We are in the supposed dog days of summer right now, but I’m thrilled to see how many of us are still howling our poetry each week here at dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night.

Hi, I’m Joe Hesch and I’m pulling drafts and tipping bottles for y’all tonight. I’m also a guy who has been on vacation for the past week. Seriously, today’s my first day back at my straight job.

You’ll notice I used the word “vacation” and not “holiday” as so many of my non-American friends do. As much of a fan as I am of you all, I’m an American dude with a VERY old birthday coming in a couple of days, which makes me the Poet version of an old dog. New tricks come hard to us eight and a half year old Irish Schnaubradors. Heck, I’m still in puppy class after four years at this poetry thing.

Now where was I going again? Oh yeah, vacation for poets. We don’t seem to take them, do we? We see a feather or a cloud, smell the ocean, hear a little kid riding her bike or a (God help me!) cricket match or baseball game in the park, and something inside us starts percolating ideas, images, words. We get that thousand-yard stare of what I call “inside attention.”

Some of us carry teeny notebooks and scratch down a phrase, a line or two. Or we write an image or title on a napkin, or, like my dear friend Beth, on our hand or arm. (Those shadormas must be murder).

We can’t help it. We’re writers, poets, creators. We each see things differently than everyone else in the world. Isn’t that just the best?

And, because we have decided to share our creations, we come here every week. And I mean every week! Brian has pointed out what a great summer of participation we’re having. A spectacular example of this were the 152 of us who linked up under the guiding hand of my brilliant colleague Joy Ann Jones last week. And that’s with no Happy Hour prices!

You all have been tremendously creative, productive and supportive artists this summer and deserve an equal amount of accolade and thanks for your efforts. Here, let me ring my Tip Bell for you!

So here we are tonight, on the day after the unofficial end of summer in the United States, Labor Day. (Sorry, friends. American holiday, so no “U” as in Labour.) We’re ready to share the fruits of our labor with each of the friends we’ve been seeing all summer long, as well as some new ones who have only recently discovered the Pub. Joy has left the place spotless and well-stocked with glassware again, so let’s have a post-Labor Day poetry party through the night. Here’s how we can lift the lid on this bash–

• Link the poem you’d like to share–old or new, on any topic, (1 per blog, please)– by clicking on the Mr.Linky button just below.
• This opens a new screen where you’ll enter your information, and where you also choose links to read.
• Once you have pasted your poem’s blog url and entered your name, simply click submit.
• Don’t forget to let your readers know where you’re linking up and encourage them to participate by including a link to dVerse in your blog post.
• Don’t forget to let your readers know where you’re linking up and encourage them to participate by including a link to dVerse in your blog post. (Something I too often forget to do, so this is a reminder for me, too.)
• Visit as many other poems as you like, commenting and liking as you see fit.
• Spread the word on the poems you enjoy if you’d like. Tweet and Pin and otherwise Share on the social media of your choice. (Sorry, old dog, remember? I’m sure I got something wrong there.)

Finally, enjoy! Remember, we are here for each other. Thanks to all of you for your brilliant attendance during this summer of poetry, and enjoy tonight’s Open Link party.

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