I'm having fun with Google Reader today and in exploring, I found a patriotic and poetic blog to share. Indeed, poetry is a fine way to communicate emotions in a romantic, passionate or funny bone way. What man or woman wouldn't want someone to write this of them:



Thou wast all that to me, love,
For which my soul did pine —
A green isle in the sea, love,
A fountain and a shrine,
All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers,
And all the flowers were mine.



Alas, written by Edgar Allen Poe, the object of this verse had passed away. Better expressed when one is still with you.



Whitter stoked the fires of patriotic passion in his Barbara Fritchie.



Shoot if you must this old gray head,

But spare my country's flag she said.



OK, I admit it. I learned that in Virginia public schools. But the point is that Poetry can spur passions, whether it is melancholy, romantic or humorist. Try it yourself and feel the release.

Poems of the American Revolution

Poems of the American Revolution

April Musings

It's National Poetry month, and I bet you have some favorites. Sometimes, poetry can be found within novels, such as Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. You can find the book online, simply by googling the "title" with the term "ebook." Often the ebook is provided by the Guttenberg Project. (Books published before 1923 are often available online.) Select the ebook formats link and choose the format. A springtime verse within is one of my favorites, though it could be argued that it means nothing. Yes, I am speaking of "Jabberwocky." What can be more dreamy than the following verse:

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Or what can be more romantic than the description written by Edgar Allen Poe in "To One in Paradise."

Thou wast that all to me, love,
For which my soul did pine—
A green isle in the sea, love,
A fountain and a shrine,
All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers,
And all the flowers were mine.

Poetry can express emotions better than any other medium. Enjoy a poetry book today. It can make you laugh or cry. Write your own poem, and discover the emotional release and surprise of writing verse. See our College Muse (literary magazine) folder in Blackboard to see recent student efforts.