Books, Reviews, Short Stories, Authors, Publicity, a little poetry, music to complement...and other stuff including politics, about life... "Books, Cats: Life is Sweet..."
English: Pussy willow from Turku Finland. Suomi: Pajunkissa Turusta. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Cats, Daffodils & Dragonflies:
Mystical Nature Poems
(1987-2005)
By Laura Stamps
Opening my door every morning allows me to see the beauty of my surroundings on 13 acres of woodland and the site of my cabin...A Pussy Willow Tree sits outside my door, one that I planted almost as soon as I moved in. I've added a bird feeder and enjoy watching the birds be smarter and faster than my cats. The Red Birds enjoy the dry cat food, so, I share that too, while my cats eat on my front porch...
I know you're thinking--so what? What does this have to do with your review of a book...
How Cool! I Coulda Been a Contender?!!!
Laura Stamps writes what I see through my eyes, but cannot put into words! I don't think I knew what a soul mate was before I read this book, for surely her words complements the images I see as, for instance, that one pussy willow changes during our seasons...If this is not the meaning of soul mate, I don't know what it would be...
And, of course, the primary reason I bought the book was that she loves cats! In fact, her 2005 her poetry book "The Year of the Cat" was nominated for the "Pulitzer Prize." And it's included in this collection. How cool is that?!
Normally, I have found that poetry collections are rather short, but not this one! And the formatting into an ebook is not the greatest just because of the nature of presentation of poetry--actually, I would love to see this book out as a coffee-table creation with photos to match her words...I know many cat lovers and nature lovers like me would have it prominently displayed in our homes...
BEAUTY
I once read that lily means beauty, like a tiger lily, like the tiny cat that swam through my life, a river of cream and black, wrapping the soft ribbons of her paws around my heart: let us walk together in beauty. How far have I come? Can I lift my wings with the bright green wink of a luna moth, a miracle that I have witnessed three times in thirty-eight years? Can I hear the tales of goodness and peace shuffling the dark branches of the trees? Can I sit in the corner of an empty room, my hands lost in the ebony purse of this kitten's fur, whispering stories of earth, pumoth, tiger lily? Let us lift our wings and soar in beauty. ~~~
For Laura Stamps is a true literary poet, who has been published worldwide in over 1000 magazines, so you may have already read her! But, you know what I did after I read the last page of the book? I moved it back to the beginning. I plan to use it as a daily reading to brighten my days... Because that's is just what you find in this book: joy, peace, contentment... Oh sure, there are a few with a sign of being down, but not many...and if you have had just one contact with the author on line, you will know that the feelings are real! Makes you want to have her as your friend...
"...Daily, I plant the eeds of love, kindness, and beauty, graced with the daffodil's smile. And when the sun rises each morning, I can hardly wait.
Having this book is just about the next best thing... Most of her poems take minute pieces of nature, flowers, sky...everything turns into some, yes, mystical place that only she can take us to--are these really the same mundane items we step on, or stumble across, or look at with unseeing eyes? Yes, Yes, they are...for I, too, have seen them in a different light since I've moved into my cabin and strolled through acres--finding a trillium (which I had never before seen)... Still, I don't have the words... Are you, too, in that place where you need to stop and, as they say, "smell the roses...?" If so, Laura Stamps has the way to do that, even when you're at work in some office, or taking the subway home from the city...She will pull you out of your present and take you to a place you can only envision...and yet, she does it so easily, that you may think she is there, merely talking to you about her day...but how does she move us? Ahhh, that is the true mystery... Only a true poet writes this way...
By the way, I know little about poetry, have never studied it...so I rarely review poetry books, except from people I know or that have acknowledged that my review is never to be construed as a professional...only as someone who sometimes meet a soul mate poet who provides the words I would want to speak, those that are hidden in my heart... Those that she has been given a gift to share with all of us...
Coco with litter...
The Jeweled Chant
of meadowlarks,
mockingbirds,
and blue jays lures the sun from
its ebony cave, and at daybreak,
as that fiery phoenix rises from
the ashes of night to lift its
lemon eyelid, spackling the
sky with light,
Poppy often appears,
crouched in crabgrass or clinging
to the low branches of a tree.
Her tongue craves the ivory peaks
of yogurt almost as much as her
mother, who taps Poppy's head
whenever the kitten attempts to
lap the milky treasure from both
bowls. Each stray has gained
weight after two weeks of regular
meals, and their coats gleam like
the gloss of new leaves. In
the evening Poppy rolls in the grass
beside her father, while he finishes
Stubs (The Stray Father who Found a Home!)
dinner, her plump belly thrashing
back and forth. Has a kitten ever
adored her parents as much as
this one? Watching Poppy, I pray
for her joyous spirit, that it will
always soar like the skylark, the
sapphire lake of her life unclouded
with gray, her days frisky with
grasshoppers and butterflies, her
nights a purring soliloquy of peace.
~~~
Let's face it, you either enjoy poetry or not. Me, I as a reader enjoy some but not all poetry. If you're in the latter category and liked the samples here, check more out online at Amazon or other sites that allow you to read samples...Personally, I loved Stamps' poetry...You may too... Dare I say a must-read for poetry lovers?!
GABixlerReviews
Laura Stamps work has been published in over a thousand magazines, literary journals, and anthologies worldwide. The recipient of a Pulitzer Prize nomination and seven Pushcart Award nominations, she is the author of more than 54 books.
Currently, Laura lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with 9 cats in an antebellum-style house. Beyond her backyard lies a state forest, which just happens to be full of faeries.
with your hand to keep it from
morning with a canticle of love,
