Poets Salon: Childhood Wisdom

POETS SALON

– 12/04/19

Hosted by Kath Abela Wilson

My little hand is warmed by holding the big soft salty pretzel. Cold winds blow a thrill through us on the upper ferry deck. Above, gulls spiral and turn their invisible map, I squint to see their secrets, the labyrinths they make with their wings.

peephole
the dark below is filled
with flying fish

~ Kath Abela

Ο Ο Ο

Christmas stars hanging from my front porch, Meadowlake, NM
(Photo – Roary Williams)

Roary Williams

sixty-one
going on nine
in flannel pajamas
watching TV and
waiting for Santa at
the end of the parade

celery and onions
sautéed in butter
the dog and I hover
next to the stove
wagging our tails

she finds the
third wise man
and I hand her
two sheep and
the baby Jesus

while I’m
untangling cords
and checking bulbs
the neighbor’s house
already blinking

I look outside
and turn on
the porch light
to make it
snow harder

Ο Ο Ο

The view from my front porch (Photo – Roary Williams)

Gerry Jacobson

boy baby
feeds … burps … dozes
snuggles
day and night
in his world of sensuous bliss

wind in my face
freewheeling downhill
grateful
to be alive
and nine years old again

Ο Ο Ο

Photo and poem by Emanuela Nicolova

Emanuela Nicolova

we grow up only
to forget the wisdom
of our childhood

“…The Child is father of the Man…”
W. Wordsworth

My students…I can’t think of a particular occasion, but for thirty years there have been many times that a single word from a student has been like an eye opener: they have given me many bright ideas for lessons; their smiles have warmed my heart and lifted my spirits in my saddest hours; they have helped me with their unmistakable sense of justice and integrity, and, sometimes, communicating with my students, I have the feeling that they are offering me their hearts, so pure and innocent are they, and I am awed.

‘n-o-w–h-e-r-e’ – a child
learning to read
teaching a life lesson

Ο

Childhood Wisdom: Quotes and Credits

Roary William says: “May you grow old in wisdom, and still be a perpetual child…A wise therapist told me a long time ago that if I took care of business, and didn’t hurt anyone, I could remain a child the rest of my life. I have embraced that philosophy, and it has kept my sense of wonder intact. I have lived in the high desert of New Mexico since 1989, and it has been a poet’s inspiration. I have been writing poetry for ten years on Twitter, learning from some of the best poets in the world. I love nature and the seasons, and most of my poetry revolves around them. When it snows here in the desert, it is truly an event.”

Gerry Jacobson lives in suburban Canberra (Australia,) and gets around the town by bike. The compulsory fitness has added several years to his life. He loves being a grandad to four small children and travels constantly to hang out with them (in Sydney and in Stockholm).

Emanuela Nicolova is a poet and teacher from Bulgaria. In her 30+ years of teaching English, she has taken many children’s hands and held them all along from their first meeting with the English letters to their passing higher international exams in English that have opened the doors of universities worldwide for them. She says: “Teaching is a miracle of give and take. And now that I look back I surely have taken more than I have given.”

Inner Bloom (Photo – Emanuela Nicolova)

♣ A note from Kath Abela

Send your submissions by midnight Sunday, Pacific time, on each week’s theme: “Space“, “Inside and Out“, “New Year Poems” or suggest your own theme.

Send short poems, haiku, senryu, tanka, cherita haibun, tanka prose, short prose poems, etc., or your own unique approach, to Kath Abela by Facebook message or click here to email her directly. We can feature your work again after five months. Multiple Submissions can be saved to appear later:

1. Send a short bio, comments on the theme.
2. Send photos or artwork by you, if possible.
3. No attachments except photos.

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