Poetry Friday - Welcome

 

Poetry Friday - Hearts Everywhere

 Happy Valentine's Day next Monday and welcome to Poetry Friday to celebrate our sweetest day where, yes, hearts are everywhere, even in Peeps. I find them all over my home. How about you? Do you have some reminders of love around your own home?

          This is part of a repeat of my Valentine's Post which I hosted two years ago. That was a few weeks before our lives changed in ways some still seem to fight against, our lives changed in ways we could not imagine then, perhaps do not remember the old ones now. There has been much sorrow since then, and yet, much love given. 

        A few of my favorite things: birds, sweet Peeps, finding heart rocks.

           

         I am in the midst of Cybil's judging this week. Be sure to look for the winners on Valentine's Day!  I decided to share some poems that feel full of love from an old book I've used before. This is the one I have to keep in a paper bundle because the leaves are so fragile, they're flaking off. 

         Enjoy your sweetest day however you wish but find some poetry to love, too!

the title page - that odd shape
in the middle is a leaf found
tucked inside - totally shriveled

  1896

Poetry Friday - Spring Arrives with Snow

     Michelle Kogan at her blog of the same name is hosting this week. She's bringing spring poems from the latest edition of Today's Little Ditty plus a bonus from her, too. 




     In these challenging days, I hope each of you keep good health and find ways to share some goodness in your communities. I am aware that many of you are online helping with ideas for children who are out of school, which is wonderful. There are many kinds of needs that I am becoming aware of each day. It's a sad, tough time. 








              On the first day of spring, a snowstorm blew in. Here's the view from my desk!  It was near 70 yesterday so I went to the store to do some work in our inventory. We closed the store indefinitely last Saturday, but some of us will continue to do a little work. I'm glad I got to stay home today!

            At the end of January, 2019, on this post, I shared a very old book donated to the bookstore that was falling apart & couldn't be offered for sale. Once in a while, I bring it out again to read some of the old poems. This time, I found one without an author's name, but feels just perfect for this interesting spring day! Surely after this rain, then snow, violets will be along soon! Here are the book and the poem I wrote last time.

for an old book of poetry, Gems of Poetry

Page crumbles spill into my hand,

what others held on laps to read.

Attend the poets, accord encores.

When words are read, they live again.

Linda Baie ©

Poetry Friday - Old Book, New Poem

          Tabatha Yeatts-Lonske at The Opposite of Indifference is hosting this week with two poems that are perhaps about escape, but it is up to you about the meaning! Thanks, Tabatha, for the way you make us think when you share, and for hosting.

for an old book of poetry, Gems of Poetry

Page crumbles spill into my hand,

what others held on laps to read.

Attend the poets, accord encores.

When words are read, they live again.

Linda Baie ©

   

        Crumbling, donated, grabbed by me. We couldn't offer it for sale at the bookstore. It really is falling apart. I have to read it on a sheet of newspaper because of the paper flaking off the pages. Here's the book, full of some surprises and some expected, like Byron, Keats, Wordsworth, Shakespeare and a couple from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, one of the few women poets. Published in 1896. I found a re-pub online by someone that said it was important to save. Within the pages are some clippings, a couple of leaves, and very few margin notes, which surprised me. The poems are for adults, focusing some on nature but many are somber, focusing on life, but including quite a bit about death. It's a fascinating look at the choices of an anthologist of that time.  Here are some pictures and one poem I liked that holds a nice thought I believe, there's always tomorrow.

I love seeing Mae's and Alice's Names.