GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby
“TENDER CONQUEST”. The story of the gardenia was one repeated more than once on the occasions of her wedding anniversary, a small reminder of the days when her husband was courting her.
REFRACTIONS—a poem by Robert Roxby
“HOLDING HANDS WITH MARGARET” describes a memory from the author’s courtship of his wife.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby
“ON A DAY BEFORE WE MET” is a wish, a record of what the poet felt might be true one day.
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
“WINTER MORN” is a syllable haiku (5 – 7 – 5).
REFRACTIONS
“WINTER TREASURE” by Robert Roxby. This poem is a memory from 1935 when the author was only two years out of high school. It may have been in his hometown of Wheeling, West Virginia, or it may have been in a CCC camp somewhere in Tennessee.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby
“THE GREAT FREEZE AND THE THAW” was written after the first month and one-half of isolation dictated by the COVID19 virus. The freeze began while the author was still working and continued into her retirement where she sorted the “chaos” of years of accumulated family history. During that time she found herself unable to write creatively. Then suddenly in May of 2020, the words began to flow. This particular poem was created in response to a prompt in a online workshop, “Writing Through the Apocalypse” hosted by Marcia Meier.
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
“QUIET WORLD OF WINTER”. In the original version “whisper soft” was spelled as one word, not two.
REFRACTIONS
“WINTER BEGINS” by Robert Roxby. The first thirty years of Robert’s life was spent in states where winter snow was a regular occurrence. He speaks of drinking tea in this poem, but when he lived in the East, it would have been coffee. Tea was the doctor ordered beverage in his old age when this poem was written.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby
“ORPHAN CHILD”, newly edited for this site was published originally as a memoir poem. The author has since learned that around the time of finding her orphan doll, her dad had promoted a Negro(the term in use at the time) on his team for his excellence, passing over a white man whose work was subpar. This was protested by the white worker. Robert told him, “When your work is the equal to his, I will promote you as well.” The author now believes the doll was thrown in the hope of breaking a picture window at the front of the house to send a warning to Robert. The doll likely came from the Los Angeles factory for Ideal Toys, a local manufacturer which distributed one such doll until 1953.
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.
GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby
“LOTTERY-THOUGHT-ERY”. Margaret enjoyed occasionally purchasing a lottery ticket, but she was far from a dedicated gambler. She could laugh at herself as seen in this poem.
REFRACTIONS
“NEW YEARS EVE” by Robert Roxby appeared in his collection, Reflections of a Lifetime.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby
“WINTER MORNING”, written during her first Winter in Santa Barbara, was inspired by the view from her bedroom window.
ANOTHER SPECTRUM
“2020 Farewell from USA” was born when the author received a blank book for a birthday present delivered belatedly at Christmas due to travel restrictions in 2020. The book bore a title suggesting it was for journal documenting this most different year. Soon after receiving the blank book, this poem woke the author in the night.
GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby
“CHRISTMAS AWAKENING” refers to the poet’s childhood. The stairs she mentions are likely those of her home in Wheeling, West Virginia, where her bedroom was on the second floor.
REFRACTIONS
“HOLY NIGHT” by Robert Roxby appeared in his self-published collection, Reflections on a Lifetime.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—works by Kathleen Roxby
“THE HAPPY BROWN HOURS” is one of the series the author wrote for her collection entitled, “A Singular Prism” which focuses on colors.
GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby
“CHRISTMAS GREETING” was written by Margaret after taking a class which taught her how to make her own greeting cards. She used the techniques and tools she acquired to make cards for friends and family.
KALEIDOSCOPE—a series by Kathleen Roxby
“CHORTLING WITH FULSOMENESS”. For her primary references, the author used www.etymonline.com and www.merriam-webster.com.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—works by Kathleen Roxby
“DO YOU HEAR?” This poem describes a memory from when Kathleen’s older cousin was living with them for a little over a year. They shared a bedroom which opened to the living room where the fireplace and the Christmas tree were located.
GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby
“CHRISTMAS IS”. Christmas was the poet’s favorite holiday and season for the very reason wrapped in the last word of this piece. It was a workshop poem written in response to the prompt “Christmas is”. Margaret later used skills acquired in a craft class and this poem to create a Christmas greeting flyer sent to the Docents of Rancho Los Cerritos, the Long Beach Library and The Historical Society of Long Beach.
REFRACTIONS
“WHY CHRISTMAS IS WALNUTS” by Kathleen Roxby. Every year, Kathleen’s mother made, in addition to her fruitcake, at least three types of fudge, various frosted and unfrosted cookies—some of which were the bar type, at least two kinds of pie, two or three flavors of cake, cinnamon rolls and coffee cake from scratch. These goodies were arranged on paper plates, covered with clear wrapping decorated with Christmas stickers, and finished off with a ribbon tie to be handed out at the door to postman, milkman, delivered to neighbors, her children’s teachers and to friends. For distant friends and family, the treats were packed into tins (also decorated) and mailed. There was usually a plate ready for an unexpected guest to take away, but fruitcake slices were only included for a select list who awaited eagerly each Christmas. Tins were collected all year and stored away in preparation. The poet’s grandmother joined in the baking during the years she resided with her daughter. Her specialties were coffee cake, pie and homemade bread. It was her grandmother who taught the poet the technique of using a nut pick. The poet still has a nut pick and nutcracker from these early days.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—works by Kathleen Roxby
“CHRISTMAS IS WALNUTS”. Kathleen wrote this in response to the same poetry workshop attended by her mother. For the story behind this poem, see this week’s Refractions feature.