I Do Not Know Which Days I Am Celebrating

April 29, 2024 / Katherine Gotthardt / Comments Off on I Do Not Know Which Days I Am Celebrating

Another one from a Poetry Super Highway National Poetry Month free-writing prompt 


It was Trapper Keepers
and binders, the smell 
of vinyl, paper, and chalk, 
how the window sounded
cracked open, because 
September can still be 
warm. And whenever I
heard that sound (it must 
have been birdsong and the  
distant threading of buses)
that was the school sound.
The exciting sound. The

sound of surprise and yet
stability, where my mother
taught children to read. And 
when I sensed the change
to fresher and cooler days
tempered with hints of summer, 
I thought of being littler, 
the way I would put my head  
on my mother’s lap, syncing 
my breath to hers. Inhaling  
the same air as someone 
I loved. And I wish sometimes 

I could do that again, sink 
back into the pounding heart
of my mother, of the planet,
reconnect (they are one) 
with all she has to teach me—
because I do think she is 
teaching me something right 
now. That I have a poem 
somewhere in this piece, 
and school and my mother

and this good earth had something 
very much in common. They were 
grounded. They were safe. And they 
were full of spirits we all wish we
could have back again: something 
loving, learning, and softer. 
Something we can hold on tight to.

Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt, copyright April 29, 2024, all rights reserved
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Katherine Gotthardt

Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt, M.Ed., writing concentration, hails from Virginia. She considers herself a writer by nature and by trade, having begun writing for fun as soon as her mother helped teach her to read. An active part of the literary community, Katherine was a past-president and a founding member of Write by the Rails (WbtR), the Prince William Chapter of the Virginia Writers Club. Katherine has been a Prince William County Poet Laureate nominee and was the winner of Inside Nova’s 2019 and 2020 Best of Prince William award in the category of author. Her poetry and prose book Get Happy, Dammit: Staying Inspired and Motivated in an Often-Unhappy World received a Silver Award from the Nonfiction Authors Association. Katherine's children’s book, A Crane Named Steve, hit number one in its category on Amazon in 2019. Katherine then took first place in the free verse category of Loudoun County Library Foundation’s 2020 Rhyme On poetry contest for her piece "Discussion Topic." The Prince William Arts Council and Poet Laureate Circle awarded her the 2020 Outstanding Poetry Project Award for her leadership in Write by the Rails' Poems Around Town poetry installation. In 2021 Katherine earned second place for "Aftermath" in a Poetry Society of Virginia national contest and the regional Seefeldt Award for Arts Excellence in the category of Individual Artist. She won first place in the Virginia Writers Club statewide Golden Nib contest in the poetry category for her poem "Kayak." Katherine was recognized as a PW Perspective 2021 DMV Best Business award winner in the category of author. In April 2023, Katherine’s poem “Now Entering Manassas” was the winner of Manassas, Virginia's adult “time capsule” poetry contest. Katherine read her poem at the 150th anniversary celebration, the translated version by Jorge de Villasante was read in Spanish by Bianca Menendez, her poem was published in Neighbors of Historic Manassas magazine, and it was included in the city’s time capsule. While Katherine is well-known for her poetry, she also has established a solid reputation for writing articles, columns and short fiction. She is published in dozens of journals and anthologies and has authored 12 books: Poems from the Battlefield, Furbily-Furld Takes on the World, Approaching Felonias Park, Weaker Than Water, Bury Me Under a Lilac, Late April, A Crane Named Steve, Get Happy, Dammit, D.C. Ekphrastic: Crisis of Faith, Thirty Years of Cardinals Calling, Get Happier, Dammit and We All Might Be Witches. She uses proceeds from her books to support giving back initiatives.

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