POETRY IS A FORM OF ART

Poetry is a form of art. 
MANY LUMIERE CHARITY VOLUNTEERS AND FRIENDS write poetry. 
Poetry is a great tradition in the Whittle, Nooij and Hogenhout Families. 
  I remember poring over my Irish grandfather's poetry when I was a tiny child. 
  Nicholas Whittle wrote both English and Gaelic poetry, and I loved to read both his poetry and his books - among them, The Gentle County. 
  I particularly remember one book of poems with a beautiful cover, and the name I think he used, Nioclas De Fuiteoil. 

  I was very impressed at age five to discover that my Irish grandad (after whom I was named Nicolette) - had more than one name. 
  Mom explained the Gaelic name, and I was thrilled at the thought of Grandad's being a poet and writer. 
  I promptly wrote and illustrated my first book the next week, and bound it with large stitches with cotton and needle. 
  I remember the thrill of being a budding author to this day . . .

Mom was a writer for as long as I can remember, and Dad wrote too. 
  I remember reading Dad's books (he never published them). 
  He wrote about his experiences in the war, and I found them too sad to bear. 
  They were illustrated with photographs that a war correspondent friend of his had taken. 
  It was from Dad's books and those photographs that I learned the true price and pathos of war. 
  As a young child Dad wandered down to the Tramore beach, hands in his pockets and whistling, and saw something floating in on the tide. 
  He took off his sandals, went into the waters and found the badly mutilated body of an airman whose aircraft had been shot down. 
  The injuries don't bear retelling in a family blog. "What did you do, Dad?" I asked. "I prayed for him," he said simply. At nine years old he had to deal with this tragic sight.

Grandad's poetry was beautiful, full of grandeur and love for Ireland. 
  And Mom's poetry had a life all of its own. I think that in poetry the poet can express the deepest feelings in a uniquely personal way.   Mom's lifelong love of poetry found expression in her book "A Silence Full of Bells".
  In the spirit of love of poetry, Lumiere Charity Volunteers and Friends' poems will be brought forth from the many diaries, back of old letters and carefully illustrated books written throughout the years and shared with you, our beloved readers.

Why not write your own poetry? 
(Just a thought . . .)