GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby

“DISCOVERY, THE GREAT ADVENTURE, THE WONDER SPELL” was published in 1984 in Reaching High, California Federation of Chaparral Poets, Prize Winners. This poem appears in honor of Women’s History Month. Helen Keller came to the author’s high school and spoke in Margaret’s classroom, for by that time Helen had learned to use her voice. The author never would forget that visit, later reading what Helen had written as well.

KALEIDOSCOPE—a series by Kathleen Roxby

“MORE FUN WITH HOMONYMS”. This is just one of several blogs the author will write concerning homonyms.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby

“EN LA PLAZA DE MAYO” was written after seeing a documentary a circumstance that happened in Argentina. In the period between 1976 and 1983 thousands of people were killed or disappeared, including babies.  In 1977 the mothers of the vanished young people began to walk in the main plaza of Buenos Aires (Plaza de Mayo) as a way to call attention to this terrible fact and to get the government to release the names of those removed and their fates. Their march became international news. Eventually names were released, though many say the list is incomplete. Families continue to search for answers. The poet wrote the poem in elementary Spanish present tense because it was the only verb tense she felt she could be certain would be written correctly. She was taking a refresher course in conversational Spanish for a trip to South America at the time. It is included this month in honor of Women’s History. This poem first appeared in the chapbook, “Tangent Allusion” published in 2001.

 

GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby

“WEDDING”. This poem was inspired by the poet’s honeymoon in February 1941. They left the wedding reception and drove into an unexpected blizzard.

KALEIDOSCOPE—a series by Kathleen Roxby

“ODD COUPLE.” February is the month when “pairing” is a topic for February 14. This suggested to the author the circumstances where certain words almost always appear together.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby

“LOVING” was written after viewing a televised version of the play, A Painting of Churches. The scene described occurred near the finale of the play. Years later, a friend used this poem, slightly revised as part of the fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration for her parents. All the participants received a copy of the poem as a keepsake.

GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby

“LOVE LETTER, A REMNANT”. This selection was found in its original hastily scribbled version among the poet’s papers. It was then edited by this site’s content manager for release this month.

KALEIDOSCOPE—a series by Kathleen Roxby

“Spic and Span Again?.” This idiom attracted the author’s attention when she was a child and her grandmother often used it to describe her goal when cleaning up. The expression never seemed, to the author, to have anything to do with “clean”. When at last the cleanser of that name appeared in her house, she assumed that her grandmother took her cue from the cleanser, meaning that the house needed to be scrubbed clean. However, even that explanation never really satisfied her curiosity until she finally did the research resulting in this blog. Note: the product of this name was first introduced in 1933.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby

“LOVE’S GENTLE DYING LIGHT” is the result of a poetry assignment to write in iambic pentameter about some unpoetic object. What is described is a true happening. Kathleen was in college, and the young man at the door was someone she knew from her Drama work. They had been at a party hosted by friends who lived just a block from her house. He offered to walk her home when, at one o’clock the amount of smoke in the party rooms proved too much for her. The events in the poem happened as written.

GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby

“PRAYER IN THE NIGHT”. This poem was written during the unrest that arose during the Civil Rights Movement.

KALEIDOSCOPE—a series by Kathleen Roxby

“CLEARING THE DECKS”. The author was inspired by the numerous storage boxes which are purchased in January as one year is packed away or scrapped.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby

“DREAM OF SUMMER RAIN” was once titled “Dysmenorrhea” (menstrual cramps) which is what inspired the images. The author suffered rather severe cramps from the time she was thirteen through to the pre-menopausal years when the occurrences and strength eased, until one severe attack in her forties which prompted this poem. A poetry workshop suggested she change the title and drop the reference to “toe”. They felt the poem otherwise was “poetic”. For a while the author capitulated as she acknowledged that most of the poem was too pretty for what it described. She also knew, from living through the experience, the importance of being able to move one toe without increasing pain. Thus, here it is as originally written. Comments are welcome.

 

 

 

 

GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby

“THESE UNFORGOTTEN DREAMS” was once titled “New Dreams for Old?” That version was also shorter, but still inspired by the peddler/magician and lamp from the Aladdin story. The author rewrote the poem when she was part of a Round Robin* group of poets. This version first appeared in 1992 in Prize Poems, California Federation of Chaparral Poets.

*Poets who sent their poems to other poets for criticism. The poems continued circulating until each author received back their own poem with all the comments.

KALEIDOSCOPE—a series by Kathleen Roxby

“TO BE OR NOT TO BE” seemed to be an appropriate topic for the month when so many are thinking about resolutions for the New Year.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby

“WHEN A WINTER WIND SWEEPS ICE CRYSTALS THROUGH THE PASS YOU WILL HEAR THE HOWL OF THE SCAVENGERS” describes some of the neighbor children whose homes were not always happy. One family especially had a rough edge to their unspoken dissatisfaction with life. The author witnessed how time and again her parents, and grandmother, made the effort to welcome these children and to make them feel included and appreciated.