Monday is for poetry OR Even though it's Monday, cheer up, things could be verse

"Valentine week

Awake ye muses nine, sing me a strain divine,

Unwind the solemn twine, and tie my Valentine!

Oh the Earth was made for lovers, for damsel, and hopeless swain,

For sighing, and gentle whispering, and unity made of twain..."

(Emily Dickinson)

Do you like to carry poems with you, as I do? I recommend the lovely gift which TeaBird sent me during a year of upheaval, The Essential Dickinson, selected by Joyce Carol Oates (The Ecco Press, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers). Its size is pocket- and handbag-friendly, making it just the thing to take along when you need a spot of tranquility in your day. I have been known to keep this on the passenger seat of my car for making red light waiting more bearable. It's good for doctor's office waiting rooms, too.