How, When and Where?

Before I moved back to Tulsa in 2015 (after 51 years of living elsewhere), I donated boxes and boxes and boxes of books.  Among those books were 2 books from my childhood.  Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes and The Golden Treasury of Poetry by Louis Untermeyer.  Both were falling apart, but I had hopes that repair would be made, and a child could enjoy what I had loved as a child.

Please, remember, these two books had made journeys that included more than just moving way too many times.  The books and priceless pieces of my grandmother’s Fostoria were always under my watchful eye and never suffered damage from moving. 

Both books had been given to me by my brother, Grover Wade.  The Nursery Rhymes when I just started to school in 1956 and The Golden Treasury of Poetry somewhere around 1959-1960.  The poems in the Treasury of Poetry were not written just for children.  It held within its pages, not only awesome funny poets such as Ogden Nash, but Edger Allen Poe, Keats, Emerson, Dickinson and the list goes on.  Classic poetry compiled for children.

My brother knew me so well!  I began reading before I reached Kindergarten and I loved poetry, plays and books of all kinds.  So, my brother always bought me books!  The books were worn out from use.  After I moved I bought another copy of the Treasury of Poetry.  Priceless.

I began my morning with reflection on my writing and the how, when and where I began. Also, a time to think on things I truly love.  The Golden Treasury of Poetry is the answer.  As I have said before, so many times, my brother was a great influence in my life.  He saw the real me and nourished that child.  I knew him before life caught hold and his focus was much more than being my "Bub".  My brother had the same passion for other children and young adults as he had for me.  To lift and nourish the spirit of the child within.   His gift started me on a journey of writing and loving words. 

Friends of the Past

My friends spoke to me in silence.

They gently revealed worlds of imagery and action.

The words were animated and loud with magic.

My spirit captured the promises,

And has never let go.