Welcome, one and all to our thirty-third Open Link night. Yes, it’s that time again, the night of the week when you can share a poem old or new on any topic with the crowd here at the pub, relax and enjoy the poetic décor.  Joy Ann Jones (hedgewitch) here, ready to leap into action and start the party rolling.

I don’t want to leap ahead of myself, but I figured the way people are leapfrogging all over each other to get in the doors lately gave me an excuse to write about the fact that this is Leap Year. (Surprised ya, huh. Or maybe that’s not such a leap.)  Normally, as we all know, today the 28^th of February would be the last day of the month, but this year, we get an extra one. Trivia: Those born on February 29th are called leaplings, or leapers, and right now I’m thinking it would be great if I could only count every fourth year in my age.

The purpose of all this leaping is somewhat abstruse when expressed mathematically, but it basically means we are making an adjustment in the way we look at time so that we can keep events in a continuum that is all sorted out and working consistently, ie, so April is in Spring, and Christmas is in December.

In many ways, I think making a structural leap like this is akin to what we sometimes do when we write creatively—we tinker around and insert an element that isn’t normally there, and suddenly find we are closer to where we want to go. We stop drifting and things fall as they are meant. Without the irregular, the break in the routine which refreshes the whole, we lose track of everything but form, and form alone, whether in calenders or the written word, is not enough.

So for those times when things feel as if they are drifting away on you, don’t be afraid to throw in a little adjustment, a sideways squint that alters your vision, and take that leap of the imagination that makes everything make poetic sense.  Thanks everyone, for taking the leap of faith to share your work here with us tonight. I’ll leave you with a  short quote on another aspect of leaping from American author Henry Miller:

 All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without benefit of experience.

If you are new to the pub and want to look before leaping, here’s the drill:

• Post a poem on any topic to your blog,
• Link in the poem you’d like to share (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.
• Visit as many other poems as you like, commenting  as you see fit.
• Remember, we’re here for each other. Engage your fellow poets, talk, chat, comment, let them know their work is being read, and enjoy the input you also will receive. Feel free to tweet and share on the social media of your choice.
• Finally, enjoy–and have fun leaping into the fray.