Friday August 18 2017  A STORY OF DISCOVERY (NOT YET PROOF READ)

 

The date on my poem is accurate.  It was written yesterday and was a poem that resonated within me.  When I write poems in my journal I usually publish them on the same day.  My blog was already published yesterday before I wrote the poem so I used it for today.   I wrote a personal poem today for my son and his wife to commemorate their 15^th wedding anniversary so I borrowed yesterday’s poem for today’s blog.

 

An extremely busy day today so this is what you get tonight; a leftover poem from yesterday, an extremely sleepy old lady, and very few words (I hope). 

 

I would like to explain a bit about the story behind the poem I penned yesterday.  I love to do random reading before I retire for the night.  There are many topics that interest me and I have a selection of favorite books close at hand, but the book I speak about in the poem is quite unique has become quite a favorite.  It doesn’t even get put back on the shelf.  I have it on my footstool for easy access.

 

It is obvious by the design, materials, paper, and binding that this book was published many years ago.  An interesting fact in which to take note is the fact that there is no copyright, no date of publication, no reference as to who published the book, nor is there an opening title page, chapter references, or a forward.  Two initials and a last name is printed on the front of the book.  Perhaps it is a one of a kind, self published book, from 80 to 100 years ago.  It is unlike any book I’ve ever seen.

 

Last year in October I traveled with a friend to an Amish community about 100 miles away.  We stopped at an isolated group of buildings, one being a huge antique place.  Actually, our reason to stop was to see if they had a public restroom.  Previously we stopped at a gas station but the restrooms were off limits because we were not customers.  So, in our desperation we approached the next business down the road with more caution.  We figured we should pose as browsers and just quietly make our way to the back of the building where I noticed a Ladies sign.  Well, it was fortuitous because that was where I found my treasured book.

 

When I first spied the display of old books the one that stood out was “POEMS OF HOME”, by T.F. Hildreth.  It seemed to jump off the shelf and into my hands.  It was actually in a short stack of other books and I could tell by looking at it that it was quite unique.  When I opened its pages and discovered page after page of eloquent poems I was astounded.  Each one painted a picture in my mind and each story connected with my style.

 

*I just this moment decided to look online to see if I could glean some information about the author.  Please see asterisk at the bottom of the page.

 

A STORY OF DISCOVERY

Kathleen Martens

August 17, 2018

http://www.visionsofpoetry

 

A hardback book covered in linen

Faded green and worn

Though all pages are intact,

And no page is torn.

 

“POEMS OF THE HOME”

Is the book’s title

Filled with astounding truths!

And would make a great recital.

 

 

Quite a stout book

With a very strong core

With teeth marks and a scar,

Its edge viciously torn.

 

Amazing tales on each page;

Few lines but such a treasure!

Each poem, a story unto self

Which makes reading it such a pleasure.

 

I discovered in an antique shop

In a far and lonesome place…

A book I knew was just for me

When we met face to face.

 

Every poem speaks my language

About stories of life and love,

“FROM THE MANGER TO THE THRONE”

On page one: the story of God above.

 

And the book became mine

For it spoke to the depths of my heart.

I knew I had found a long lost love

From which I would never part.

 

The following is forwarded from a website:

 

* “Poems of the He Paperback – April 6, 2010

by T. F. Hildreth (Author), The Laning Company (Author)

“This book an EXACT reproduction of the original book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR?d book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

 

“This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts – the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide”.

 

I did discover as I looked at another site that T.F. Hildreth was addressed as “Reverend T.F. Hildreth.  All I can say is that his poems are awesome.

 

Thank You God for bringing such pleasure to my reading time by bringing to my attention this wonderful book.

Thank You God for the poem you gave me last night to use today.

 

GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU!