Posted 11/09/2009
The Seasons Are Changing
I “power down” in early winter
By Gael Stuart
In the season of early darkness, I write lengthier journal entries and create memory books of photos from summer’s adventures. I find it relaxing to spend long evenings learning new tunes on the keyboard or creating cheery cards for friends, who just may need a reminder that they are loved. Read More >>
Posted 10/23/2009
More Thoughts of Autumn
Loving the full cycle of seasons
By Gael Stuart
John Clare was an English poet from Northamptonshire. I have read only a few of his poems, but having just filled my birdfeeders and noting how much more they are being used since the bug count has diminished, I was enchanted with his words. He was very aware of nature’s autumnal transformations and thus my choice of poetry for today (pleasant old English and all). Read More >>
Posted 10/16/2009
Autumn
“Go, sit upon the lofty hill . . .”
By Gael Stuart
By the end of September, the air has already changed the way we feel here in the Rockies. Metaphorically speaking, of course, we go from a sense of freewheeling summer to sober, mellow autumn. And, yes, it is the very best time to go sit upon the lofty hill and turn your eyes around. Read More >>
Posted 10/09/2009
Blooms: The Last Rose of Summer
From a beautiful poem by Thomas Moore
By Gael Stuart
My friend, who lives a few miles south of me, has a lovely array of flowers in her garden. Her yellow rosebush is particularly prolific. Her beautiful variegated roses sometimes try to outdo their gorgeous yellow sisters. Personally, I think there is an unseen, secret flora competition among my friend’s blooms to determine who will be the last rose of summer once autumn has arrived with wind and shiver-inducing temperature drops. This year the winner is . . . Read More >>
Posted 07/24/2009
Leisure Passes, Time Passes, Life Passes
By Gael Stuart
Gavin Ewart was a comic poet of England—lesser known in the United States. Born in London and educated at Christ’s College, Cambridge, he grew up reading the classics and became a writer who penned inventive scenes and clever sonnets about family life, sex, (certain shops in Britain banned his more erotic verse) animals, and the indignities of old age. He wrote with a satirical edge and great insight. Read More >>
Posted 06/26/2009
The Long and Short of It
Poetry on the Web
By Gael Stuart
I have been following an interesting poem online. It’s a poetic effort using the newest forms of electronic communication—texting and social networking—to form a poem known as “The Longest Poem in the World.” The brainchild of Romanian Web developer Andre Gheorghe, it’s a Web site creating a gigantic poem of “found” words. Read More >>
Posted 05/28/2009
Dogs and Dancing Foxes
Life is a dance
By Gael Stuart
The barking was urgent—incessantly annoying. What could be happening at the bottom of my long dirt driveway to cause such a ruckus? The two 70-pound beasts, big dogs, romantically named Spencer and Kate, dared not cross the invisible fence boundary. They did, of course, challenge their buzzing collars (the warning they are too close) as skillfully as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers. Read More >>
Posted 05/18/2009
Knock-Knock!
Stickiness is a good sign
By Gael Stuart
I recently heard an adult tell a knock-knock joke that left everyone in the room trying desperately to hold back a silly grin. I was suddenly a little girl again, leaning against my mother and waiting for her reaction to this. . . . Read More >>
Posted 04/29/2009
Good Poems
Time slipping away . . .
By Gael Stuart
I have been reading Garrison Keillor’s Good Poems. I keep returning to a poem by Kenneth Rexroth (1905–1982), a much-married poet, essayist, and devotee of Asian poetry. Three of his poems are featured in Good Poems. Read More >>
Posted 04/17/2009
Poetry Month
Celebrating poetry and its vital place in American culture
By Gael Stuart
In 1996, the American Academy of Poets established National Poetry Month to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. The vision was to bring the art of poetry, and an awareness of poetry, poetry readings, and the creative works of living poets, into the spotlight. April is the perfect spring month to add a book of poems to your personal library—or perhaps to suggest a favorite poem to the Silver Sage. Read More >>
