My second One Clover & A Bee column at Hilltown Families is up: Poems to (Possibly) Sleep On, in which I argue for reading poetry aloud as a way to put your kids to sleep.
No, not because poetry is BORING, but because a) not everybody loves to hear themselves sing, and b) it means the grown-up in charge gets to read something that feeds them, too, in the deep, dark of night when all we want is for our children (please!) to become temporarily unconscious.
I suggest a poem by Rilke, which I discovered in Morning Song, and really love. But I’ll be adding more suggestions to the playlist in next month’s column. Come check it out. Hey, it’s Rilke—AKA “You Must Change Your Life”—how bad could it be?
Amy Dryansky 
I like this poem, the rilke one, but it would sooo scare Susan. Actually, it kinda scared me.
really? I’m curious? in what way? I want to know!!!
poetry as bedtime ritual was always a favorite at our house when the children were small… i would sit in the hall between the two bedrooms and read poetry by many different poets… the content didn’t matter… it was the cadence… the sound of a loved ones voice… thank you for reminding me of those forgotten magical moments!
that makes so much sense to me, especially considering how your son now writes songs with such strong rhythms. you did good, mama!
Thanks, Yea…Pokey Mama