And the third goal this year was:
3. Memorize 6 poems.
Technically, I only have 4.5 memorized, as I’m still working on getting the middle of “Starlings in Winter” down and never found one I liked to replace the Neruda for September/October. But I’m still proud of the success–I’ve always had a hard time memorizing anything well, but this was easier than I thought it would be.
I have yet to recite them to anyone else (but just ask! you know I’m dying to be asked); instead, I say them to myself when I hike, or when I can’t sleep. There’s such a shift from reading them off a page–even aloud–to having the words come from your own brain. I may have to memorize more favorites.