Poetry Friday

It's Poetry Friday, again. Already. This week sneaked right by me. More Poetry Friday offerings at Life is Better With Books. Enjoy.

Alas, Kind Element!

By  Léonie Adams 

Then I was sealed, and like the wintering tree
I stood me locked upon a summer core;
Living, had died a death, and asked no more.
And I lived then, but as enduringly,
And my heart beat, but only as to be.
Ill weathers well, hail, gust and cold I bore,
I held my life as hid, at root, in store:
Thus I lived then, till this air breathed on me.
Till this kind air breathed kindness everywhere,
There where my times had left me I would stay.
Then I was staunch, I knew nor yes nor no;
But now the wishful leaves have thronged the air.
My every leaf leans forth upon the day;
Alas, kind element! which comes to go.

Poetry Friday: Hot Summer Nights

It's Poetry Friday. Well, it will be tomorrow when you read this. I'm posting early as I will be on the road tomorrow. Tara is hosting the roundup at A Teaching Life. Lots of poetry out there today. 

This poem is such a beautiful picture of what are nights are like in the Deep South. They days are scalding and the nights are "Bone-idle and coral pink." I can't find very much information on Mary Hamrick except that  she "was born in New York and moved to Florida when she was a young girl. Her writing often reflects the contrast between her Northern and Southern upbringing." From decomP, a literary magazine.

At the International War Veterans Poetry Archives, I found this quote:

She once read, “We cannot know what quality a thing possesses when it is unknown.” She feels that it is important not to tuck away the things you like to do--one must focus on this moment of discovery (writing poetry) and hope for a startling consequence: professional acknowledgment and/or self-fulfillment.

I'm all for the startling consequence!

Woman on Porch by Clovis Heimsath 

Hot Summer Nights

by Mary Hamrick


It haunts me so
those summer nights
in dim lit homes

where music flows
and tempers flare
and lullabies fill the air.

I while away the hours
under the electric swell of light,
(pulse-scorched out).

Bone-idle and coral pink,
this dry spell grills,
but Southern nights do fill me.

Read the rest here.

Mysterious Little Old Ladies

I am a sucker for little old ladies who solve mysteries.

I read every Mrs. Polifax book written by Dorothy Gilman. Bored with her routine life of garden club meetins, she wanders into the CIA to apply for a job and accidentally becomes a spy. The delightful Mrs. Polifax always wears a hat. She's my kind of girl. Rosalind Russell starred as Mrs. Polifax in a 1971 film with Darren McGavin.

Back in 1998, Angela Lansbury starred in a pilot movie called The Unexpected Mrs. Polifax. She would have been a perfect Mrs. Polifax. Unfortunately the writers tried to cram about four books into a two-hour pilot. It wasn't Mrs. Lansbury's fault the series didn't work.

Yes, I watched all those old episodes of Murder, She Wrote, too. What's not to love about a writer who solves mysteries. Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher was always hurrying about in Copper's Cove, Maine, figuring out whodunnit.

Recently my hubby and I have gotten hooked on the Miss Marple series produced by BBC with Geraldine McEwan as the dear little lady. I love McEwan's expressive face. She commands attention, laughter, intrigue with every nuance of that marvelous face. A raised eyebrow, a knowing smile, the tilt of her head that accompanies a simple, "Really?"  I am usually pretty good at figuring out whodunnit, but not in this series. I haven't even come close. Not once. I don't know how she does it. Pick a "she" -- Ms. Christie, Miss Marple, Ms. McEwan. Delightful!

Last week, I was getting ready to take a shower. I sat on the edge of the tub, turned on the water and waited. And waited. When my hubby walked down the hall, I told him something was the matter.We didn't have any hot water. I solved the mystery pretty quickly when I realized I had turned on the cold. Oh dear. Today is my birthday. I wonder how old you have to be to qualify as a little old lady.

Summer Days

I have so enjoyed these summer days. Despite the 102 degree heat, it has been wonderful to have no deadlines looming over my head and no appointments on my calendar. I have been thoroughly lazy, taking a break from everything, including my computer.

I have done some writing, but it's in long hand with a pen on real paper. Just like in the good ol' days!

I had a lovely visit with my daughter last week. We had coffee, went shopping, made dinner on the grill, and watched movies.

Tomorrow I see my five sweet grands!

I'll be back to blogging later in the month. In the meantime, I'm enjoying some wonderful audio books. If you haven't found the free YA audio giveaways for summer, head over to Sync and download this week's selections. Here's the list of titles.

Schedule of SYNC Downloads

SYNC Titles
Summer 2012

June14 – June 20, 2012
The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch, Read by Dan Bittner (Scholastic Audiobooks)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Frank Galati [Adapt.], Read by Shirley Knight, Jeffrey Donovan, and a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works)

June 21 – June 27, 2012
Irises by Francisco X. Stork, Read by Carrington MacDuffie (Listening Library)
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Read by Wanda McCaddon (Tantor Media)

June 28 – July 4, 2012
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud, Read by Simon Jones
(Listening Library)
Tales from the Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang, Read by Toby Stephens
(Naxos AudioBooks)

July 5 – July 11, 2012
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Read by August Ross (AudioGO)
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, Read by Ian Holm (AudioGO)

July 12 – July 18, 2012
Guys Read: Funny Business by Jon Scieszka [Ed.] et al., Read by Michael Boatman, Kate DiCamillo, John Keating, Jon Scieszka, Bronson Pinchot (Harper Audio)
The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Stories by Mark Twain, Read by Norman Dietz (Recorded Books)

July 19 – July 25, 2012
Cleopatra’s Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter, Read by Kirsten Potter (Oasis Audio)
Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare, Read by a Full Cast (AudioGO)

July 26 – August 1, 2012
Pinned by Alfred C. Martino, Read by Mark Shanahan (Listen & Live Audio)
TBA (Brilliance Audio)

August 2 – August 8, 2012
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Read by Khristine Hvam (Hachette Audio)
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Read by Simon Prebble (Blackstone Audio)

August 9 – August 15, 2012
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy, Read by Rupert Degas (Harper Audio)
Dead Men Kill by L. Ron Hubbard, Read by Jennifer Aspen and a Full Cast
(Galaxy Press)

August 16 – August 22, 2012
The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera, Read by Jay Laga’aia (Bolinda Audio)
The Call of the Wild by Jack London, Read by William Roberts (Naxos AudioBooks)
 

And enjoy your summer, too.