CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Patricia Hammill writes, “I started writing poetry when I was nine years old.  My mother had friends who were poets, my aunts wrote poetry, and I had wonderful teachers in school who not only wrote poetry but promoted poetry. Also, I had friends who enjoyed “playing with words.” Writing poetry seemed natural.”

We are pleased to offer you two brief humorous poems by Patricia.!

Cathy’s insights into how to cope with losses and emerge with resilience are the themes in this poem. “RESTORATION” joins “THE PAUSE” and “FIRST & LAST” with this theme. We invite you to read this poem and revisit the two previous poems.

Winter is often the time to be still and to reflect on the experiences that bring us to where we are in our lives. We not only look back but we also look to the future, taking steps toward what we want to happen next.   Cathy’s poem “FIRST and LAST”  speaks to those moments of reflection and the importance of also living in the present.

Every seining salmon season has an “Opening Day” when the net slips over the stern and splashes into the water at 6:00AM.  From that moment, a narrative begins that will tell the story of the year’s catch.

A friend recommended this well known poem from R W Emerson for the NESTER. In a GOOGLE search I found that this poem has been inspiring to many people and is included in many “favorite” quotes and poems by Emerson. This poem is a good companion piece with Cathy Ross’s poem “The Pause” published recently in the NESTER. I encourage you to read the poem and take it to “heart.” Tim

After the bustle of December holidays and the celebration of New Year’s Day, we endure winter’s dark days in January.  This is the perfect time to pause in our busy lives and reflect on where we have been and where we are going.  Cathy’s poem, THE PAUSE is just right for January!

As we enter 2023, I encourage you to read this wonderful poem written with the New Year in mind by Jackie Kay.
Tim

I am currently reading Margaret Atwood’s  book of essays, BURNING QUESTIONS.   One essay focuses on a Polish journalist, R. Kapuscinski, who covered dangerous places and events in his career.  Despite this he continued to express optimism about the future. He wrote,  “We stand in darkness, surrounded by light.”  Although I wrote DO TELL ME in the nineteen- seventies,   the themes remain timeless!

A holiday greeting from Dave & Joyce Wagar
“We spent July and August on our Whidbey Island beach place this year.
One of our favorite off-beach walks is the Wilbert Trail at South Whidbey State Park, only four miles away. The trail stars a remarkable stand of old growth firs and cedars, with an abundant supporting cast of native vegetation. The scene in Dave’s painting is from a walk on a partly sunny day in July.

Cathy’s poem, “HEARTHSONG” comes from an earlier book of poems titled, “AFTER WINTER.” This poem, however, speaks to that first cold snap of late fall, the setting of the first fire in the fireplace, sitting close and feeling the warmth soothe the body and the soul.