Beginning with Shakespeare, and moving chronologically on to such other luminaries as T.S. Elliot, Thomas Hardy, Langston Hughes, plus Maine's own Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Edna St. Vincent Millay, the anthology is a good start for children interested in poetry, or adults longing to share their love with some young friends. The sharing leads to double pleasure. From a favorite scarf to pets to childhood to family, this volume is filled with the wisdom of letting go and the necessity of growing. Two poets of Maine islands are included among the writers of these very accessible poems focused on the pains and wry sadnesses of childhood. Though the book features a wide range of themes, from growing up to first love to questions of adulthood, the focus is often on each other.
Women write about men and men about women.
Like when I think a house has roaches, and I watch everything out the corner of my eye to see if it crawls away. Though the book is too packed with poems to be as beautifully designed as Nye's other collection, it's conceit is a great one, reminding us that the difference between genders can be tolerated and sometimes even celebrated. There's just a few years between learning to count one's toes and learning to count girlfriends and boyfriends, hurts and pains. As parents race from the cuddly humor of nursery rhymes to the complications of the real world, it's good to know that not only have others been there, but that some have taken the time to throw out some delightful and difficult poems our way. They help us cherish the path.