Caroline Kennedy signing my copy of her new poetry anthology
How like royalty she is
And I can’t help wonder to myself,
amazed at seeing a small piece of
history
right in front of me
(She
Walks in Beauty)
And she shares her passion for
words;
the power of poetry to
shape us, to share with us,
the common folk
just like her, really
(The
World is so full of a number of things)
caring for our children
and a world that
clamors and clangs at them
(I
Corinthians Chapter 13)
and she claims (arightly)
that beauty and words
have a way of love-ing up the world
and she urges us, encourages us
inspires us with her stories
from her living room
(Uncle
Teddy reciting Paul Revere’s Ride)
and I’m convinced anew
that the way of life and words
which bring wonder to this world
(Bring Me all of Your Dreams)
are worth the time it takes
to put it down on paper
and share with our loyal subjects—
kings and priests and children all.
We all need some poems to learn by heart.
~~~~~~
in order: William Blake, Robert Louis Stevenson, the Apostle Paul, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Langston Hughes, all included in her book.
~~~~~~
~~~~~~
Caroline Kennedy was in Seattle for National Poetry Month, 2013, where she spoke and inspired this poem
