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Smith, Monica.
Kindred: A Family Portrait (Paperback). IUniverse: November
19, 2008. 92 pages. ISBN-10: 1440104298; ISBN-13:
978-1440104299. 9 x 6 x 0.2 inches. Shipping Weight: 6.7
ounces. $11.95. Available from
Amazon.com
Commentary
"We cannot remember too often that when we observe nature, and
especially the ordering of nature, it is always ourselves alone
we are observing". This was a belief of the German physicist /
philosopher, G. C. Lichtenberg. One gets the feeling from this
that we are looking into a mirror. And, perhaps we are. Man's
connection with nature is truly a strong one-of this there is no
doubt! Our first thought when we want to get away from the
burdens of life is to go to the woods, the lake, the beach, the
mountains or the sea-to nature. Is it a coincidence that we feel
so much at home in nature? I don't think so; for home is that
sacred place we feel we belong. It is a place where we can be
ourselves and find the comfort and peace for which we long. It
just might be that what we ultimately need when times are
difficult, rather than distance, is familiarity, family and
reflection of ourselves; perhaps this is what calls us to
nature. So, when we feel the need to visit our favorite natural
surroundings it may not be so much that we are getting away, but
that we are coming home....
Read Poem from Kindred: A Family Portrait
About the Author
Monica E. Smith
enjoys writing about everyday things, and feels that a poem can
be found anywhere. Her family continues to play a most important
part in her writing. About her writing, Monica explains "I feel
poetry need not be written in a complicated language for the
select few. I find, even in the brevity of poetry the freedom of
expression, and in that there is freedom in expression." She
feels what is most important in writing a poem is the sharing,
as it is the sharing/experience of the poem which makes it live.
Monica is the author of two poetry books,
Days of Fine Gray
Ash, available through her web site, and
Kindred: A Family Portrait, available at
iuniverse.com,
barnesandnoble.com
and
amazon.com, as well as their affiliate
online bookstores. Her poems have been published in many
national and international journals.
Monica enjoys reading and exploring her family ancestry, as well
as her love of photography, which she calls "silent poetry". She
has been experimenting with creating Haiku-Photography, a form
which has recently risen from the original Haiga (Haiku
Painting). In August 2008, she released her first book of
photography with
blurb.com,, Going Coastal, a
coffee table book containing photographs of coastal areas within
the United States. Since then, she has released two more
books with
Blurb: Dog-matized: The Comical Truth of Life with a
Jack-A-Bee and Menagerie, a collection of her essays,
poetry, haiku and photography.
In 2009, Monica was asked by the chaplain at Mount Carmel
Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio (where she works) to create a
photographic work depicting the rhythms and harmony of birth and
death. The posters will hang in the palliative
care unit at
Mount Carmel.
Monica invites you to visit her website,
Purple Quill.com,
and her blog
Rantings of a Mad Poet.
Monica welcomes all correspondence at
monica@purplequill.com
Poems from
Kindred: A Family Portrait*
Passage
Among the fallen
Lay the ancient ones,
Beautiful in death
As they were in life
Petrified, they remain still
Where once they stood tall
Nodding their delight
In the evening breeze
And yet, as if in defiance,
They shine in splendor,
Vivid and brilliant, gilded
In morning sunlight
Might it be, that we, too,
Are so transformed
On our passage
From life into death
The Case for
Coyotes
It doesn't
frighten me,
their far-off yowling,
more a plaintive cry
than the howl
of a vicious animal,
almost a consolation.
I hear their nightly lament
Seeming to denounce
civilization, where there is
killing without cause,
and I am curiously comforted.
Mesa Verde
Monet
Out here clouds
mimic
The mesas, using the sun's
Kaleidoscopic spectrum
As their palette.
It is difficult to tell
Where cloud leaves off
And crag begins, each one
A shining intuitive creation
Framed between the canyons
In a masterful sundown display.
Jazz Fest
(Columbus, Ohio Riverfront 1997)
The jazz rang
sweet
Till it lost it’s beat
When driving rains came
And took their aim
Made the water run deep
As the skies began to weep
While strong winds blew
Hail pelted and flew
And the thunder did crash
As did lightning flash
The trees bowed and swayed
With people who prayed
Until the sun heard
And gave the word
Caused the fury to cease
And the torrent to ease
Soon the people cheered
They no longer feared
Now the jazz rang sweet
Never skipped another beat
*Kindred: A
Family Portrait by Monica E. Smith is featured in the
Book Fair in the September / October 31, 2009
Sketchbook.
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