Musings and Memories by Bettye Barclay
Poems of Life’s Joys and Sorrows
Poems in this book speak to the many different experiences in life including family, joys, sorrows, the seasons of life, and of nature. The personal poems explore universal themes that remind us of our common humanity. Often there is an unexpected diversion that surprises, leading to a new experience or response by the reader.
Some poems lead us through time from early in the twentieth century to the present, aware at all times of life’s pleasures and challenges, trusting in the inner strength that supports us and calls to a fuller life.
This book, the first by the poet, contains a variety of poetic styles: list poems, narrative, and free verse. The many interests of the author show in references to quantum physics, nature, artistic endeavors, and connections with family and others.
The variety of topics invite readers to choose and savor those that fit their taste.
Link to book: http-//www.amazon.com/dp/1737745305
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to Ruth Gooley for her willing assistance in critiquing the poems and for her helpful recommendations
Appreciation to Darleen Guinn for her expert editing help. Her many years of grading English papers was on full exhibit as she managed to make suggestions about needed changes with grace and even some humor.
To Kris Langabeer my grateful thanks for her help with the manuscript at a time when I was considering abandoning the whole project.
Thanks to my son David Eisenberg for using his knowledge and experience to create a cover that is very pleasing to me. I especially appreciate his willingness to do a complete revision of the manuscript after I changed the order of the poems.
This book is so much better due to the help from each of these people.
A special thank you to Friends and Poets, a group that met monthly for many years, and to teachers and classmates at Emeritus College in Santa Monica, California where I started taking writing classes in the late 1990’s. Many of these poems began their journey during those years and after numerous edits found their path to the pages of this book.