Words from the Heart

Photo:  Public Domain After a lifetime of writing musical poetry, Bob Dylan has been recognized for his contribution to the Literature of the World by the Nobel Prize committee.  I am so happy!   There are some critics that argue that Dylan does not deserve this most honored award.  These naysayers mainly complain that what he wrote isn't any better than other songwriters.  What they don't get is that the other songwriters' works were not the anthems for generations of freedom fighters, peacemakers and social activists from around the world.   BBC demonstrated just how poetic Dylan's songs are by posting a r ecording of several of their famous actors reading the words of the songs we have come to know so well.  The poetry is more than obvious.  The fact that the words Dylan wrote inspired people to seek peace, seek change, seek connection is the foundation for why the Nobel committee honored him. For me, Dylan's words , his songs, have touched so

Photo Credit: https://goo.gl/images/H0Qtvu Today, I honor the ancestors - those whose lives were taken, yet whose Spirit still lingers from the mountain tops to the valley, from the waterways to the desert.  Today, I celebrate the resilience of the Native people who kept to the Red Road, so that we who came after might learn, might hope, might continue to honor and care for all that Creator has given us.    ANISHINAABEG     Close to the horizon   Under the heart of the Sun  Come the Anishinaabe.  The breath of the Moon guides them.  The circle of their lives is woven  Into All that IS.  Their stories are held in the heart of the Stars.  Their songs serenade the Wind.  Anishinaabe, Anishinaabe.  Children of the Ancient Ones…   Brother Bear, Sister Sky…  Wolf and Eagle still call your name…  Anishinaabe!  Linda M. Rhinehart Neas ©1998

Writing a book of poetry is, in many ways, a thankless task.  Yet, we poets continue to write and re-write in order to publish our humble offerings in the hopes that someone somewhere will find them worthy. Poems are a labor of love. My latest book is one such labor of love.  I carried it, like my children, close to my heart for many years before it was ready to be delivered into this world of words and phrases.  Like many labors, it was difficult.  The gestation of this book was longer than I had hoped.  The first poem was written many years ago, when I first contemplated finding my Irish roots. It was the seed from which all others grew.  These poems quickened as we traveled through Ireland and later, after I was home, ruminating over the hundreds of photos I took. Where the Heather Meets the Stone is finally available to the public.  If you purchase it, I hope you will find something within the pages that will touch, inspire, enlighten or cheer you. Now, I am off to pr