Poetry Friday: The Early Bird

Still dark, and raining hard

on a cold May morning

and yet the early bird

is out there chirping,

chirping its sweet-sour

wooden-pulley notes,

pleased, it would seem,

to be given work,

hauling the heavy bucket of dawn

up from the darkness,

note over note,

and letting us drink.

                    --Ted Kooser

(Oh, Ted. I love you so.)
 

You can find more totally lovable poets (and their poems) over at Live Your Poem where Irene is hosting today. 

Women of Wednesday: Woman's Suffrage redux

 

Not surprisingly, the America’s Notable Women seriesprofiles lots of women who were involve in the century-long effort to securethe voting franchise for women, and many more who worked for the rights ofAfrican Americans and other minority groups. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony are the best-known of the Suffragists,of course, but many others worked both in public and behind the scenes to gainfull citizenship for all Americans.

Today’s bizarre efforts to make it more difficult for women,the elderly, and members of minority groups to vote is creating a whole newcrop of Notable American Women. Ironically, many of these women were alive towelcome the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, now they have lived longenough to see those hard-won rights taken away again.

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

Dorothy Cooper, a 96 year old woman from Tennessee, was denieda voter-id because her birth certificate says her name is Dorothy Alexander.Dorothy, who has outlived two husbands, does not have a copy of her most recentmarriage license.

Thelma Mitchell, 93, also from Tennessee, was denied theright to vote using her State-employee ID card. She can’t get one of the newvoter id cards because she doesn’t have a birth certificate.

Ruthelle Frank, 84, has been unable to obtain a voter id inWisconsin because she never had a birth certificate. A former elected officialherself, she points out that being required to pay for a birth certificate tovote is a violation of the Constitution’s prohibition on charging a fee for theopportunity to vote.

Another Tennessean, Virginia Lasater, 91, has been unable toobtain a voter id because the DMV refused to accommodate her need to sit downwhile waiting her turn in the lengthy line of applicants.

In Pennsylvania, Viviette Applewhite, 93, was also denied avoter ID for the lack of a birth certificate or driver’s license. So farApplewhite is the most likely candidate to wind up in a future Notable Womenbook, as she has agreed to be the lead plaintiff in the ACLU’s lawsuit againstthe Pennsylvania law.

You don’t have to be elderly to get caught in the new laws’traps. Rita Platt, also from Wisconsin, is a librarian in the St. Croix Falls schooldistrict (which presumably means she’s already passed a criminal backgroundcheck). She was told she could not obtain an id without paying for either a birthcertificate or a passport. In addition, Wisconsin’sapplication for a copy of a birth certificate says the applicant must present a“valid photo ID” – but won’t issue the ID without a birth certificate.

In Texas, Jessica Cohen lost her documents in a burglary, soshe is unable to get a voter id. (Texas’ law was recently declaredunconstitutional by the Supreme Court.)

While the elderly and minorities are the most likely peopleto not have a birth certificate or a valid driver’s license, women aredisproportionately impacted by the new voter id laws because (news flash!) womenare far more likely than men to change their names, so that their birthcertificates don’t match their current documents.

Check out the National Women’s History Museum’s “Rights for Women” exhibit. 

Mentor Monday: RIP Maurice Sendak - and Thank you.

I have realized to my embarrassment that I was scheduled to post yesterday.  However, having missed that deadline, I am presented with this opportunity - to mourn, with the rest of the world of Children's literature, the passing of Maurice Sendak - and to suggest, for Mentor Monday, that we all remember this piece of advice he gave: “I never spent less than two years on the text of one of my picture books, even though each of them is approximately 380 words long. Only when the text is finished do I begin the pictures.”

I commend to you Sendak's essay in William Zinsser's Worlds of Childhood: The Art and Craft of Writing for Children. Published back in 1998, it is widely available, and in addition to Sendak's essay, includes insights from Jack Prelutsky, Rosemary Wells, Jill Krementz, Jean Fritz and Katherine Paterson.

Oh, and go read Where the Wild Things Are. Out loud. With feeling.

Poetry Friday: girl (three) and the black horse

i want to hold the horse's string
cried the girl (three) stamping her foot
told by adults she was much too young
the black horse stood staring at the wall

it worries us you may get hurt
the adults whispered - meaning to offer
comfort to the little madam (not convinced)
the black horse stood staring at the wall

i'm stronger than any old black horse
the child shouted parading round the ring
thinking she was the star turn at the circus
the black horse stood staring at the wall

well i suppose.....take care ....ok
the adults muttered full of apprehension
the girl (three) poised - flexing her muscles
the black horse stood staring at the wall

now take the lead and grip it tight
they sighed fluttering hands like pigeons
she scoffed at the soft instructions
the black horse stood staring at the wall

it's easy-peasy lemon-cheesy
she triumphed (but doing as they asked)
the adults tried to swallow their fear
the black horse stood staring at the wall

so off to the man in the moon
the girl (three) laughed jerking the lead
swelling to the size of a goddess
the black horse reared like pegasus's colt

don't wait for me - i could be ages
the girl (three) sang to the shrinking adults
as the black horse leapt above the wall
the flowering cherries and the church spire

when i'm a grown-up - then i'll come
was the last the adults heard as the horse
and the girl (three) changed into pinpoints
and the world collapsed to its dull old self 

                             --Rg Gregory

Elaine is hosting Poetry Friday today over at Wild Rose Reader. Gallop on over . . . quick now, before the world collapses into its dull old self!

Still . . . I think you have time for one more horsey post, which you can find below. Read it, and then git!

Women of Wednesday: The Accomplished Rider

One of the all-time favorite books I own is called: Etiquette for Ladies by Florence Hartley. It was published in 1873, and offers sage advice for women's deportment. I'll be dipping into it now and again.

Today, our topic is horseback riding. For those of you who already ride or if you are thinking about it, here are a few tips for appropriate behavior when seated upon your noble steed:

"There is no accomplishment more graceful, pleasing, healthy, and lady-like, than that of riding well. Avoiding, at the same time, timidity and the 'fast' style, keeping within the bounds of elegant propriety, gracefully yielding to the guidance of your escort, and keeping your seat easily, yet steadily, are all points to be acquired."

"To ride well is undoubtedly an admirable qualification for a lady, as she may be as feminine in the saddle as in the ball room or home circle. It is a mistaken idea to suppose that to become an accomplished horse-woman a lady must unsex herself."

"Nothing is more revolting than a woman who catches the tone and expressions of men. To hear the slang of jockeyism from the female lips, is very offensive, yet ladies who mix in field sports are liable, nay, almost certain, to fall into a style of conversation which is ten times worse than the coarsest terms from the lips of a man."

"In mounting you are desired, gentle Amazon, to spring gracefully into your saddle, with a slight assistance of a hand placed beneath the sole of the shoe, instead of scrambling uncouthly, to your "wandering throne" as Miss Fanshawe wittily calls it, from a high chair, as is frequently done by those who've not been properly instructed."

"Do not wear a skirt too long; it will be dangerous in case of accident, and it may prove annoying to your horse. Your habit must be made of a material sufficiently heavy to hang gracefully, and not move too much with the wind. . . . In summer, your hat should be of fine straw, and slouched to shade the face; in winter, of felt, or, if you prefer a close cap of cloth. The hat may be trimmed with feathers or a knot of ribbon, and the shape should be one to protect the complexion, at the same time, graceful and becoming."

You may want to check out more well-behaved ladies here at the United Against the War on Women Rally held in Concord this past Sunday. Thanks to Diane for these photos!