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Friday, July 1, 2016

Thrift Store Poetry: Winnie's Book of Poems

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! IT'S JULY!!! Be sure to visit Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference for Roundup.

Earlier this spring while antique/thrift shopping with my dear friend Pat in Florence, Alabama, I happened up a poetic treasure:



WINNIE'S POEMS - a binder lovingly covered in felt and a hand-cut Pooh-bear!

Here is the dedication page:



Poems
for
Ever

A Book

A book, I think, is very like
A little golden door
That takes me into places
Where I've never been before.

It leads me into fairyland
Or countries strange and far,
And best of all the golden door
Always stands ajar.

- Adelaide Love

...and here is the Contents page:

 Collected by Nancy Simmons

Now: Who was Nancy Simmons? How old was she? How did she come to love poetry? Why these poems? I want to know more more more!


And here is a sampling of some of the poems, with lovely illustrations:


Buttercup Cow

Buttercup Cow has milk for me
I drink in my silver cup at tea.
Buttercup cow is speckled and white,
She lives in the meadow from morning till night,

Buttercup Cow hasn't got any bed,
But the moon and the stars look in at her shed.
Buttercup Cow, I'm glad to be me,
Drinking your pretty white milk for my tea.

- Elizabeth Randall



The Hairy Dog

My dog's so furry I've not seen
His face for years and years:
His eyes are buried out of sight,
I only guess his ears.

When people ask me for his breed,
I do not know or care:
He has the beauty of them all
Hidden beneath his hair.

- Herbert Asquith



Hearth

A cat sat quaintly by the fire
And watched the burning coals
And watched the little flames aspire
Like small decrepit souls.
Queer little fire with coals so fat
And crooked flames that rise,
No queerer than the little cat
With fire in its eyes.

- Peggy Bacon


...this next one might be my favorite (and I'm dedicating it to you, Michelle!):


The Ichthyosaurus

There once was an Ichthyosauraus
Who lived when the earth was all porous,
But he fainted with shame
When he first heard his name,
And departed a long time before us.




AND there's even a bibliography at the end! Yes, each poem is sourced. Isn't that wonderful? (Maybe Nancy was a teacher? Or an older student following instructions? Or a POET ? I like to think so!)


So now me and Nancy are Friends for Ever. Thank you, Nancy, whoever (and wherever) you are!

18 comments:

  1. Wow! What a treasure! It would be so cool if Nancy saw your post and contacted you. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. So much care went into that. Nancy is awesome!

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  3. Someone made special efforts of love for poetry in that book, Irene. What a wonderful 'find' for you, someone who will care for it a lot!

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  4. I can just see you spotting that on a display and snatching it up before any other plunderer could discover they had missed a treasure! I'm with you on the favorite poem.

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  5. Poet.
    Your discovered Nancy was a poet. Perhaps not at the point that she put this sweet collection together, but... eventually.

    And of all the people to walk into that wonderful recycling joint,
    you were meant to stumble upon it.

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  6. WOWOWOWOW. How the earth brings people together over space and time. Meant to be, friend....meant to be. xx

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  7. Oh! OH! OH!! I am so envious. What a treasure. Thank you for sharing. Glad someone pointed me to your post.

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  8. What a find, Irene! The book couldn't have landed in a more suitable home. So pleased for you and Winnie!

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  9. Oh, I feel quite certain that Nancy produced this for a Poetry for Children type course--continuing teacher education, you know. The big clue for me is that the bibliography includes teacher applications for each poem. At the same time, Nancy clearly had a wonderful time with this project! What a find, what a connection to make.

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  10. I am surprised someone gave that up. It appears the owner loved poetry and being organized. :) My favorite is Adelaide Love's poem I am going to keep this one on file.

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  11. I was going to use the word "treasure," and I see many others have already used it! How wonderful that it ended up in the thrift store instead of the trash!

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  12. Wow wow wow. So happy this fell into YOUR tender loving hands, Irene - and thanks for sharing it with us. :0)
    Of course, I love that Adelaide Love poem, too!

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  13. SO cool you found this treasure, Irene. Nancy is definitely a poet - she found so much goodness and collected under Pooh's bottom. (hee-hee) Happy 4th of July! =)

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  14. What a find! A kindred spirit!!

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  15. Congratulations, Irene, on your Lee Bennett Hopkins ILA award. Just wonderful and so deserved. Happy for you and delighted. I adore this find of Winnie's poems. Such a treasure. Wow. A poetry book, journal, home. I would love to see all the pages and hope I could find such a treasure some day. Janet F.

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  16. I've been largely keeping to myself this summer, but now catching up a bit, I read about this lovingly crafted poetry book, complete with limerick ichthyosaurawesomeness! Thank you for thinking of me, Irene, and for passing along the poetry goodness. May all your thrift store visits be so fruitful! xo

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  17. I'm so glad we picked that book up... how long had it sat there waiting for the right person to come along

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  18. To back up Mary Lee, what a find indeed. My heart is soaring.

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Your thoughts?