Poetry

Liana is in love. We read the poem "The Lamplighter" by Robert Louis Stevenson awhile back . She was so captivated by the picture it created and the rhythm of it that she promptly memorized it. Since then we have come across several of Stevenson's works in our reading. Liana has been asking for a whole book of just his poems.

I was in Barnes and Noble and came upon a display of poetry books for children. I didn't know but April is National Poetry month. Arielle and I were never poetry fans. When she was younger we had books of poems that were part of her curriculum. We would dutifully read them and she would do a thumbs-up if she liked it and thumbs-down if she did not. Most were thumbs-down. They just didn't grab her and she would say, "I don't get it." I usually agreed.

I glanced over the display of books of various poets looking for Liana's favorite. There it was! I skimmed through it and although I did not see "The Lamplighter" I saw another one that Liana enjoys--"Where Go the Boats?"--and was pleased with the beautiful illustrations in the book that I knew she would love.

My purchase was a success. The book has a little bio of Robert Louis Stevenson in the beginning and Liana and I read about his frequent illnesses as a child and his great imagination as he lay in bed unable to play outside. Liana is mesmerized by the imagery in his poems. This is a child who several years ago couldn't sit still long enough to hear a whole story but now never wants me to stop reading Stevenson. She notes from time to time that she is just like him. Yes, Liana is always imagining, always thinking of something other than what is readily seen and at hand. One day after reading, Liana closed her book and held it tight to her chest with a faraway look on her face. She's found her soul-mate.

When at home at last I sit
And am very tired of it,
I have just to shut my eyes
To go sailing through the skies--
To go sailing far away
To the pleasant land of Play...
(RLS from "The Little Land")