Monday, June 23, 2008

Turf the Tears


I re-learned an interesting truth tonight - 

The man who radiates good cheer, who makes life happier wherever he meets it, is always a man of vision and faith. ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox


In choosing poems to read aloud at the Student Reading which will conclude the spring session of writing classes, my classmates did not select any of the ones that were most personal to me, but rather those that spoke in praise of others (eg. my mother, my son). These were their favorites. And not the ones I enjoyed the most either. Yes, I love the subject matter and so they were warm and full of praise. Most of my others were more like poetry therapy - not as universal. Goes to prove:

Laugh and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone;
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

2 comments:

  1. We all can relate to poems about mothers and sons, thus their choices, I think.

    Was the poetry reading fun?

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  2. Yes. Absolutely. Besides three poets, we also heard original Short Stories and Personal Essays. Some were absolutely hilarious but for others, very serious. As Sue put it, there was some very courageous reading in the personal essays. It must have been therapeutic for several of them to read their writing outloud about very dark times in their life.

    It's interesting that when I got right down to it, I also found my own choices for poems included those about my family. That's what I love most, so it was the most enjoyable to read.

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