Poetry Friday - A Poetic Invitation

 

It's Poetry Friday - Goodbye 2022

   Poetry Friday is with Patricia Franz HERE on her website, Reverie. In it, today, she offers a poem that shows the many ways we are blessed. Thanks for hosting, Patricia!

               First, I am excited to share that Editor Bridget Magee's anthology, Two Truths and A Fib will be available on 1.1.23. I have yet to see it, but it is available for pre-order wherever you purchase your books! You can watch the trailer HERE! I am proud to have some poems in this book along with others whose names you will recognize. And, I want to thank Bridget for the idea, the opportunity, and for all the work in the production! Congratulations to Bridget and all the poets!

               It's time to ponder the new year, as Rilke wrote, "full of things that have never been". I've wondered what to share and this week, keep returning to Robert Frost, a longtime favorite because of his love for nature. If you ever see my posts on social media, you know I often use the hashtag, #getoutside. This poem feels like an invitation to us. Wishing you a Happy New Year full of love, happiness, and the beauty outside.

The Pasture

                   Robert Frost

I'm going out to clean the pasture spring; 

I'll only stop to rake the leaves away 

(And wait to watch the water clear, I may): 

I sha'n't be gone long.—You come too. 

I'm going out to fetch the little calf 

That's standing by the mother. It's so young, 

It totters when she licks it with her tongue. 

I sha'n't be gone long.—You come too. 

It's Poetry Friday - A Light Celebration

   Poetry Friday is with Irene Latham HERE on her website, Live Your Poem. She's sharing all kinds of gifts for us this next to last Poetry Friday of 2022. Thanks for hosting, Irene!

    I took this picture Wednesday morning as the sun rose and I welcomed the sun. Now, this Thursday, after the shortest day , then longest night, the winter solstice, it is below zero and light has come, but the sun hides out. I don't blame it, do you?

       At the school where I taught, we tried hard to be inclusive of all the celebrations our students celebrated with their families, often occurring this time of year. We named it our "Celebrations of Light" where each class created a response to share. On one special day near the holiday break, all the students walked through each classroom, reading what was shared, looking at the art, learning of new ways that people throughout history, and during their lives today, celebrate light. Here is an old song that was our theme the final year I taught. Each of my students found various ways people celebrated, wrote prose or poem pieces, and built small homes where we placed lights in order to have the windows shining. I wish I had some of those pieces to share but I only have the song and one picture. Happy Solstice to you all. Wishing you a special celebration of light in your own homes here at the end of 2022 or whenever it occurs.

This time of the year is spent in good cheer, 

And neighbors together do meet 

To sit by the fire, with friendly desire, 

Each other in love to greet; 

Old grudges forgot are put in the pot, 

All sorrows aside they lay; 

The old and the young doth carol this song 

To drive the cold winter away. 

~Traditional Carol

          That final line seems quite apt this week, does it not? Keep cozy!

Poetry Friday - Action Packed!

  

        Poetry Friday is with Michelle Kogan HERE on her website, More Art 4 All. This time, along with a poem and painting that shows her love for nature, she shares from a New York Times article that tells of artists all over the world whose countries are at war, like Ukraine. It's both inspiring to read how they are combating their war-torn homes and heartbreaking to realize that it is happening. Thanks for hosting, Michelle!

         I'll be in Lexington, Kentucky next week for my grandson Carter's graduation from the University of Kentucky. The poem is for him, from the joys of watching him grow.

         I'm reminded of the song "Turn Around" by Harry Belafonte. Because he is singing to a girl, I'm changing a word toward the end of the first verse. You can listen to it here!

Where are you going my little one? Little one
Where are you going, my baby, my own?
Turn around and you're two, turn around and you're four
Turn around and you're a young "boy" going out of the door

Turn Around 

 

From babyhood coo-cooing to crawling and exploring,

To walking and conversing, then running and ignoring

those calls of “Hey, be careful”, and you kept right on going!

To baseball and then Scouting, on to musically marching.

 

In spite of the pandemic, stepping slow, slow, and slow,

Your game became Monopoly, passing Go, then Go!  

Along with your friending, your working and the play,

You raced and you rocketed to clock into this day.

 

It’s time to slow your breathing and have a bit of fun.

You’re zooming to the finish, 

Now celebrating, shouting: 

“I’m done!”

 

Linda Baie ©

Monday Reading - Sharing New and Older Books

       Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they and others have been reading! Your TBR lists will grow! 

     I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving wherever you celebrated. I did travel to be with my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson, with little time to read. There was a lot of visiting and eating! In a little more than a week, I'll be seeing them again because my grandson, Carter, is graduating from the University of Kentucky, a semester early! Is December busy? Absolutely. I have yet to do anything about Christmas. But I have read some great books over the recent weeks! Take a peek!

         I shared this book last week on Poetry Friday! It will be a gift just right for someone you love. The link is here!

       Thanks to Kathryn Erskine for my copy of this special book, set during the Civil Rights era, the story of Red Porter, a middle-school-aged boy who struggles through grief after the recent death of his father, the questions of why certain families seem to hate his family, and why he can no longer be a friend to an African-American boy with whom he played and played in their earlier days. Red's attempts to make things right, to stay in their home when his mother is determined to move, to help friends is shown so beautifully through Kathryn Erskine's text of Red's thoughts. He knows from his Dad that running away from things is not the way to be. Though it's so hard to face the truth, Red, young as he is, takes it all on, even becoming a super older brother to his younger brother, J, a real pain, until he isn't! So many characters play a part, good and bad, in Red's growing up, including a thoughtful teacher and a family friend who helped run their convenience store. It's a beautiful story! 

        Come along down memory lane with Charles Dickens where Nick Manning and Brita Granstrom start at his beginnings, all the way to his passing, offering his own words, then further explanations in comic-style boxes. I haven't read every piece or book he wrote, but many are featured with the connections that make the stories even more precious. It's a lovely, brief collection that can serve as an introduction to this most well-known writer all over the world. The endpapers show a map of special places in Dickens' life and novels and there's backmatter with additional sources, a glossary of terms people may not know, like "blacking" which is boot polish, a list of his works, and more!

Poetry Friday - The Warmth of Poetry

 

        Poetry Friday is with Catherine Flynn HERE at her website, https://readingtothecore.com/ with the answer you will love!  Thanks for hosting, Catherine!

         I enjoy celebrating winter in numerous ways, among them getting out the heavier comforter for my bed. Our weather was predicted well below freezing, and flurries started as I went to bed last Monday. I knew I'd see a sparkling blanket when I rose in the morning.      

       I bought this in early 2021 when it was published, have read through it, and picked it up when I wanted some comfort during these troubled times. The poems are loving and caring, by such special writers as Ted Kooser, Jane Hirshfield, Amanda Gorman, Joy Harjo, Naomi Shihab Nye, Ross Gay, Tracy K. Smith, and Ellen Bass, whose poem I'm sharing today. Best wishes to everyone during this holiday season, wherever you find a poem in time of need. 

        There are invitations for writing throughout the book, and reading group questions and topics for discussion in the back.

Getting Into Bed On A December Night

                                                    Ellen Bass

When I slip beneath the quilt and fold into
your warmth, I think we are like the pages
of a love letter               Read the rest here!

                                                Happy December!