Poetry Friday: #LauraIngallsWilder Style

Of all the things that she was, did you know Laura was also a poet? She didn’t write about it in the Little House book, but Laura began writing down her thoughts in verse from an early age.

Oh read me a story and let me forget
This brain racking worry, this wearying fret
Read me of when the har was still strung
When at my Lord’s coming the joy bells were rung;
When all hearts were merry and the world was still young
When honor was common and knavery rare
The men were all gallant, the women all fair;
And when the sweetest sad music was heard in the air
Sailors knew that mermaidens were combing their hair.
So come read the tale, dear, and let us forget
This present day hurry and struggle and fret.
–as published in William Anderson’s  A Little House Reader

Doesn’t losing oneself in a good book sound wonderful? We know that the Ingalls and Wilder families entertained themselves in the winter evenings with music and reading. Without the radio to entertain as families did in the 50s and the TV of today, the family actually had to entertain each other!

You can read more of Laura’s poems in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Fairy Poems. What do you think about Laura’s poem? 

Poetry Friday: We Real Cool

It’s Poetry Friday!
Every third Friday of the month
I will share snippets of poems I love and share my thoughts!
See previous Poetry Friday posts here.

I thought this poem would be perfect as we approach high school graduations. As seniors prepare to take the last steps through their high school career, there’s a tendency to think “We real cool.” There’s a sense of bravado, of immortality. In addition to that interpretation of immortality, the poem can be read in a mocking tone that I think can be appropriate if applied to the example of seniors. Plenty of people, particularly those who have just recently made the jump from high school look down on those seniors with derision, but in reality most of us were in that same position when we were in high school.

There’s no one who can read this poem better than Brooks does herself. Enjoy!

What do you think of Brooks’ poem?

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Poetry Friday: A Drinking Song

It’s Poetry Friday!
Every third Friday of the month
I will share snippets of poems I love and share my thoughts!
See previous Poetry Friday posts here.

Today I’ll actually feature an Irish poet unlike my Wednesday review. Despite being an Irish poet who wrote a drinking poem, it seems appropriate to honor Yeats as we approach Saint Patrick’s day because he was involved in the Celtic Revival, “a movement against the cultural influences of English rule in Ireland during the Victorian period, which sought to promote the spirit of Ireland’s native heritage.” (via)

Yeats’ poem is a succinct description of what many people’s weekends will be at the bar. Stay safe, have fun, and happy Saint Paddy’s day (even the fake Irish)!

Poetry Friday: Snow-Bound By Whittier

Welcome to my newest feature: Poetry Friday! Every third Friday of the month I will share snippets of poems I love and share my thoughts!

The sun that brief December day

Rose cheerless over hills of gray,

And, darkly circled, gave at noon

A sadder light than waning moon.

Slow tracing down the thickening sky

Its mute and ominous prophecy,

A portent seeming less than threat,

It sank from sight before it set.

Read the poem here on the Poetry Foundation’s website.

So begins John Greenleaf Whittier’s 1866 book-length poem Snow-Bound. I thought this poem would be appropriate for December when I’m romanticizing about being shut inside for a day or two during a snowstorm. Of course, the romance quickly diminishes once one has been in closed quarters for too long.

I first read this poem in junior high as one of my quarterly lit projects. Each quarter we were given a choice of books to read, and then we did fun activities and reviews of the books. I always chose the most difficult books; it should come as no surprise that such a long poem was considered the difficult book for that particular quarter. The initial foreboding I experienced at the thought of reading such a long poem was quickly relieved as I began to really get into the saga. For that reason (and that it’s so well written) this poem has been in the back of my mind since reading it.

Have you ever read Snow-Bound or any of Whittier’s other poems? Do you have fond memories of junior high required reading?