Love Letter to a Place You Love

Verselove is a community celebration of poetry in April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. You’re welcome to write a poem a day or to come and go as you need. Reading and leaving a brief note—a line you loved, an image that stayed, a feeling a poem stirred—is also a meaningful way to participate. This is a generous, low-pressure space. We’re glad you’re here.

Our Host: Susan Ahlbrand

Susan Ahlbrand is a recent retiree after teaching eighth-grade English language arts for 38 years.  In her newfound leisure, she has found a passion for pickleball, while continuing to read and write regularly.  She and her husband (a rabid Purdue fan shown in the picture) have been spending 31 years together and spend a lot of time traveling to visit their four kids scattered across the country.  She was blessed to turn 60 in December, and seeing her Hoosiers make history as the only undefeated football national champions (adding to the lore of being the only undefeated basketball national champions) was a great way to start 2026.

Inspiration 

Love Letter to a Place You Love

Matthew McConaughey’s book Greenlights is a gem of storytelling, of pieces of wisdom, of insight into people and places.  He’s so much more than a handsome actor with an incredible drawl.  

I was hit by one particular part of the book thinking it could make for a great #VerseLove writing inspiration.  It’s in the last section titled “Live Your Legacy Now” and it’s about the city of New Orleans where he spent time as a child and where a few of his key roles were filmed.  He writes about PLACE so very poetically.  And it made me think about writing about place.  A love letter to a place we love.

“Places are like people.  They each have a particular identity.  In all my travels around the globe, I’ve written in my journal about the culture of a place, its identity.  If a place and a people move me, I’ll write them a love letter.  New Orleans is one of those places”

Below is an image of the letter as it appears in the print version of the book.  I would highly suggest listening to the audio, however, which is linked below that.

CLICK HERE for a link of a video of him reading it to an audience.

Process

Brainstorm a list of places that have meant a lot to you or that intrigue you.  It can be some place expansive (the United States) or more limited (your bedroom)  Choose one and brainstorm some details, qualities, and traits that capture the culture, the vibe, of the place.  Craft a poem that is written TO the place, telling of its imprint on you.  It can take any form you would like, even a prose poem like Matthew’s.  If you are looking for something with more structure and challenge, might I suggest the villanelle, the most popular of which is highlighted in the McConaughey film Interstellar . . .  “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night.”  CLICK HERE for a link to a guide to create a villanelle.  As always, tweak the topic and form to whatever you feel like doing today.

Susan’s Poem

B-town

What an earthy yet arrogant
place you are.
You have it all,
and you know it.
You welcome diverse peoples,
but if someone doesn’t want you . . .
you could care less.
From the time I was 18,
you have had my heart.
You were a place of profound blossoming
a place of immense growth
a place of burdensome regret.

Still today at age 60,
when I pull into town,
my innards soften with acceptance
and nostalgia
yet pulse with excitement
and anticipation.
You are such a vibrant blend of
nature and culture
and education and
community.
Nestled in the hills
of south central Indiana,
you welcome
outdoorsy granola types,
as well as
vocal liberals
who contrast greatly with a
conservative business-minded sector.

A town of all seasons,
your falls are quintessential–replete with
trees full of leaves of autumn hues
pumpkins and hayrides and
hikes through the woods
on brisk days
Your winters dump a few big snows
making the trek around campus
and town tough but full of grandeur
as your bare trees glisten with
icicles.
Your springs offer a sometimes too-short
but magical transition to the last season.
The town seems to triple in population
as the hibernating folk emerge
to partake in the resplendent blossoms,
the lush greening of landscape,
and seemingly perpetual sunny days.
Your summers shift in many ways . . .
your population shrinks as
40,000 young adults journey back to
their homes across the country
and the sweltering heat reaches
oppressive temperatures
making in the AC or in the water
the only places to be.

The calendar turns turns turns
and back come
your college students
full of moxy
and spoiled by
East Coast fortunes.
The permanent residents adjust
to their ways, but here lately,
both groups must blend
with gray-haireds
who choose to retire
within your thriving cultural vibe
of music and art and fine dining.

A “public Ivy” in the hills,
you are home to IU,
THE state school
(though Purdue tries to claim in it shares
in that moniker) . . .
your towering limestone buildings
house business and music
and informatics and pre-med
and pre-law
programs,.
Your wooded campus,
with its own river running through it,
has numerous paths traversing
the 2000 acre sanctuary.

The Sample Gates
the Showalter Fountain
the Wells bench
Beck Chapel
and an imposing yet welcoming
student union
are structures many seek.
Dunn Meadow and the Arboretum
offer vast green space for lounging,
tossing a frisbee, or playing hacky sack.

You like to keep to yourself,
but occasionally, the national
spotlight highlights your
excellence for the rest of the world
to see.
The World’s Greatest College Weekend
with the Little Five bike race
later featured in the hit movie Breaking Away.
Rocker John Cougar Mellencamp
lives on your outskirts and praises you
in his anthems.
Here of late, the football team defied all odds
and went from worst to first
led by Fernando Mendoza,
who captured the hearts of America
with his naive Catholic choirboy sweetness
and his pitbull competitiveness.
You now reign as the only
NCAA team to be undefeated
national champs in both
basketball and football.

Your beauty
your culture
your vibe
your sports
your people
draw visitors
to you
over and
over and
over.

These days, I prefer to revel
in your beauty and fun
rather than recall
my four years
when I failed to immerse
myself in all you had to offer.

B-town,
you will forever
have my heart.

~Susan Ahlbrand

Your Turn

Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers.