Robyn Hood Black - children's author, poet, artist

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!

 

I received the most wonderful gift in the mail yesterday – my poem swap goodies from this year's swap partner, Patricia J. Franz.  (The Winter Poem Swap is organized by the amazing Tabatha Yeatts, whose blog is here.  You can learn more about Patricia here.)

 

Full disclosure – I am so overextended this year that I JUST mailed Patricia her poem and gifties from me yesterday, too. (Insert face-slap emoji here.) No excuses, but an explanation – I/we recently made a crazy decision to put our house on the market sooner rather than later, so we are temporarily moving to an apartment here next week. That way, we can show the house without all – cough-cough – my, um, artistic piles o' stuff, and without having to manage a wee doggie, etc., etc.  Also, if it sells quickly as we hope, then we'll have a place to live while Jeff finishes his job here before starting his new one in the Upstate. I mean, moving is so easy and fun that everyone should do it twice for each move, right? 

 

So it was an especially perfect treat to open Patricia's package and slow down and savor her gifts.  She included some beautiful, fancy sticky notes – how could she know I LIVE by sticky notes?! – and the most charming tiny replica music box that plays "Hey Jude" when you turn its handle.  She explained in her lovely note that the song came to her while working on my poem, and then she said, "the universe made a house call, as I found this in the gift shop at the Whitney Museum in NYC."  I was floored!  How special, and you bet it will have an honored place in my new studio (being formed as we speak in a basement renovation at our Upstate house that we'll move to in a couple-few months.)

 

As for the poem Patricia sent, I was moved to tears upon reading it.  First, she tackled a ghazal, though she added, "Truth be told, I'm certain this is not a true ghazal!  In my  mind, I was channeling your artful spirit – letting the poetic form become what it needed to contain the words."

 

You see, she wrote a poem about… artsyletters! No one has ever written a poem about my art endeavors before, not even me.  Talk about affirmation, and with my favorite kind of writing – poetry!

Not to mention that the presentation – printed to look it's on faded, foxed, glorious old paper, and with some of my items – absolutely speaks my aesthetic language.  What a gift, and to think we've never met in person before.  But that's the magic of Poetry Friday, isn't it?

 

I'm beyond delighted to share:

 

 

artsyletters:  a  ghazal

 

what sound speaks?  What reaches your ear?

asking to be transformed – the trinket, the trifle

 

finger a curl of your hair, pause to hear

art unaware, setting free the trinket, the trifle

will you be jeweled? Beheld by a book?

re-membered eternal, no trinket or trifle

 

work of your hands, heart's possibility

becomes twinkle delightful – the trinket, the trifle

 

©Patricia J. Franz

 

This was just what I needed but didn't know I needed, grounding my art adventures as I'm trying to keep them all together during this bit of transition and chaos.  I'm so excited to hang up this poem in my studio space when it's finished, a heart-sent gift from a poet friend. It's just perfect as I reflect on this 10th anniversary year of starting my art business and Etsy shop and anticipating its landing, finally, in a perfect and personal home space.  Thank you, Patricia!

 

The perfect place for poetry today is with Karen Edmisten, who is rounding up Poetry Friday this week.  Thank you, Karen! And Happy Holiday blessings to all; I'll be taking a wee break as we work on the move stuff and also travel - multiple times - to see family over a stretched-out holiday season.  Extra prayers for those missing loved ones this season, and those who don't have homes to move to or from this winter. See you in January!

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  I hope you had a good Thanksgiving weekend last week, wherever you were.  Prayers for all with an empty chair at the holidays this year.

 

Over here  on the South Carolina Coast, Friday morning temps will be in the 40s, which is chilly for us. (Then we'll warm back up.)  But pictures of growing piles of snow from the Northwest to the Plains are something else altogether, like the pictures posted online recently by our own Amy Ludwig VanDerwater up in New York state. 

 

So here's a little poem by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) for the new season.  (Love the last line... we were happy to say goodbye to the hurricane season, by the way, on Wednesday!)

 

 

Winter is good - his Hoar Delights (1316)

Emily Dickinson 

Winter is good - his Hoar Delights
Italic flavor yield -
To Intellects inebriate
With Summer, or the World -

Generic as a Quarry
And hearty - as a Rose -
Invited with asperity
But welcome when he goes.

 

Happy December! 

 

Grab your snowshoes and shuffle on over to see our lovely Catherine at Reading to the Core for this week's Roundup!

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  I'm happy to introduce you to a person and a poem on this Veterans Day.  Last weekend I was walking downtown and heard my name called from across the street.  A familiar face and friendly wave were just outside the Beaufort Art Association gallery. I was trying to sort it out; it looked like Melissa St. Clair, but wasn't she in a different part of the state now?  She and her husband had attended the same church as Jeff and I, though we haven't been many times since the pandemic.  That, plus their move, is probably why I didn't know about the interesting things she's been up to in the last couple of years.

 

Melissa was in town because last year, she had the winning photo in a contest, and it is on display at the art association gallery for the month of November.  Her photo of the Beaufort National Cemetery with Wreaths Across America was selected by the South Carolina Society of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) "Rise and Shine: What American Means To Me" Committee. Entries could include a caption or a short paragraph up to 100 words and were judged on interpretation of theme, creativity, and overall impression by a panel of two DAR Members and one non-DAR Member.

 

Here is the accompanying poem:

 

   What America Means to Me

 

Democracy

Hypocrisy

Boiling Points

Melting Pot

 

Juxtapositions

Traditions

Assimilate

Don't Congregate

Unity 

Impunity

 

Unrest

Blessed

Dressing graves

Heroes n'er forget

 

©Melissa Whiteford St. Clair

 

 

Sponsored by the Thomas Heyward Jr. Chapter in Beaufort, SC, St. Clair was presented with the award certificate by Mrs. Gail LaGrone Newton, State Americanism Chair and current President of the Beaufort [SC] Chapter at the 2022 SC DAR State Conference.

 

"I am honored to share this photograph and companion poem display with patrons of the Beaufort Art Association Gallery, especially during the month of November when we set aside a day, Veterans Day, to thank our active duty and retired servicemembers and leading up to the annual Wreaths Across America Day in December," she said. The full press release about the award can be found here. 

Melissa is no stranger to a life of service.  She married her high school sweetheart, who joined the military.  They traveled the next 30 years wherever the US Marine Corps sent them.

 

I discovered that in addition to making an appearance at the gallery for our November First Friday celebration, Melissa also attended a poetry workshop at the Pat Conroy Literary Center while she was in the neighborhood. She published a collection of poetry last year called WHITE GIRL HOMEWORK.  (You can find it on Amazon here.) I had no idea! 

 

She explains that the rise of social injustic in the United States deeply affected her emotionally, and she began a journey that led her to found White Girl Advocacy, LLC.  (Click here to learn more.) The organization's purpose is to "share history lessons plus creative arts for white women who want to be better friends, neighbors, colleagues, and community-builders - better humans."  She launched her chapbook, the full title of which is White Girl Home Work A Collection of Poems Sparked by One White Woman's Journey on the Matter of Race, on Harriet Tubman Day, March 10, in 2021.

 

Many thanks to Melissa for sharing her work with us today!  

 

The talented and wonderful Buffy Silverman has our Roundup this week; enjoy all the offerings.  And thank a veteran! 

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  I've missed everyone the last week or two as I was traveling for my annual (completely crazy) week of author school visits as part of Cobb EMC and Gas South Literacy Week north of Atlanta.  Always great to catch up with folks there, and the dozen or more of us authors end up seeing between 20,000 and 30,000 kids in those five days.  I had 22 presentations between Monday and Friday.  Whew! But thrilled to share the poetry love. 

 

Today I'm sharing a couple of recently published haiku.  I couldn't help featuring the adorable picture of my daughter, Morgan, and their precious little one, Sawyer. He made an awfully cute pumpkin for Halloween. The first poem was written when I was with them this summer, helping out during his first month.

 

 

 

new mother's whisper

the strength

of spidersilk

 

Frogpond, Vol. 45:3, Autumn 2022

 

 

 

And this one, well - I guess it speaks for itself. 

 

 

resurrection fern

my long list

of shortcomings

 

bottle rockets #47, Vol. 20, No. 1 (August 2022)

 

 

Poems ©Robyn Hood Black.  All rights reserved.

 

 

I hope your November is off to a good start.  The ever-amazing Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe is hosting Poetry Friday this week. Thank you, Heidi!

 

Greetings, Poetery Lovers! I'm joining some other Poetry Friday-ers today celebrating the release of WHAT IS A FRIEND? from Pomelo Books. (You know, the powerhouse poetry publishing team of Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong!)  WHAT IS A FRIEND? is the product of their recent Antho 401 class.  [I'm now taking a reprise of their Antho 201 class, which I blogged about a few weeks ago, if you want more info about Pomelo poetry magic.]  As with their other recent books, poems were written in response to photographs of children in a variety of situations.

 

This new book, geared toward ages 8 & up, explores many aspects of friendship. It's a Children's Book Council "Hot Off the Press" selection for October! And, as with the "THINGS WE" series, proceeds from sales are being donated to the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund.

 

Here's my poem:

 

 

PRESENT

 

 

   You didn't say,

          Come on – Cheer up! 

          Everything will be okay.

 

 

   You didn't say,

          I know exactly

          what it's like

          to feel that way.

 

 

   You didn't say

          anything.

 

 

   Just sat with me,

          

 

           and

       that

  meant

       everything.

 

 

 

©Robyn Hood Black.  All rights reserved.

 

When editing this poem, I was attempting to follow Janet's suggestion about changing a line that I originally had right after "Just sat with me,".  I tweaked and tweaked, until the haiku poet in me just struck it out altogether - making for a stronger poem. I'm so glad Janet flagged it in the first place, so I could toss it. 

 

Learn more about WHAT IS A FRIEND? here . Happy Book Birthday, Sylvia & Janet!

 

For more FRIEND-ly posts for Poetry Friday this week, and lots of other poetic treasures, check out the Roundup hosted by Sara Grace Tuttle.  Thanks, Sara Grace!

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!

You might know that Sylvia Vardell and Janet S. Wong met years ago at a conference, and the Kidlit Poetry World has never been the same since.  ;0)  Their publishing enterprise Pomelo Books has produced many wonderful poetry anthologies for kids in the last decade, all classroom-friendly, too.  Several of us Poetry Friday folks are privileged to have poems in them, along with dozens of other poets. 

 

Sylvia just retired from a 30-year career teaching children's literature (and teaching teachers) at Texas Woman's University, and she has been a valued member of several important committees across a variety of literacy organizations.  She's also trekked across the world getting good books into the hands of kids, donning her signature one-of-a-kind outfits featuring poetry themes! She's continuing poetry-centric endeavors in her new adventures. 

 

Janet is the 2021 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children winner, with 21 books to her credit BEFORE she started co-producing anthologies.  Her A SUITCASE OF SEAWEED was released again a couple of years ago as A SUITCASE OF SEAWEED AND MORE, and that version of the suitcase became stuffed with several prestigious awards! She came to the kidlit world after practicing law, and has also volunteered with many literacy organizations.  

 

One group Janet and Sylvia are both involved with is IBBY (International Board on Books For Young People). Proceeds from their latest series of books go to the IBBY Children in Crisis Fund, which connects vulnerable children in several countries with literacy programs.

 

What is their latest series of books, you ask?  It's a group of anthologies with fantastic poems accompanying photographs of kids, and these have grown from the soil of anthhology workshops this Dynamic Poetry Duo started offering last year.  The classes are called Antho 101, 201, 301 and 401.  I've been enjoying reading lots of Poetry Friday posts about them, and was lamenting that I couldn't make the schedule happen when the workshops first emerged.  

 

But, lo and behold, this summer, when they offered Antho 401 (poetry targeted for ages 8 & up), I WAS able to join in.  I've enjoyed watching the videos and writing submissions for the book attached to this class, and helping to evaluate other poems for consideration.  Sylvia and Janet generously put participants through ALL the paces of creating and anthology - and let us peek in on their own spirited discussions of which pictures to select and why, etc., etc. I am looking forward to the live, online class gathering in a few weeks.

 

AND... they are offering Antho 201 (poetry targetd to very young readers) AGAIN this fall!  It includes recorded sessions, a live class, and a new book to be created! I'm signing up for this reprise, too, since I missed it before. 

 

Here's the scoop with an overview of the workshops and dates and registration info:

 

https://pomelobooks.com/anthologies-101

 

and here's a blog post from earlier in the year with some more information about this workshop series:

 

http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com/2022/02/learning-about-poetry-anthologies.html

 

The published books in this series (so far!) include these collections for younger readers: THINGS WE DO, THINGS WE EAT, and THINGS WE FEEL.  

 

Here's a taste from THINGS WE DO - a delightful poem by one of our Poetry Friday friends that stole my heart, as I'm still basking in becoming a grandmother earlier this summer. (Each poem in this book corresponds to a letter of the alphabet - this one is for 'W'.)

 

WAVE

 

by Janet Clare Fagal

 

When we leave Grandma's,

she stands in the yard.

 

We get in our car.

I wave really hard.

 

Her smile is the sun.

My wave is the sky.

 

I wave from my window

for one more goodbye.

 

©Janet Clare Fagal.  Posted with permission.

 

Thanks to Janet for letting me share this poem today!  The new wee bairn in our family, Sawyer, is not quite waving yet.  BUT, this week, he started grabbing the dangling toys from his playmat as he lays beneath them!  (I require daily photos and/or videos from Morgan between visits.) And he's just twelve weeks old.  Of course, he already love rhymes and songs....

 

Many thanks also to Tanita for hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup this week over at {fiction, instead of lies}.  And unending thanks to Janet and Sylvia, who continue to share so much poetry light in the world.

 

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!

 

Back again, after dipping in and out this summer, and after my couple-of-months hiatus in May and June around the birth of our first (amazing – wonderful – thriving) grandchild, Sawyer.

 

For Poetry Friday inspiration at the start of a new school year, I picked up one of my books that I likely  bought thinking I'd cannibalize for artsyletters projects, but that upon inspection went straight to my personal collection of treasured old books.  It's a gilded-edged 1906 copy of The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900, edited by A. T. Quiller-Couch.

 

Are you a fan of Medieval literature?  I enjoyed a class on the subject way back in college, with one of my favorite professors.  It's a long, fascinating time period.  (Of course, with a birth name of 'Robyn Hood,' I was pretty much assured of some medieval curiosity!) Such a mix of breathtaking poetry, legends, chivalry, illuminated manuscripts – and, fleas, persecution, pestilence, lice, and the like… nice to visit from a historical distance.

 

Anyway, our Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch opened his Oxford collection with the following 13th century verses.  While the piece heralds the arrival of summer, I'm taking some August liberties and sharing it now.  (Still feels very much like summer here!)

 

 

Cuckoo Song

 

c. 1250

 

Sumer is icumen in,

   Lhude sing cuccu!

Groweth sed, and bloweth med,

  And springth the wude nu –

      Sing cuccu!

 

Awe bleteth after lomb,

        Llouth after calve cu ;

Bulluc serteth, bucke verteth,

        Murie sing cucu!

 

Cuccu, cuccu, well singes thu, cuccu ;

Nu swike thu naver nu ;

 

Sing cuccu, nu, sing cuccu,

  Sing cuccu, sing cuccu, nu !

 

lhude=loud,    awe=ewe,    lhouth=loweth,     sterteth=leaps,    swike=cease

 

These old verses can be difficult to parse, I know. Sometimes just saying them out loud phonetically will open the doors of meaning.

 

"Cuckoo Song" is actually meant to be sung in a round.  In Tabatha fashion, let me share this link for you to enjoy it on a whole 'nuther level (scroll down)!  (And – I was happy to stumble upon this site, Luminarium.  Oh, I could meander along its hedgerows for days… maybe I'll see you there?) ;0) 

 

Speaking of Olde British Thinges, if you have an Ancestry account and haven't checked in lately, the DNA data just keeps getting more interesting!  (I am ALL British/Scottish/Welsh/Irish with some Dutch and un peu francais.)  I ended up checking in with the old family tree online again and marvelling that one of the first branches I ever followed back went (possibly) all the way to 12th Century Scotland.  Fun to think about the verses and songs floating in the misty air back then. I've not had that luck with any other lines, though several do go back centuries. 

 

Anyway, looks like some of our posts this week have Scottish connections; can't wait to dive in!  I've just barely had a chance to shout out to Jone since her return from Scotland and Ireland, but we plan to do some catching up soon.

 

Happy New School Year, Happy Old English Celebration of Songbirds!

 

Our marvelous Margaret has this week's Roundup over at Reflections on the Teche.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Margaret!:0)

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers - I'VE MISSED YOU!  :0)

 

I know I've missed lots of poetry goodness and news about the comings and goings of our Poetry Friday-ers... some far-flung, like Jone recently in Ireland and Scotland and Heidi traipsing around Europe. And others having adventures on the home front, such as Sylvia retiring from her stellar teaching career to get into all kinds of new poetic mischief.

 

But I was distracted by the arrival of a precious new grandson, the first on both sides of the family.  He was due June 4 and arrived in the wee hours on June 5 (his great-grandfather's birthday - what a nice present for Jack!).  My hubby Jeff and I had gone to perch at our Travelers Rest (SC) home, only a couple of hours from our "couple," to wait for marching orders. 

 

Morgan and our son-in-law Matt checked into the hospital at 5 on a Friday evening, and Morgan labored from then until after 3 a.m. on Sunday.  We were there, mostly in the waiting room, and our son Seth came, too. Matt's family was in and out as well. Jeff & I both stayed a week before he had to return to work, and I had planned to stay on a few more days if needed.  Morgan got quite ill, and I ended up being there a whole month!  Lots of good snuggle time with our wee one, so despite very little sleep over those weeks, it was a treasured time for this new grandmother.  (Going my "Mimi," by the way - my middle name is Michelle and it got sidelined 38 years ago when I got married. I couldn't quite let my maiden name go, could I? ;0) )

 

Morgan is MUCH better now, and little Sawyer is thriving.  Since we're back on the coast, I request daily pictures of him via text! We are looking forward to all being together again in another week.  This time, my folks plan to join us from Florida - the aforementioned Jack, and my mother, Nita.

 

My mom, in her early 80s and with some vision challenges, hasn't exactly been on the forefront of texting.  BUT - as I was keeping her updated during Morgan's labor, she kept their cell phone handy and sent messages back. [Now she even includes emojis - Go, Mom!]  I try to keep her supplied in texted baby pictures as well. 

 

While in the hospital waiting room, I received a surprise text from her that was a poem.  She and "Poppy" often come up with poems, sometimes of the silly variety, on special occasions such as birthdays,   But this one was a sweet, heartfelt one.  Morgan and Matt have requested a handwritten version as a keepsake. 

 

Poetry is always the best way to mark milestone events in life, don't you think? And certainly the best way to welcome a new little human to the world. 

 

With my mother's and daughter's permission, I'll share it here to warm up your day.

 

 

Sawyer Matthew Whyte,
we are waiting to hear your cries,
to see your sweet little face
and look into your eyes.

 

We want to count your fingers
and ten wiggly toes,
to gently tug your ears
and touch your little nose.

 

We want to hold and cuddle you
and shower you with love,
and make sure you always know
you are our blessing from God above.

 

©Juanita C. Morgan, probably with help from Jack!

 

(An additional note... As our family rejoices, we are mindful that other families have empty arms, longing for or missing a beloved child. Morgan and Matt have had their hearts set on this blessing for years, making all of us that much more grateful.)

 

Elisabeth is hosting our Roundup today at Unexpected Intersections - Thanks, Elisabeth! 

 

Bonjour!  

 

One thing I love about being an Etsy seller is that sometimes I send my artsyletters offerings to the four corners of the world.  I've had customers in close to 20 countries. This week I received an order with a special request from France, and the message was sent via email rather than through Etsy, so there wasn't an option to translate on the spot.  However, I was delighted to realize that my four years of French in high school and one in college were sufficient for me to make out its meaning!  [I still used an online translator just to make sure, and sent my reply in English and via a copy from an online translator, though I did "check" that it looked right.]

 

And while items in my shop have a definite British Isles bent - I mean, my target market really is nerdy English-major types like myself - somewhow a few items for Francophiles continue to surface from my work table. Especially since I was able to procure some gorgeous letters and postcards and bank notes and such from centuries past, from a seller in France.  (I often buy supplies from other corners of the earth, too.) 

 

I am especially smitten with postcards and business receipts and such with layers of interesting text or handwriting in different hues of ink, all jumbled together - ahhhh.  And while I do reproduce some antique maps etc. for items I make that I need more than one of (tourist-friendly items at a local shop here in Beaufort, etc.), I do prefer to just capture the actual text or image under glass as a one-of-a-kind snippet of history, such as the items in the picture above.  I'll wrangle these into finished pieces and get some listed today, to join a few French items already listed.

 

I don't have an actual French poem to share today, but when I think about French writing, Le Petit Prince always come to mind.  (I do have a copy in French somewhere...!)  I have always adored this book, and even read it out loud to eighth graders - eighth graders! - back in the day when I briefly taught middle school English. 

 

My love affair is shared  by the world, evidently - did you know there was a The Little Prince theme park in France, near the German and Swiss borders?  (See https://www.thelittleprince.com.) There's also a foundation. And closer to home, evidently a Broadway play just opened? 

 

If you haven't read the story, it's just a treasure of creativity, love, loss, and hope.  In fact, I read that aside from religious texts, it's the most translated book in the world. It features a pilot, stranded in the Sahara desert, who encounters a little prince requesting a drawing of a sheep. Throughout the tale, the young prince describes his journey across planets, and amusing and touching encounters which evoke universal themes. 

 

The whole book seems poem-like to me, with its fairy tale qualities and compression into a deceptively simple form.  (Saint-Exupery did write poetry and other works.) Plus, the art is charming. So for a taste of the book's voice, I'll just share a few sentences from the beginning, as the narrator, before meeting the book's subject, explains how he left a career in art at the tender age of 6, after an unsuccessful (according to others) couple of drawings. 

 

The grown-ups then advised me to give up my drawings of boa constrictors, whether from the inside or the outside, and to devote myself instead to geography, history, arithmetic and grammar. Thus it was that I gave up a magnificent career as a painter at the age of six. I had been disappointed by the lack of success of my drawing No. 1 and my drawing No. 2. Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves and it is rather tedious for children to have to explain things to them time and again.

 

So I had to choose another job and I learnt to pilot aeroplanes.

 

[Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de. The Little Prince (pp. 10-11). GENERAL PRESS. Kindle Edition.]

 

The book was written while Saint-Exupery was in the United States.  It was published in 1943, only a year before the author's plane disappeared on a mission in World War II.

 

Earth Day wasn't around in the 1940s, but I have a feeling The Little Prince would agree with its aims of nurturing this planet. And speaking of this planet, and of France, the world will be keeping an eye on the presidential election there this weekend I'm sure, with ramifications not just for France but for the war in Ukraine and political relations beyond. 

 

Merci for joining me in this very rambling post today - be sure to pilot on over to see Margaret at Reflections on the Teche for this week's Roundup, and to catch up with the Kidlit Progressive Poem! Thanks for all the hosting, Margaret. 

 

Greetings, Poetry Lovers!  Happy NATIONAL POETRY MONTH 2022!  (Click here for the poets.org link.)

 

So much goodness is planned for our Kidlit corner of the online universe; be sure to check out Jama's Roundup at Jama's Alphabet Soup.  And be sure to follow along with this year's Kidlit Progressive Poem, kindly hosted again by Margaret at Reflections on the Teche. 

 

As for my own little corner of the corner, I plan to get a little jump on celebrating 10 (!) years of artsyletters later this year with some 'perfect-for-poets' gift ideas each Friday. I'll share poetry each week, too, of course!

 

When I ponder poetry, I often let my mind wander to the privilege I had of meeting Nancy Willard decades ago at a writer's conference.  (You might recall her A VISIT TO WILLIAM BLAKE'S INN won the Newbery Award in 1982, and the Provensens received a Caldecott Honor for it.)  One of my favorite books about writing is her TELLING TIME - Angels, Ancestors, and Stories. I've mentioned it before, I know.  (Willard was born in 1936 and died in 2017; you can read more about her here.)

 

I especially love her first chapter, "How Poetry Came Into the World and Why God Doesn't Write It."  This essay includes some banter between Adam and Eve, and both find that poetry helps them to communicate.  Here are a couple of treasures Willard includes from The Rattle Bag, by anonymous authors:

 

 

I will give my love an apple without any core,

I will give my love a house without any door,

I will give my love a palace wherein he may be

and he may unlock it without any key.

 

 

and

 

 

It is late last night the dog was speaking of you;

the snipe was speaking of you in her deep marsh.

It is you are the lonely bird through the woods;

and that you may be without a mate until you find me.

 

 

If all this talk of love has your heart a-flutter, take it over to my juicy little universe, where Heidi has much more to love in the Roundup this week.  Thanks for hosting, Heidi!  And here's to a Happy Poetry Month to all.  I look forward to starting off mine with an online Haiku Society of America Southeast Region workshop on Saturday. :0)