POETRY SUNDAY

Once again our Fellowship proved that we can entertain, amuse, inspire and inform ourselves; that there is a wealth of talent to draw on; and that turning to each other builds community.

A few people shared their thoughts about Poetry Sunday:

John Pantzer: Several of the poems were thought-provoking to me; all were enriching. It was a treat to share in other's lives in this artistic manner. And I'm especially proud of Karen for standing at the podium and reading her own poem aloud to all of us. Karen leaped several hurdles, and made it look almost natural.

Thanks for the chance to share a few words.

From Richard: Well, to be honest, if time weren't a consideration, I would love to have read "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot; but it was just too long for the venue. What I chose was a good poem, in my opinion, but I didn't have my heart as in it as I would have had with Eliot's poem or with Wallace Stevens's wonderful longer poem, "Sunday Morning."

Veronica: I chose this poem ("To Dream A Wish of Peace" by Jerianddon) because it stresses life as we see it today and the UU principles and traditions

Peggy read ‘The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere’ because of her very personal and very strong interest in the American Revolution. As she explained, "I was reading Breath, Snow and Ashes it had new meaning for me. My ancestors were in New Burn, North Carolina during the Revolution. The rights and freedoms the American people fought the British for are so important. Being in Paul Revere's home in Boston and going to the bridge where that first shot was fired made me so aware of the rights and freedoms we now seem to be in danger of losing."

"I will tell you my story. I had a cuz who tried to get me inter- ested in my grandmother and grandfather; told me how proud I should be of my mom's line. They were the creme de la creme.

About six months after dad died, I had a dream that he came and put his hand on my arm, told me to see to his side of my family. The dream was so real and the feeling that he was with me were so strong that I had to do what he asked. And that was my start. From then on it was as if everything he wanted me to know was given to me with such a small effort.

"I decided to go to the Longview Public Library and that very day met a lady who had a notebook that had Hunt on it. Of course I asked her if she had worked on this line after I told her it was my maiden name. So, to make a long story short, she sent me everything on my Hunt's line.

"Ron and I made a trip to Georgia to find the Hunt graves on a plantation called Elmcroft. We were very successful. We found all the graves in a field off the highway. I searched in DAR on Judkins Hunt line and from there found many men of my line who had fought in the revolution.

"One was buried in Texas and not marked by SAR or DAR. I had to find that grave. So there was lots of hunting in fields and finally Helen and I went over and met a cuz who helped by knowing the tree under which to look. We pawed through leaves, and there it was. The name on the gravestone was Bailey Anderson, Sr., and he had lived from 1754 to 1840. He served in the 96th Division, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia.

"On October 25, 2002, the Aaron Burleson Chapter of DAR and East Texas Chapter of FAR, had a ceremony to mark the 19th revolutionary grave in Texas. Bailey's family was from the Isle of Skye in Scotland, so at the ceremony we had a bagpiper play. It was a wonderful ceremony with over 100 people in attendance."