"Books Like a Boat"-Poems as Prayers #3
All good stories lead to God. Which books have carried you?
Poetry & Made Things in a nutshell:
This week’s Poems as Prayers selection—Read, Reflect, Respond
Bonus: A poem from Substack notes about Monet’s Haystacks—in Rhyme!
Info about our monthly “Thinking Poetically” Zoom Call-For Paid Subscribers or $10 to drop in!
On to this week’s post.
Welcome to Week 3 of Poems as Prayers! What a joy to see your comments and poems in response to last week’s post. If you are just joining us, there’s a bit of background for this poetic endeavor in the footnotes.1
A POEM
BEHIND THE SCENES of writing and a reflection
A QUESTION for you to ponder
AN INVITATION to respond in your journal (or here in the community)
Books Like a Boat2
Long ago through pages, my childhood travels
widened the world, weighted vessels carrying me
with words away from the noisy silence of loss
and longing to shores of a new land inhabited
by people cloaked in care and grace.
Pages unfolded, character’s lives ferried like
boxed fruit, a cargo of rich phrases
offering a banquet for my soul and instead
of boundaries, welcomed me to the limitless
land of life as it could be.
Would be.
Maybe should be.
I’ve been voyaging there ever since.
BEHIND THE SCENES & REFLECTION
When you are the oldest of five children with alcoholic parents, life is tenuous and uncertain, to say the least. Although my stepfather was often either unemployed when I was growing up (“I’m just in between jobs”) or underemployed, we did not go hungry. God, via neighbors and friends throughout my young life, saw to it that we had enough to eat.
But the meals that really saved me soul-deep were the feasts I found in glorious stories, words that took me away from a chaotic and crowded household to a world of people and places that shone with beauty, peace and plenty. Hiding in my room with a book was a solace in so many ways; ‘Books Like a Boat’ was borne from this place.
Some of the books that carried me were Louisa May Alcott’s classic Little Women; the heroine and I had much in common: a shared name (my mother often called me ‘Jo’, we were both bossy to a fault and enamored of our absent fathers.
Gene Stratton Porter’s classic Freckles was another story like a sacred text; I have the volume I read as a 12 year old on my bookshelf today. I found a kindred spirit in Freckles— a father who’d abandoned him, just as my birth father had. And although Porter’s story never directly mentioned the Divine, God’s existence palpated between the lines. I heard the voice of Jesus many years later when I was 19; Porter’s prose was the beginning of God’s whispers.
Like many children who grew up in the late 50’s, early 60’s books like The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (Margaret Sidney, 1881) captivated me. Five children, again an absent father (I see a theme…) and bouts with the measles—all of these were story threads that resonated with my young soul.
I didn’t realize when I was younger that the yearning in my heart for tangible love and intangible peace was really a yearning to know Jesus. My friend Laura says, “every good story leads to God” and I am inclined to agree.
Books brought me a sort of salvation, carrying me to my Savior; they carry me still to this day.
A QUESTION for you to ponder
How have books ‘carried’ you and where did they take you?
Write in your journal what comes to mind or share HERE in the Comments—I would be honored to read your words. And if you’re feeling adventurous, write your own ‘Books Like a Boat” poem. Whatever you choose, I would love to hear what resonated with you.
A Bonus Poem from Substack Notes—for fans of rhyme and meter! (click on the painting image).
Monthly Zoom Call Info & Invitation
Have you heard? As an added ‘thank you’ for everyone who is a Paid Subscriber, I will be offering exclusive access once a month for a “Thinking Poetically” Zoom call. This is not to talk about just poetry—but also other ‘made things.’ The word poem comes from the Greek ‘poiema’ and means just that—a thing that is made. So any creative work is a poem.
WHEN: One Saturday morning per month, time and date will be confirmed soon!
Not a Paid Subscriber? You’re also invited to simply ‘drop in’ if you’d like—a fee of $10 is all that’s required. A sign-up link will be coming.
Thinking Poetically gatherings will provide connection, inspiration and encouragement for all participants.
This is not me teaching but everyone sharing; I will simply facilitate and guide.
You can bring a poem to share—one you’ve written or read
Read a favorite passage from a current book you’re reading.
Or bring your writing questions to brainstorm.
We will see where the conversation takes us.
INTERESTED? Simply leave a note in the Comments or reply to this email and I’ll add you to the list for an official announcement.
Can’t commit to monthly support? You can always buy me a coffee… Just click on the button below!
I so appreciate your presence and participation, friends. Your comments and connection fill my soul.
Until next week, I hope you’ll consider making poetry a part of your prayers.
-Jody
The idea behind Poems as Prayers is to offer a volume of poetry combined with reading and reflection for weekly quiet times. I’m especially interested in offering an invitation to readers who wouldn’t ordinarily consider poems as part of their regular reading. One poem a week means there will be 52 poems at year’s end and voila! I’ll have enough poems and reflections for a book. Maybe? We shall see.
From my book “Mining the Bright Birds-Poems of Longing for Home” as well as this entry on my blog www.jodyleecollins.com from 2017
‘Every good story leads to God.’ I’m not sure I agree with that completely, but I did hear an author say it is a skilled author that points to God without mentioning His name. Freckles may be a book I should read! Encouraging that stories ultimately lead to God. Wonderful!
So good, Jody. And thank you for sharing a bit of your story here. HUGS!