Once a month, on a Thursday afternoon, a small group of us meet in a classroom at Edison College. We are there because we love Poetry. Some of us (me, for example) know only a little about the subject but nonetheless have favorites. Some know quite a bit – in fact, are what I would call ‘experts’. Here’s the thing, though: regardless of our degree of knowledge, or whether we could actually attempt to write a line or two, everyone in this group takes the opportunity to express his or her feelings and insights about anything we are reading. And, we all seem to learn from each other.
The miraculous thing about works of art is that once created and sent out to live in the world, we the Observers bring our experiences, perspectives, attitudes, personalities and create unique interpretations of the work, often beyond what the artist had in mind.
Yesterday, we welcomed a local Poet, Dorothy Howe Brooks, to our group meeting. She has recently published a collection of poems entitled A Fine Dusting of Brightness. I arrived not having met Dorothy and not having read her book. Our fine moderator Craig guided us through a handful of his favorite selections and we all proceeded to offer our comments and interpretations. Of course, we also took advantage of this rare opportunity to hear the story behind the story directly from the poet!. It didn’t take me long to become a devoted fan of both the lady and her work.
Dorothy’s poetry is a clean, direct hit to the Soul. Certainly, women of a certain age will resonate with her heart and mind tugging observations of generational evolution, personal growth, loss and self acceptance. But, these are universal issues and therefore the work appeals to men and women of all generations. She is intelligent, always sympathetic but never sentimental. Her work is so relatable that I found myself thinking, “Yes, this is exactly what it feels like! Thank you for expressing it in these beautiful words!”
Fortunately, Dorothy will be teaching a course in Writing Poetry at the Lifelong Learning Institute in Punta Gorda next month. I will go – not because I fancy myself a Poet, but because I want to get closer to the mind and heart of this gifted woman.
Sharing only one poem is a challenge, but here is the one we closed our class with yesterday.
Song of Songs
By Dorothy Howe Brooks
The Mockingbird sings a song
not her own, yet
you know her voice.
You know it the way
you know your child’s cry,
the way she calls to you
from the swing set, or her room late at night,
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know your own voice
in spite of the clever imitations
you’ve practiced for so long.
Some evening alone in the quiet
words begin to take shape,
a first faint whisper, then a melody,
Then at last you hear the song,
the one song that is yours,
and in your own voice
sing back. O Mockingbird!
To read more about the Poet, go to her website:
For your own copy of A Fine Dusting of Brightness, go to Amazon.