An Interlude With Bards

Outside the storm is raging, heaping piles of drifting snow. Inside I'm snuggled in my easy chair, the fireplace all aglow! I've retrieved an old tome of poetry from my library shelf, To spend an afternoon with noted bards to entertain myself. I'll never tire of the lovely lyrics leaping from its pages, Composed by inspirational poets down through the ages. Those gifted folks awaken latent emotions in my languid soul, Creating soul-stirring verse about life that they so fluently extol! I delight in the lines championing ordinary folks by Edgar Guest, And the ballads of Robert Service on his daring Yukon quest! The works of The Hoosier Poet J. Whitcomb Riley I hold dear. It's as if he wrote about my Hoosier boyhood of yesteryear! The fire casts gloomy shadows about as I read Poe's elegies, But my mood brightens reading Kilmer's beautiful poem, "Trees!" McCrae's, "In Flanders Fields", as a lad I learned by rote. I chuckle at the whimsical poetry that Lewis Carroll wrote! I treasure my time with the bards and their poems in the book. It occupies a very special place in my library nook. Well, I'll put it aside since the cat has hopped upon my lap. Dear old Simba and I will settle in for a cozy winter's nap! Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired (© All Rights Reserved)