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The Fertile Mind
by Alice Mackenzie Swain
The fertile mind is like a river flowing,
Remembering the past as in a dream
That gave direction in instinctive ways.
Each dawn is birth,
An exploration through different landscapes
Past strange trees,
Seeing alien spirits mirrored in its depths.
It moves through vast perimeters of change,
That alter its diameter and speed,
Increases value to those who move
Along its shores
And grow in wisdom from its nourishment.
Why?
by Ilene Middleton
Why am I always
Reaching out
Gathering things
About me
Like the
Stray Kitten
I brought home
Perhaps
He liked his freedom –
And that last lone
Autumn leaf
I caught
Scurrying across the yard
When all the others
Had given up
And lay wet
Upon the garden –
Could it be that
I am jealous
And wish
My freedom also?
Jewel of the Field
by Edna Janes Kayser
Wild oyster plant wafting
Your gossamer charm,
One wing of your seedlings
Lit on my farm.
A web of enchantment
And up side down,
A parasol shining
With drops for a crown.
Wispy and lovely
Face down on the clay,
In after-rain wonder –
With sunbeams at play.
Another Dawn
by Doris Gassen
He walked
Dark streets of night
Alone.
She had gone.
Another dawn
Would come, he knew,
With light his heart
Could not
Feel.
The Lark
by Katherine B. March
Hush!
Or you will miss
The
Song, of the Lark
Flying
Skyward, in his bliss
Then again,
Earthbound the Lark
Hark!
To the song
Of
The gay Lark
Singing
Clear and strong
Giving
Life a Spark.
To Members of United Amateur Press, Elmside Echoes Subscribers & Friends:
Fall is here. Two shocks of corn stand proudly beside the front porch steps, with bright colored squash piled around the bottoms. On the porch will hang a ‘ghost’ for halloween enjoyment, and the customary jack-o-lanterns will be in place by the Big Night.
Mornings are crisp and sometimes frosty now, but the sun has been warm and beautiful almost every day this fall, and we cannot complain a bit about our weather. The vegetable garden is completely harvested. The fruit cellar and freezer are full, along with baskets in the basement. Some of the flowers have died with the frosty mornings, but others still remain pretty. There are mums, cosmos, begonias and marigolds. One last large yellow rose has made a nice showing. At the back of the yard there are large sunflowers, bowing their heads with the weight of the seeds. The blue jays have taken all they can reach by leaning over the edges. We’ve put the winter bird feeder up in the locust tree so we can see it from the dining room window. The children like it too, and were especially excited when they saw a squirrel scurry up to the feeder, crawl inside, and there have himself a sunflower seed banquet.
Snow will be flying in Wisconsin soon, and we’ll look back to these beautiful days of fall and wish we had worked more outside, or just taken the time to sit down and enjoy it! It hardly seems possible that the Holidays are coming so soon!
I am looking forward to winter… more time to write more things! Even with the week’s sixteen daycare children coming in and out, I HOPE there is time to write! But things seem to slow down a bit, evenings are longer and provide a cozy time for sowing projects, doing things with the children, enjoying books and popcorn. In the summer we are outside many evenings until darkness falls, but in winter when the wind is howling around the corners, we stay in with no desire to roam!
Last month in Elmside Echoes I mentioned that I also publish the Badger Quarter Horse Association Newsletter for that organization. Someone wrote back, saying that was a good job for me, because “With all the things you do, you must certainly be ‘on the gallop’.”
To the folks in UAP: Did you ever consider how much postage could be saved if you sent in renewals BEFORE the Secretary had to send you a notice? We all know when these are due, so let’s try to save Kay some work! All subscription papers appreciate this if you renew early enough to save them filing and bookkeeping processes. Also, more poems and short items are needed for the Eclectic sheet. Supply is very low from UAP members right now. And, a big THANK YOU to UAP members who sent me stamps and postage contributions recently. This is appreciated greatly.
So for this month, hoping you have a pleasant November and a bountiful and sharing Thanksgiving, I leave you with this little thought:
I am but one… But I AM ONE.
I can’t do everything… But I CAN DO SOMETHING.
What I can do, I OUGHT TO DO…
And what I ought to do, by the grace of God, I WILL DO!
Love,
Doris
Elmside Eclectic
Doris Gassen, Editor
Madison, Wis. 53704
Published for UAP