I like “we are the secret citizens of the city inside us”. Interesting to consider, isn’t it?
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Here’s to those “words between us.” Thanks for this!
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“We live in secret cities
And we traveled unmapped roads”
Yet those taking the time to record the journey offer us a glimpse into cities we may never visit, but roads that might help us find our way.
I’m off to read the rest of the poem. Enjoy your writing journey.
Cathy
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A tribute to the writer within. Teachers Write challenges and encourages these unmapped roads. I am happy to be a small piece of this community of writers.
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I’m signed up for Teachers Write, but keeping a bit to myself with it this year. I’m back to the poem-a-day habit, and glad for the challenge. You picked the perfect poem for all of us writers (whether at camp or not)!
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I hope you decide to share some of your poems, Mary Lee. You are poems are amazing and I’m always in awe of your work!
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