My Favorite Things (and a giveaway!) by Cheryl Pierson

 

 

I have a LOT of “favorite things” – probably like most of y’all do. But one of them that is kind of unique, in a way, is poetry of all kinds. This might seem natural for someone who is a writer, but I don’t think that’s always the case.

For instance, in the world of music, I can APPRECIATE what the Beatles did for music and especially for rock and roll—no doubt they were talented in so many ways, and influenced the world of music for generations to come—but I was not ever a huge fan of their music. So that being said, I think there are a lot of people who are excellent writers but aren’t very interested in poetry.

I was read to a LOT by my family when I was young, and of course, nursery rhymes were the beginning of my love of verse. Then, of course, the songs that I learned were my second “teacher” of rhythm and rhyme.

Isn’t it amazing how lines from a poem can affect us our entire lives? Sometimes, the patterns of the rhythm and rhyme of poetry can reach us as nothing else can.

Growing up in the 60’s, the wonderful music all around me at that time fortified my love of poetry. There are too many songs to mention, but like the old Cotton, Inc., commercial used to say, it was “the fabric of our lives” and remains that way.

Do you remember a favorite childhood poem? Remember the one by Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Swing”? Here’s the first verse:

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Simple, yes? There is a tune that goes with it. I can’t tell you how often I sang that as I swung on my own swing set as a kid. Great memories! Here’s a portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson–he was fairly young when he died but he left a wonderful legacy of poetry and stories!

 

A few years older, enter “Puff, the Magic Dragon”, written by Leonard Lipton/Peter Yarrow. Peter Yarrow was the “Peter” of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary. There have been lots of explanations of the lyrics, but to me, it was always about the boy, Jackie Paper, growing up and losing his childlike imagination. Puff is relegated to going back to his cave by the end of the song since Jackie is grown now, but here is the hopeful beginning verse:

Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea

And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee

Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff

And brought him strings, and sealing wax, and other fancy stuff.

 

Of course, I vowed I would never be like Jackie—I would ALWAYS keep my imagination! (I think I was successful in that!) LOL

By the time I was in middle school, we had memorized countless poems—an assignment most of my classmates detested, but I actually loved. I had two favorites in elementary school, and both of these were 4th grade assignments. I remember well, because my teacher that year had us memorize a lot of poetry. These were the two I loved best, and here is a link of Robert Frost reading some of his poems–a rare glimpse of an author such as this reading his works. The second one, I believe,  is “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening”:

 

“Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost     

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

 

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

(ONLY THE FIRST TWO VERSES  SHOWN HERE)

 

“Windy Nights” by Robert Louis Stevenson

Whenever the moon and stars are set,

Whenever the wind is high,

All night long in the dark and wet,

A man goes riding by.

Late in the night when the fires are out,

Why does he gallop and gallop about?

 

Whenever the trees are crying aloud,

And ships are tossed at sea,

By, on the highway, low and loud,

By at the gallop goes he.

By at the gallop he goes, and then

By he comes back at the gallop again.

 

Evidently, I had a love for windy nights and highwaymen, because this one caught my eye during high school days. This is a very long story poem that was also set to music by Loreena McKennitt, and I’ve included the link here for the entire version of this masterpiece, and also will include the video of Loreena McKennitt’s version set to music. It is really beautiful!

 

The Highwayman

BY ALFRED NOYES

PART ONE

 

The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees.

The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas.

The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,

And the highwayman came riding—

Riding—riding—

The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.

 

He’d a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,

A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin.

They fitted with never a wrinkle. His boots were up to the thigh.

And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,

His pistol butts a-twinkle,

His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.

(FIRST TWO VERSES OF THE POEM)

Here’s the video of Loreena McKennitt’s version–just a lovely rendition!

As you can see, I had an affinity for handsome, rugged, ‘heroes’ (or anti-heroes) from a very young age—because of poems like these that brought them to life!

As for the softer romantic side of things, this was always a favorite—short, simple, and impactful:

 

Jenny Kiss’d Me

BY LEIGH HUNT

Jenny kiss’d me when we met,

Jumping from the chair she sat in;

Time, you thief, who love to get

Sweets into your list, put that in!

Say I’m weary, say I’m sad,

Say that health and wealth have miss’d me,

Say I’m growing old, but add,

Jenny kiss’d me.

 

There are far too many favorites to list here! This barely scratches the surface at different times in my life, and were memorable for all different kinds of reasons.

Probably one of my favorite poems of all is “The Listeners” by Walter de la Mare. Many of his poems had a kind of mystical, mysterious quality to them, and this is one of the best. Another one we memorized in high school. I’ve included an image of  a drawing of the author below.

 

The Listeners

BY WALTER DE LA MARE

‘Is there anybody there?’ said the Traveller,                               

Knocking on the moonlit door;

And his horse in the silence champed the grasses

Of the forest’s ferny floor:

And a bird flew up out of the turret,

Above the Traveller’s head:

And he smote upon the door again a second time;

‘Is there anybody there?’ he said.

But no one descended to the Traveller;

No head from the leaf-fringed sill

Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes,

Where he stood perplexed and still.

But only a host of phantom listeners

That dwelt in the lone house then

Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight

To that voice from the world of men:

Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,

That goes down to the empty hall,

Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken

By the lonely Traveller’s call.

And he felt in his heart their strangeness,

Their stillness answering his cry,

While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf,

’Neath the starred and leafy sky;

For he suddenly smote on the door, even

Louder, and lifted his head:—

‘Tell them I came, and no one answered,

That I kept my word,’ he said.

Never the least stir made the listeners,

Though every word he spake

Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house

From the one man left awake:

Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,

And the sound of iron on stone,

And how the silence surged softly backward,

When the plunging hoofs were gone.

Do you have a favorite poem? The words in poetry form can be so impactful and meaningful, not just in “regular” poetry, but also in beautiful harmony with music. Ballads, story-poems, hymns—so many ways of expression!

What is a favorite poem of yours? Leave me a comment about your favorite poem and why you love it so much for a chance to win a digital copy of my latest book, LOVE UNDER FIRE, the third book in the PINK PISTOL SISTERHOOD SERIES! Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting and taking a trip down memory lane with me and some of my favorite poems!

 

BUY HERE! https://tinyurl.com/224fuzks 

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A native Oklahoman, I've been influenced by the west all my life. I love to write short stories and novels in the historical western and western romance genres, as well as contemporary romantic suspense! Check my Amazon author page to see my work: http://www.amazon.com/author/cherylpierson
I live in Oklahoma City with my husband of 40 years. I love to hear from readers and other authors--you can contact me here: fabkat_edit@yahoo.com
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52 thoughts on “My Favorite Things (and a giveaway!) by Cheryl Pierson”

  1. “Once upon a midnight dreary, While I pondered weak and weary…” “It was many and many a year ago in a kingdom by the sea…” The Shooting of Dan McGrew. The Children’s Hour. My friends expect me to speak in quotes from things.

    • Hi David, if you ever watch BLUE BLOODS, Tom Selleck’s character seems to have a quote for everything–not necessarily poetry, but philosophers, historical figures, etc. And he always knows who said what he’s quoting. LOL My friends expect me to speak in song lyrics. LOL Seriously, I love all the poetry you mentioned, but especially Robert Service’s poems–they had such a definite rhythm to them that set him apart with his story poems. My dad loved him, and that’s probably why I do, too. Dad used to read “The Cremation of Sam McGee” aloud and just send shivers up my spine when I was a little kid. And of course, I’d always ask for that one at bedtime. LOL Go figure. My mom would come to the door and say, “Fred, that’s probably not a good idea.” LOL

      • Ah, Sam McGee, another favorite. My favorite line is, “There are strange things done in the midnight Sun, By the men who Mail gor gold…” through that first stanza. Also, A promise made is a debt unpaid and the trail has its own stern code.”

        An Old Woman Sings to the Moon by Frederika James with its thoughts on life is good as well.

        You might like the Hermet of Sharktooth shoal as it sounds like a Service poem.

        David.

      • David, thanks for the recommendations! I love that type of poetry. Yes, that line in Sam McGee I always loved was at the end: “The Northern Lights have seen queer sights but the queerest they ever did see/Was that night on the marge of Lake LeBarge I cremated Sam McGee.”

  2. Brown Penny by W.B. Yeats

    I whispered, “I am too young,”
    And then, “I am old enough”;
    Wherefore I threw a penny
    To find out if I might love.
    “Go and love, go and love, young man,
    If the lady be young and fair,”
    Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
    I am looped in the loops of her hair.

    Oh, love is the crooked thing,
    There is nobody wise enough
    To find out all that is in it,
    For he would be thinking of love
    Till the stars had run away,
    And the shadows eaten the moon.
    Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
    One cannot begin it too soon.

    • Oh, how beautiful! I have not read this one, but the one of Yeats’ poems that I treasure is “When You Are Old”–here it is:
      When You Are Old
      BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
      When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
      And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
      And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
      Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

      How many loved your moments of glad grace,
      And loved your beauty with love false or true,
      But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
      And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

      And bending down beside the glowing bars,
      Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
      And paced upon the mountains overhead
      And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

  3. I love the poetry of Ogden Nash, but right now my favorite one is by Emily Dickinson:
    “Hope” is the thing with feathers –
    That perches in the soul –
    And sings the tune without the words –
    And never stops – at all –

    And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
    And sore must be the storm –
    That could abash the little Bird
    That kept so many warm –

    I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
    And on the strangest Sea –
    Yet – never – in Extremity,
    It asked a crumb – of me.

    • Oh, yes! I love this one by Emily Dickinson. Makes me think of all the people and animals in the world that we can do even small things for that bring good to the world. She wrote some truly beautiful poetry, didn’t she?
      “If I can stop one heart from breaking”
      By: Emily Dickinson
      If I can stop one heart from breaking,
      I shall not live in vain;
      If I can ease one life the aching,
      Or cool one pain,
      Or help one fainting robin
      Unto his nest again,
      I shall not live in vain.

      Emily Dickinson

  4. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth.
    I love daffodils. I’d say they are my favorite flower. Thankfully they are in bloom on my birthday and unknown to me when we bought our house it had bunches.
    I recited this poem to a bunch of people when I was in 6th grade. My 6th grade teacher, Mr. Benanti, was an incredible teacher and we studied A LOT of poetry and had to memorize it too.

    • Oh, Kim I love that one, too. My mom loved daffodils, as well. It reminds me of her. It’s really hard for most kids to recite poetry before an audience–even if it’s just classmates, but especially to adults! So glad you had such a great teacher–I don’t think kids memorize poetry much anymore.

    • Sharon, if you feel like posting it, I would love to read it. I used to write poetry when I was a young teenager–usually ballads or story poems. As I got older I tried my hand at songwriting. I believe writing a song is the most difficult kind of writing there is–cramming something meaningful into 3 minutes that has a tune that people will remember as well…poetry is tough to write and I admire anyone who does so!

  5. I have an old notebook filled with poems! One of my favorites is this one:
    Toy Cannon by Ron MacLean
    When he was five, his mother bought him a toy cannon,
    And he played war with his friends.
    His father was proud of his war efforts.

    When he was six, he broke the toy cannon,
    And cried in his room all day.
    His father told him big boys don’t cry,
    So he choked back the tears and went on with life.

    When he was ten, his mother bought him a machine gun
    That sounded just like the real ones.
    All his friends had guns, and they played war in the back yard,
    Under the watchful eyes of their proud parents.

    When he was thirteen, his father told him
    To throw away the machine gun,
    Because big boys don’t play with guns.
    He wanted to cry, but remembered
    What his father told him when he was young.

    When he was eighteen, Uncle Sam bought him a rifle,
    And sent him off to war.
    So he went to the war, wondering about
    What his father had told him when he was young.

    When his parents got the letter,
    his father cried.

    • Oh, Trudy. That is so well-put and impactful. I’m glad you mentioned that notebook of yours because I had forgotten but I had one that was probably much the same as what you have–just chock full of favorite poems and song lyrics. I wonder whatever happened to that? Thanks for sharing this!

  6. The Lane I Live Down

    I love the lane I live down named Upper Cullen Road.
    God has blessed me with “treasures” so many to behold.
    For instance, the gift of nature, a person just can’t miss!
    Lakes, trees, and wildlife simply cause shear bliss!

    Did I mention the tall Norway trees so magnificent to view?
    The oak, birch, and maple trees that bloom right on cue!
    My lane invites tourists to visit Upper Cullen Resort.
    Many return each year to enjoy our surroundings once more.

    My mother lived next door to me for many, many years.
    Her absence I still miss having shed many tears.
    Neighbors too are dear to me, many I’ve known for quite some time.
    Friendships have been cultivated and I find them mighty fine.

    My gardens have inspired me to plant even more!
    Elaine, my sis, encouraged me to open the “floral” door!
    So I do not dilly-dally when flowers come to mind.
    I will have a storehouse to plant as God gives me time.

    Age has impressed me with how precious time can be.
    It reflects God’s wonder and goodness expressed to me!
    I am mindful of all the beauty a day can unfold.
    And will store it in my memory bank to dwell on when I’m old.

    I have a heart of thanksgiving for the blessings He has given me.
    Age 63 is nothing when I think of God’s eternity.
    I will see my loving Mom and Dad on Heaven’s grand shore.
    Because I know what waits for me will boast of grandeur.

    Life is exciting as I celebrate my age.
    Because the love of God, family, and friends takes center stage.
    As I live with joy and wonder at what my God has given.
    I am thankful for the years spent at “Upper Cullen” livin!

    CHERYL – I didn’t read poetry too much growing up. But I wrote poetry. Isn’t that crazy! I wrote this poem 9 years ago. It even means more to me now. I loved your blog today. Thank you for putting so much history together. I’ll come back to it throughout the day.

    • Kathy…this is just beautiful. SO lovely. Thank you for sharing this with us! I read a ton of poetry all my life and like I said, I tried to write some but never thought it was very good. This one of yours is really wonderful. Thanks again so much for sharing it and for stopping by today!

  7. My nephew wrote this one and dedicated to his grandfather who was my dad and I have always loved it.
    The Staircase
    Last night I had myself a dream
    I still can see it now
    A staircase stood before me
    Spiraling up into the clouds
    Its wood was worn and weathered
    But had stood the tests of time
    And I came upon a young man there
    As I began to climb
    His uniform colonial
    His tri cornered hat pulled down
    He said I fell by bayonet
    Defending Charlestown
    A few more steps into my climb
    There stood another Lad
    He said we gave’um hell in 1812
    With everything we had
    As my journey went on upward
    I came upon a pair
    One dressed in blue and one in grey
    I couldnt help but stare
    They had a sadness in their eyes
    But their pride still brightly shown
    Both rose to honor in defense
    Of lands that they’d called home
    They said they’d met at Vicksburg
    And both had fell that day
    But looking back they wished they’d found
    A different better way
    And as I ascended onward up
    What I was being shown
    Were those who’d answered freedoms call
    And never made it home
    One fell upon a German front
    One in Korea’s hills
    One in a jungle outside Saigon
    His stories gave me chills
    The next it seemed was just a kid
    I scarcely could believe
    He’d lost his life so long ago
    On a beach called Normandy
    And just before I reached the top
    I met one last young man
    Who served 3 tours but lost his life
    Back in Afghanistan
    And once my climb had ended
    My feet touched every stair
    As I looked up my eyes beheld
    An angel standing there
    He said this is the staircase
    T’was built by Christ’s own hand
    Reserved and blessed for only those
    Who fell on hallowed land
    With the wisdom of the ages
    He spoke these words to me
    Now I hope you understand
    The cost of living free
    ~Big Mike

    • This poem is compelling and so heartfelt. Our land has fought many battles with the loss of lives on both sides. Freedom is the most costly thing our men and women can fight for. I also had tears when I finished reading it. You have a great talent. I also deeply appreciate the time everyone spent defending our country. May GOD bless all.

    • This one just left me breathless. Your nephew has a LOT of talent to be able to encapsulate these feelings and the emotion he did with his words. This is one I think so many people would love to read. Maybe he needs to look for a publisher–I think it is really that good! Thank you for sharing this.

      • I am sorry to say my nephew passed away a couple of years ago but his sister still post this poem every year on Memorial day. I will quote what she said this last year in May.
        “I promised to repost this every year..the heart and respect my brother had for history and the military is unmatched. The gift he had with words, even more so. If anyone could put their heart on paper…it was him.”

      • Quilt Lady, I’m so sorry for the loss of your nephew. I totally agree with your niece in what she said, and the way she described her brother. He really had a true gift.

  8. I already have the book. But thank you. I read a poem in 4th grade. I dont remember the words or the name. But at the time I said it all the time. It had to do with the men in the army in the mist on a hill

    • Hi Lori! If I draw your name I’ll give you your choice of any of my other digital books. Don’t ever want anyone to be left out! Oh, there are a lot of good poems that description might fit. I’ll go on a hunt. Of course, the first one that came to mind would be too contemporary (Brothers in Arms by Mark Knopfler–“These mist covered mountains, are a home now to me…”) But there are others! I’m so glad you stopped by and commented–now it’s time for research!

  9. One of my favorites would be “Go Down Death”. I know the title sounds a little dark but there is a lot light and hope in it. It came to mean more to me after my grandmother’s passing.

  10. I have 2 favorites that I thought of – Little Orphant Annie by James Whitcomb Riley and Trees by Joyce Kilmer.

    • Karijean, I almost included the first couple of verses of Little Orphant Annie! I have a set of books called “THE BOOKHOUSE BOOKS” that my parents bought for my older sisters when they were very little. Each book has “the next step up” from the book before it in reading level and the illustrations are just so rich and fabulous! I remember that poem in there because of the illustrations, and the odd language (to me, as a youngster!) and oh, how much I loved it! I do love Trees, too. That is such a nice one!

  11. The only poem I remember is titled “Hope” and the verse “The tomb was empty.” I don’t know who wrote it but I read it somewhere several years ago.

    • Isn’t it odd the way our minds work–letting us remember bits and pieces? It’s a good thing anymore that I can remember THOSE! LOL I will try to find it online–I’d love to read that one!

  12. one of my favorite poems is “Something Told The Wild Geese by Rachel Field:
    Something told the Wild Geese
    It was time to go
    Though the field lay golden
    Something whispered, —‘Snow.’
    Leaves were green and stirring,
    Berries, luster-glossed,
    But beneath warm feathers
    Something cautioned, — ‘Frost.’
    All the sagging orchards
    Steamed with amber spice,
    But each wild breast stiffened
    At remembered ice.
    Something told the wild geese
    It was time to fly,—
    Summer sun was on their wings,
    Winter in their cry.

    • Crystal, this is one of my favorite ones, too. I love poems about nature, and this one lets us remember that even wild geese have a plan in their world. There’s another one that kind of reminds me of this one by Wendell Berry–it’s called The Peace of Wild Things:

      When despair for the world grows in me
      and I wake in the night at the least sound
      in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
      I go and lie down where the wood drake
      rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
      I come into the peace of wild things
      who do not tax their lives with forethought
      of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
      And I feel above me the day-blind stars
      waiting with their light. For a time
      I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

  13. My father gave me the love of Rudyard Kipling. My father was in the RAF and spent some of the time during WWII in India. Kipling’s Gunga Din, which is very famous and was made into a movie. One of his not known poems is The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God.

    There’s a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of Khatmandu,
    There’s a little marble cross below the town;
    There’s a broken-hearted woman tends the grave of Mad Carew,
    And the Yellow God forever gazes down.

    He was known as “Mad Carew” by the subs at Khatmandu,
    He was hotter than they felt inclined to tell;
    But for all his foolish pranks, he was worshipped in the ranks,
    And the Colonel’s daughter smiled on him as well.

    He had loved her all along, with a passion of the strong,
    The fact that she loved him was plain to all.
    She was nearly twenty-one and arrangements had begun
    To celebrate her birthday with a ball.

    He wrote to ask what present she would like from Mad Carew;
    They met next day as he dismissed a squad;
    And jestingly she told him then that nothing else would do
    But the green eye of the little Yellow God.

    On the night before the dance, Mad Carew seemed in a trance,
    And they chaffed him as they puffed at their cigars:
    But for once he failed to smile, and he sat alone awhile,
    Then went out into the night beneath the stars.

    He returned before the dawn, with his shirt and tunic torn,
    And a gash across his temple dripping red;
    He was patched up right away, and he slept through all the day,
    And the Colonel’s daughter watched beside his bed.

    He woke at last and asked if they could send his tunic through;
    She brought it, and he thanked her with a nod;
    He bade her search the pocket saying “That’s from Mad Carew,”
    And she found the little green eye of the god.

    She upbraided poor Carew in the way that women do,
    Though both her eyes were strangely hot and wet;
    But she wouldn’t take the stone and Mad Carew was left alone
    With the jewel that he’d chanced his life to get.

    When the ball was at its height, on that still and tropic night,
    She thought of him and hurried to his room;
    As she crossed the barrack square she could hear the dreamy air
    Of a waltz tune softly stealing thro’ the gloom.

    His door was open wide, with silver moonlight shining through;
    The place was wet and slipp’ry where she trod;
    An ugly knife lay buried in the heart of Mad Carew,
    ‘Twas the “Vengeance of the Little Yellow God.”

    There’s a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of Khatmandu,
    There’s a little marble cross below the town;
    There’s a broken-hearted woman tends the grave of Mad Carew,
    And the Yellow God forever gazes down.

    • My father was a huge Rudyard Kipling fan, too! I think his favorite was Gunga Din. I have not ever read this one you posted, Kathleen–WHAT A TREASURE! Thanks for sharing this!

  14. My taste is more…odd. The first poem I loved enough to memorize was Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”, and the only reason I’m not going to record it below is that I’ve forgotten how to spell the nonsense words—of which there are many!

    • Pam, I loved Jabberwocky, too! When my kids were little I bought a story book that had that poem illustrated. That’s the entire book–just beautiful illustrations of that poem. I think I kept that book just for the illustrations even after they’d outgrown it. I had not thought of that in years!

  15. I love “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” too. But a poem I loved at an even younger age was “The Village Blacksmith” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.” Like Frost, he painted such a visual image with his words. I could see it all and loved the flow and rhythm of the language.

    • That’s one my hubby and my mom both had to memorize during their respective school years. My mom was born in 1922 and my hubby in 1951–of course Longfellow stood the test of time! I never had to memorize that one, but this is probably my favorite one of his:

      “The Cross of Snow” (1879)
      In the long, sleepless watches of the night,
      A gentle face—the face of one long dead—
      Looks at me from the wall, where round its head
      The night-lamp casts a halo of pale light.
      Here in this room she died; and soul more white
      Never through martyrdom of fire was led
      To its repose; nor can in books be read
      The legend of a life more benedight.
      There is a mountain in the distant West
      That, sun-defying, in its deep ravines
      Displays a cross of snow upon its side.
      Such is the cross I wear upon my breast
      These eighteen years, through all the changing scenes
      And seasons, changeless since the day she died.

    • Barbara, there are even more now that I’ve responded to earlier comments! LOL You’ll have to go back and read some of the new additions! I’m so glad you stopped by today!

  16. Love Loreena Mckennitt’s version of The Highwayman! It is one of my favorite songs on her albums. It always makes me tear up..

    • Colleen, isn’t her voice gorgeous? Oh my goodness! I love to listen to her. Yes, I get teary listening to that one, too. She has a great way of expressing herself in her music.

    • I like his poetry too, Megan. My dad really loved him and would read poetry to me sometimes when I was little at bedtime. I like is poem “If”–lots of wisdom in his words in that one!

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