JUST A HINT OF POETRY

Written by Luz Leigh – 19 August 2007

      Many years ago a poetess by the name of Elizabeth Akers Allen penned a poem “Rock Me To Sleep” which begins with the words

      “Backward, turn backward, O time, in your flight,

      Make me a child again just for to-night!

      Mother, come back from the echoless shore,

      Take me again to your heart as of yore;……”

      The poem goes on as the poetess recalls some of her life, and how she feels the loss of her mother’s presence. It could be seen as a sad reminder of what she has lost, but on the other hand there were sweet memories as well.

      I guess all of us who have lost a mother have had some of these feelings. We miss her, whether she lived a long full life or if she died at a very early age such as my mother did. As I read the poem, I had these thoughts of what it would be like to see my mother again because I am a mature senior citizen and my mother left when she was only thirty-six years of age.

      This is not meant to be a sad or mournful writing, just some thoughts that have popped into my head.

      The book from which the above poem was taken is The Family Book of Best Loved Poems, edited by David L. George and published in 1952. In it are many of my favorite childhood poems by authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Clement Clark Moore, Eugene Field and “Anonymous”. Mr. Anonymous wrote quite a few, including, but not limited to “The House that Jack Built.”

      If you like easy reading, that book is the one to read…check out page 353 “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary……” all the way to the end……”And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor shall be lifted---nevermore!” Old Edgar Allan Poe and his talking raven always entertained me. “Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore!’”

      Well, that concludes our Poetry 101 for this evening. Do join us again sometime.