Life Poetry

Take a journey to a simpler time with poems that bring out the BEST in you.

Rosemary Sansum, author of Garden of Dreams, Pathways to Paradise, Forever Loved and most recently, When Dreams Whisper, breaks fresh ground in this new collection of verse. Here, Rosemary exhibits an ability to scare as well as touch, to reflect upon life's good times and bad, and still find time for some good old-fashioned flights of fancy.

Did you know that Paul Laurence Dunbar originated such famous lines as "I know why the caged bird sings" and "We wear the mask that grins and lies"? From his childhood in poverty and his early promise as a poet through his struggles to find acceptance as a writer and his tumultuous romance with his wife, to his immense fame and his untimely death, Dunbar's story is one of triumph and tragedy.

The only way to awaken all the dormant magic within is to feel grateful that we have already unlocked it. I adore this apparent paradox - Dean Fraser. Living at peace with all that makes you…well, you! This is home…simply takes a change in point of view. Being happy in your skin, everywhere feels like home. Constantly at home wherever you choose to roam. I see them. Seeking a bluer sky. Those streets seemingly paved with gold. A charmed life looked at from a distance. What about me? I am grateful to waken this morning.

Meet the married Dads, the divorced Dads, the widowed Dads and the gay Dads; the gamblers, the firemen, the bankers, the nurses, the soldiers and the milkmen. They’re trying to guide their sons through the foothills of childhood into the bewildering uplands of adulthood. But it’s hard to know if they’re doing it right. Or what their sons’ mothers think... Wise and funny, touching and true, What We’re Teaching Our Sons is for anyone who has ever wondered how to be a grown-up.

Anke’s father is abusive. But not to her. He attacks her brother and sister, but she’s just an invisible witness in a house of horrors, on the brink of disappearing altogether. Until she makes the volleyball team at school. At first just being exhausted after practice feels good, but as Anke becomes part of the team, her confidence builds. When she learns to yell “Mine!” to call a ball, she finds a voice she didn’t know existed. For the first time, Anke is seen and heard.

Anikwa and James, 12 years old in 1812, spend their days fishing, trapping, and exploring together in the forests of the Indiana Territory. To Anikwa and his family, members of the Miami tribe, this land has been home for centuries. As traders, James' family has ties to the Miami community as well as to the American soldiers in the fort. Now tensions are rising - the British and American armies prepare to meet at Fort Wayne for a crucial battle, and Native Americans from surrounding tribes gather in Kekionga to protect their homeland.

Ana Rosa is a blossoming young writer growing up in a poor seaside village in the Dominican Republic. At the young age of 12, she finds herself faced with turning points that will make up who she is, watching her brother's search for a future, learning to dance and to love, and finding out what it means to be a part of a community.

Born into the household of a wealthy slave owner in Cuba in 1797, Juan Francisco Manzano spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own. Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry. His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty.

Written in free verse, Hidden is a compelling tale about an unlikely friendship between two girls. Darra Monson and Wren Abbott first cross paths when Darra’s deadbeat dad is arrested for theft and kidnapping after he steals a car - unaware that Wren was sitting in the back. Years later, the girls - now teens - attend the same summer camp, and are forced to confront the fateful event that changed their lives.

The gym is where Claire shines and she’s on her way to qualifying for the state championships. But at school, she’s known as a troublemaker—which is fine with her since it helps her hide her reading problem. Claire has never been able to make sense of the wobbling jumble of letters on a page. When a sympathetic principal wonders if she’s acting out because she may have dyslexia, she’s stunned. Claire has always assumed she’s dumb, so she’s eager to get evaluated. But her mother balks.

These 28 poems and quotes, written by Jahi Minkah Trotter, cover a time frame of his life from August 2019 to January 2020. This audiobook is an expression of realizing his mistakes, the regret that he felt over the possibilities, dealing with his emotions, and coming to terms with what will be...will be.

En este libro, Alejandro Ordóñez nos muestra las profundidades de cada una de las fases de una relación: desde el primer destello de posibilidad hasta la estabilidad romántica, explorando también qué sucede cuando una relación no puede dar más de sí y se decide separar los caminos, sin perder la fe en que llegará la persona correcta.

From award-winning Irish author Meg Grehan comes an accessible and beautifully crafted middle-grade novel-in-verse about Stevie, a young girl reckoning with anxiety about the many things she has yet to understand - including her feelings about her friend Chloe.

Augusta Savage was arguably the most influential American artist of the 1930s. A gifted sculptor, Savage was commissioned to create a portrait bust of W.E.B. Du Bois for the New York Public Library. She flourished during the Harlem Renaissance, and became a teacher to an entire generation of African American artists, including Jacob Lawrence, and would go on to be nationally recognized as one of the featured artists at the 1939 World’s Fair. She was the first-ever recorded Black gallerist, and worked to advance equal rights in the arts. And yet popular history has forgotten her name.

Composed around 1294 in Italian, the Vita Nuova tells the story of Dante's encounters with and love for Beatrice, culminating in her early death and its effect upon him. Utilizing and developing the conventions of courtly love, in a mixture of prose and verse, Dante deepens the emotional content of the genre, while pointing the way towards the intellectual and spiritual journey of the Divine Comedy.

What I Wish I Was Told, Part 2 is a sequel to Dr. Todd Gewant's first book of poetry. Dr. Gewant continues to explore valuable lessons in life pertaining to ending racism, promoting equality and self-esteem, keeping commitments, and realizing a better life for everyone in a more just and peaceful world.

In this story the child is invited on a journey where inner strength reigns supreme and shines through all fear, doubt, and concern. “The There Barely” offers a standing invitation to the child. The hunt is the beginning of an adventure that the child will naturally join in pursuit. The Child will be fascinated with the opportunity to see themselves as the strong, independent and fierce individual that they are. The child will learn that there is always hope, light, and support for them in their own internal Self.

So many of our little Black kids and kids of color are struggling as they attempt to navigate a world where they feel inferior, inadequate, and not enough because of the color of their skin. Who Am I? Words of Affirmation for Children of Color attempts to affirm our children and remind them that they ARE enough, empowering them to do anything they can conceive in their minds.

Follow Kiki, Nicky, and Ricky—three little sibling chicks—as they prepare gifts and breakfast for Mama Hen to thank her for loving and taking care of them. They make a bit of a mess along the way, but at least their little hearts are in the right place.