It is privilege to share poetry from talented writers that are no longer with us. It is a reminder that our words live beyond a lifetime. Virginia Johe is the mother of jani johe webster and the grandmother of Nila Webster, who penned her bio below. It is Whispers’ first three generation family of writers. What a joy to publish their words!
Sincerely--Karen O’Leary--Editor
We Wonder
What color is the rain
as it taps on our windowpane?
What color is a breeze
as it hides in the trees?
We wonder
what color is the air,
its fragrance sweet and rare?
What color is the sky --
gray, blue, white or pink
as it darkens into night?
We wonder ...
Virginia Johe (1911 - 2011) began to write poetry after she lost her beloved husband of over fifty years. She did this with the encouragement of her daughter, Rochester poet jani johe webster. jani, who is my mother, and who taught me the magic of creative writing, saw this great grief consuming her mother's life, and bought my grandmother Virginia an electric typewriter. Virginia set up a work area and began to type out her grief in the form of poetry. With jani's help, she submitted poetry to print journals for many years. This poem was written shortly after her husband's death, in 1980.
Excellent!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Peggy, and all gifted poets of Whispers, for sharing your gifts with the world. The world needs your poetry! Thank you, Karen, for honoring my grandmother and publishing this poem that was written in a time of grief, over 30 years ago, on a manuel typewriter. Like all poems, the message transcends space and time.
ReplyDeletewonderful that we can still enjoy this talented lady's words
ReplyDeleteYeah! good one. Loved this piece! Ralph
ReplyDeleteThank you, Suzanne Webb, for the following--
ReplyDeleteNila...much gratitude for sharing your Grandmother's poem! I can only wonder the liberation she felt while typing on that electric typewriter, and the magical moments you, your Mom and Grandma spent sharing with each other your inspirational poetry! I love the words in your grandmother Virginia's poem "We Wonder" "what color is the air its fragrance sweet and rare?" and the words in your mother jani's poem "wonder" "and the way your fragrance fills the air" Wonder...ing if they wrote these creative pieces in that same season?