I have been discussing writing and sharing life stories in the standard prose of most memoirs or autobiographies, but there is another way. If you like to write poems, you have an additional option.

I recently read a little poetry collection entitled I Speak of Simple Things, by Donna G. Humphrey. Mrs. Humphrey came to the world’s attention only once, in 2005, at the age of 89. The mother of a federal judge in Chicago, she was brutally murdered at the judge’s home, along with the judge’s husband.

After Donna Humphrey’s tragic death, her family discovered the poetry she had written throughout her life, tucked into drawers and closets in her home. Daughters Joan Humphrey Lefkow and Judith Humphrey Smith edited and published this collection with the help of Suzanne Isaacs of Chicago’s Ampersand, Inc. this year. These poems represent fragments of a woman’s life; together, they present her life story.

Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich, through whose column I first learned of this book, called the poems’ style “plain and lyrical,” and I agree. These poems will not rank among the world’s greatest poetry, but as a revealing record of a woman’s life, a book “dedicated to the strong and noble women of the prairie” (Humphrey was born in Kansas), they are priceless.

The book begins with “If I Were a Poet.” It reads, in part:

“If I were a poet
I could speak my thoughts in language
 All sublime and terrible.
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
 But I, I only know of simple things
 Heart-stabbing pain
That tells me life is fragile
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
My thoughts are not profound
 I only speak of simple things.”

Some of the poems reflect concerns about aging:

“A book unopened in her lap, she rocks
And counts her gold in simple things
The heart remembers.”

In “Old Woman,” she sees herself as an abandoned house:

“I wait the Wrecker’s ball
When with a sigh
I fall and leave a space
For building.”

“The Widows” begins:

“We are everywhere
We with our perms
Our little purses
Our careful steps
Supported by our walkers
Or our canes.
We are the Survivors. . . .”
 
In short poems gathered by the editors into “The Natural World, “The Inner World,” “Time,” “Home,” “Longing,” “Family,” “The World Outside,” and “Faith and Prayer,” Donna Humphrey did, indeed, speak of the simple things that made up the lives of the ordinary women of her time. Farm wife, mother, general store proprietor, office worker, and hospital assistant controller, she lived for nearly thirty years as a widow. According to the book’s introduction, she suffered from chronic depression. Still, “Through her faith, determination, and the love and responsibility she felt for her children, she thrived.”

For me, writing poetry seems much more difficult than writing prose. It requires the ability to use words in unusual ways so that they sound good and express interesting, sometimes profound ideas and observations in fresh new ways, often very briefly. This is a talent I do not have; I am no more a poet than I am a fiction writer, but I find poetry, usually rhymed and imitative, fun to try, and you may too. Or perhaps you’ve loved writing poetry since your school days. Here is a poem I wrote, tongue-in-cheek,  to commemorate the end of last year’s holiday season. I had spent Christmas with my niece and her family in Houston, Texas.

“T'was the day after Christmas,
And inside the house,
Stockings were empty,
No sign of a mouse.

The pool fountain bubbled,
The sun sparkled bright,
And yesterday's revelers
Rejoiced in the light.

T’was time to put presents
And goodies away,
To throw out the wrappings
And greet a new day.

And now, five days later,
I greet a new year,
In good old Chicago,
With Texas good cheer!

If my amateur attempt at writing poetry doesn’t make you groan, or perhaps even if it does, try some poetry of your own. If writing your life story in prose seems a daunting task, try writing a poem now and then. You may discover that you have a talent for putting your life into poetic form, as the late Donna Humphrey did.

I Speak of Simple Things can be ordered at:
http://www.amazon.com/Speak-Simple-Things-Donna-Humphrey/dp/0976123576/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-5659680-9205242?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192363824&sr=1-1

If you’re curious, you can find the only other poem I remember writing recently, “New Year’s Eve, Old Town Condo Style,” at:
http://seniorwriter.blogspot.com/2006/12/new-years-eve-old-town-condo-style.html 

Next time (finally): My on-line self-publishing experience