GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby

“PIRACY” is included as a nod to the fact that August is designated International Pirate Month. The poem was found among the author’s papers as one of the poems she shared with her Round Robin poet friends.

REFRACTIONS—the poetry by Robert Roxby

“YUMA” is included this week as the fourth week in August is Be Kind to Humankind Week. The poem was found in the poet’s journal.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby

“ANNEKE (An Author Writes to the Character She Created)” is included this week for World Letter Writing Day, September 1. When in tenth grade, the author’s English teacher presented the class with the assignment to write one page of a diary from the point of view of a person living outside of the US and in the midst of WW2 action. Having read both the diary of Anne Frank and that of another of a child of similar age also a resident of the Netherlands, the author used this knowledge to inform her writing. She received an A minus on her project because technically she wrote more than a page, turning it in on a page slightly longer than standard letter size. The original diary page still exists in the author’s files.

GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby

“THE CAROUSEL” is included as August is designated as Family Fun Month. The poet chose the carousel as a subject when her local poetry group suggested they all use games, rhymes and so forth from their childhoods as inspiration for a poem. The poem was found among the poet’s papers.

REFRACTIONS—the poetry by Robert Roxby

“WHY POETRY?” is included this week for Bad Poetry Day, Aug 18. This is not a judgment of the poem’s merit but in reference to the poet’s own words in the poem, “Gibberish, at least some of it, seems to me.” The poem was found in the poet’s journal.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby

“LITTLE BO PEEP RESTYLED” was originally titled “…In the Style of E.A. Poe,” was written for fun when another poet suggested using nursery rhymes as the inspiration for new poems. The author read this poem at for her local poetry group in 2022 for Bad Poetry Day for which it is included this week.

GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby

“LA PALOMA” is included as August is Romance Awareness Month. The poem was found among the author’s papers, but there is some doubt whether this is her own work even though it is her style. The poem has been edited for this site, the word “tune” inserted where the poet indicated indecision (“song/melody”?).  Tune was selected because it did not repeat the word “song” or “melody” which appear elsewhere in the stanza and because it seemed a single syllable word was more appropriate to the rhythm.

REFRACTIONS—the poetry by Robert Roxby

“THE YEAR I TURNED SIXTEEN” is included as August is Water Quality Month. The poem was found in the poet’s journal. The brother he mentions had recently married, but the news never reached the family. His wife later gave birth to a daughter who found her uncle Robert, the author, after she discovered her birth certificate among her own grandmother’s papers which was the first she knew her biological father’s name and of his existence. Before Robert’s death, this new-found niece contacted him from Texas where she lived and they had a brief cordial, long-distance relationship during which he shared his photos from family reunions and the book containing many of his poems which he had given to other family members.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby

“I COULD SING TO YOU” is included this week as August is Romance Awareness Month. The author feels that music is intrinsically connected to romance.

GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby

“THERE IS A LAND STILL UNPOSSESSED” was found in the poet’s papers. The author was fascinated by the possibilities of other worlds.

KALEIDOSCOPE— essay by Kathleen Roxby

“PLAT versus PLOT” continues the author’s series on the oddities of the English language. It was chosen this week as a prosaic counterpart to the poem in GLASS RAIN.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby

“RIDING THE EARTH” was written after hearing this idea expressed in a discussion of tides and the rotation of the Earth.

GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby

“WHAT WAITS THERE?” was found in the poet’s papers along with a note to her Round Robin poet friends: the word “dreams” was originally “drama,” but I made a typo and decided to leave the word “dreams.”

REFRACTIONS— by Robert Roxby

“I AM AN AMERICAN” is included this week for July 4, Independence Day. The poem was found in the poet’s journal.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby

“MOMENTS THAT MATTER” was chosen this week as it seemed to be a blend of the thoughts expressed in the other two poems appearing.