Kindred
A Family Portrait
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Chasing Coyotes
Captivated by their cunning,
We chased two coyotes
Down the back roads
Laughing like children
In the pseudo-safety
Of her convertible.
“There! There they are!”
I gasped, searching frantically
For my camera.
But they had disappeared
Much like her childhood.
And, like her childhood
I wanted this moment
To last forever.
Wouldn't you know it,
The coyotes took off
Down another road,
And ours dead-ended.
Simple Pleasures
Give me a sapphire sky above my head
With stars to guide my way
An alabaster moonlit night
And the golden sun by day
Give me trees to teach of beauty and strength
Flowers in every hue
The rain to quench my thirst for life
For temperance, the morning dew
Give me wind at my back to ease my way
A breeze to cool desire
A gentle breath that whispers love
And for passion, give me fire
Give me the soft green grass throughout my life
On which my feet may tread
But when this body breathes no more
Lay me down in earthen bed
And Let the Rain Fall Down
(Prayer)
While I live
Let the earth come
To know me as her own.
Let the sun bestow
His warm embrace,
The wind gently caress
My world-weary face,
And let the rain fall down
To bless me.
But when I die
Let the earth receive
Me as her own.
Let the sun avert
His radiant face,
The wind guide my soul
To a higher place,
And let the rain fall down
To bless me.
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Book Details
About the Book
What do we think of when we hear the word “family”? Perhaps brothers and sisters, mother, father, cousins are brought to mind. In the strictest sense, of course these are all family members. But the bond goes much deeper than that. Families share a common ancestry or beginning which is not limited to people.
Man has always had a strong connection with nature. It is the first thing we think of when we want to get away from life’s trials. But, perhaps it is not that we want to get away so much as it is our need to find familiarity, likeness, comfort and acceptance. In nature we find all these things and more: beauty, strength and power, giving and yes, the blemished as well—all things we see in each other. It’s like looking into a mirror.
In Kindred—A Family Portrait, Monica Smith poignantly makes the connection between man and nature, completing the circle of our ancestry. You will never again see a tree as “just” a tree.
About the Author
Monica enjoys writing about everyday things, and feels that a poem can be found anywhere. Her family continues to play a most important part in her writing. They have always had confidence in her, even when she wasn’t so sure of herself. Family and friends have been the “subjects” of much of her better poetry, as “Love makes for a fertile garden in which poetry can grow”.
About her writing, Monica explains “I feel poetry need not be written in a complicated language for the select few. I find, even in the brevity of poetry the freedom of expression, and in that there is freedom in expression.” She feels what is most important in writing a poem is the sharing. The two must go hand-in-hand, as it is the sharing/experience of the poem which makes it live. “Many times, people experience the same feelings but do not know how or are unable to express them. To see that the poet has felt or experienced what they have provides a precious link with another, giving a sense of belonging.”
Monica is the author of Days of Fine Gray Ash (a collection of poems regarding the many nuances of love, which was endorsed by Poet/Author Nikki Giovanni), available through her web site, Expresso Cafe . Her poems have been published in many national and international journals.
Most recently, she has had poems purchased for two of author June Cotner’s books: To Have and to Hold: Prayers for Newlyweds and Miracles of Motherhood: Prayers and Poems for a New Mother, both of which where released in spring 2007. Another of her poems is being kept by Ms. Cotner for a future book. Monica also has had several poems included in many of the PoetWorks Press anthologies, the latest of which—
Baby Boomer Birthright— was released in October 2008.
Monica enjoys reading and exploring her family ancestry, as well as her new-found love of photography, which she calls “silent poetry”. She has been experimenting with creating Haiku-Photography, a form which has recently risen from the original Haiga (Haiku Painting). Two of her Haiku-Photography poems were published in the February 2008 issue of
Sketchbook -- A Journal for Eastern and Western Short Forms.
In August 2008, she released her first book of photography with blurb.com, Going Coastal, a coffee table book containing photographs of coastal areas from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans, Lake Erie, Lake Michigan and smaller areas in between. Her second book with blurb.com, Dog-matized: The Comical Truth of LIfe with a Jack-A-Bee was released in September 2008.
Monica welcomes all correspondence at monica@purplequill.com