MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

And now the latest in our series, Muses and Metaphor. Today is Shakespeare's birthday and we decided to celebrate National Poetry Month by hearing your poems that you've been sending us via Twitter.

Today's poem comes from Randi Ward of Ithaca, New York. After living abroad for several years, Randi says she's now trying to think about and come to peace about where and how she grew up in Belleville, West Virginia. And she's been playing with the images that come to her mind. One of the images in this poem is mother's hair, which she tells us is actually a colloquial term for corn silk. She says she remembers shucking corn as a child and piling it at the edge of her grandfather's garden. So now here is her tweet.

RANDI WARD: My mother's hair, tangles of torn stigmas, withering at the edge of the garden.

MARTIN: Now, we know that goes by quickly, so let's hear that one more time.

WARD: My mother's hair, tangles of torn stigmas, withering at the edge of the garden.

MARTIN: That's a poetic tweet by Randi Ward. We'd also love to hear from you as we continue to celebrate National Poetry Month. There's only one week left in April, but there's still time to tweet us your original poetry fewer than 140 characters. Remember to use the hash tag #TMMPoetry. If your poem is chosen, we'll help you record it for us and we will air it in the program this month. You can learn more at the TELL ME MORE website. Go to NPR.org/TellMeMore.

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MARTIN: Coming up, most parents of young children are now working outside the home in the U.S., but in some cities, daycare now costs more than rent and, even if you have the money, a spot in a good one can be tough to find. We'll talk with our panel of parents about this, which includes a writer who says that American daycare is hell. That's ahead on TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.