S2 E7: “Not What” by Mary Jo Malo

Welcome to Poetry in the Evening.  

I am on a nature walk along the Vancouver Seawall with a poem by Mary Jo Malo.  

Please join me in reciting “Not What” by poet, Mary Jo Malo.

Not What

Who spoke into being
lily, sparrow,
redwood tree
and galaxies?

Who lavishes light
upon our eyes
and deepens shadow
for rest at night?

Who cries out wisdom,
the way of love?
Who liberates 
the heart with law?

Who calls each one
by our secret name
that none but Him
has ever heard?

Who is and has
the first and last? 
Not what, but who.
Undying Word


Mary Jo Malo

The Flower at My Window by Lucian B Watkins – Rebecca's Reading Room

S2 E10: Lucian B. Watkins was an African American poet anthologized in The Book of American Negro Poetry. Born in 1878 (some say 1879), in Chesterfield, Virginia he was the author of Voices of Solitude (Donahue & Company, 1903). He worked as a teacher and served in World War I. Lucian Watkins’ passion for poetry was illustrated in a letter dated August 13, 1919 sent to W. E. B. Du Bois which is found at this link. Join me in reciting the words of Lucian B. Watkins, The Flower at My Window. The Flower at My Window Lucian B. Watkins – 1878-1920 O! my heart now feels so cheerful as I go with footsteps light In the daily toil of my dear home; And I’ll tell to you the secret that now makes my life so bright— There’s a flower at my window in full bloom. It is radiant in the sunshine, and so cheerful after rain; And it wafts upon the air its sweet perfume. It is very, very lovely! May its beauties never wane— This dear flower at my window in full bloom. Nature has so clothed it in such glorious array, And it does so cheer our home, and hearts illume; Its dear mem’ry I will cherish though the flower fade away— This dear flower at my window in full bloom. Oft I gaze upon this flower with its blossoms pure and white. And I think as I behold its gay costume, While through life we all are passing may our lives be always bright Like this flower at my window in full bloom. Recitation by Rebecca Budd  Music by Johannes Bornlof “Secret Love” Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/FY08ZVs3lw/ Location: Vancouver British Columbia

S2 E6: #WarAndPeace2022 February 15th Update

Reading Taken from Penguin Classics: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Translated by Anthony Briggs Part 1 Chapter 25 p 114

#WarAndPeace2022 February 15th Update – Rebecca's Reading Room

S2 E6: #WarAndPeace2022 February 15, Update Photography and Reading by Rebecca Budd Music by Christian Anderson “Big Passion” #EpidemicSound https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/3KZaoOvogC/ Reading Taken from Penguin Classics: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Translated by Anthony Briggs Part 1 Chapter 25 p 114

S2 E5: Sonnet 43 How do I Love Thee

How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. 
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height 
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight 
For the ends of being and ideal grace. 
I love thee to the level of every day’s 
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. 
I love thee freely, as men strive for right; 
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise. 
I love thee with the passion put to use 
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith. 
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose 
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, 
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, 
I shall but love thee better after death.

The Flower at My Window by Lucian B Watkins – Rebecca's Reading Room