The Rivers of My Need

by Peggy Aston

Overview

Two rivers merge at Peggy's birthplace, Paducah, Kentucky. One clear, the other muddy, together they typify two of life's strongest emotions...joy and heartache. Thus, the book was named The Rivers of My Need.

--portraying the 'Needs' we have for our Roots, for Belonging, for Giving and Receiving Love, for Laughter, Tears and Values,

....which are the result of the 'Emotions' we Feel, as we Journey - like a Winding River - through Life.

Refreshing Return to Rhyming Verse-- this collection consists of 9 chapters (70 poems) on the following themes:

i Historical, i Day-to-Day (Optimistic and Humorous), i Friendship, i Motivational, i Inspirational, i Children's, i Romance (all shades of Love), i Spiritual, i Tribute to Princess Diana

The Rivers of My Need is intended to be cozy armchair reading, to 'touch' the reader through Poetry Portraits of the past, present and future. At times reflective, sometimes light and uplifting, always touching us amidst varying emotional levels on life experiences of our society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781468567472
Publisher:	AuthorHouse
Publication date:	03/15/2004
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	1
File size:	200 KB

About the Author

Peggy Aston, a daughter of the South, was born in Paducah, Kentucky. A Michigan resident for most of her life since childhood, and career-secretary with Ford Motor Company, she has been writing poetry as a hobby since her late 20's. Her formal works currently number approx. 70.

The lead poem, 'The Rivers of My Need', was written to typify idealistic 'true love.' Many years later after she became a Christian author as well, she realized that the man in the poem is also the Lord. To quote Peggy, a single parent for many years, 'the Lord is the man in the poem and now the man in my life.' It is intriguing to reflect on the keynote poem from both human and spiritual perspectives.

Peggy is published in Sparrowgrass, Treasured Poems of America, Summer 1997 ('My Desert Storm Hero' and 'In The Village Chapel') and the forthcoming Voices of the New Century, Summer 1999 ('Only a Fortnight Ago' and 'Tribute To Princess Diana', i.e., 'The Pearl' and 'The Roses').

'Survival' and 'My Fondest Dream' won red roses in WAAM radio's poetry contests for Secretary's Week and Valentine's Day in 1982 and 1983. Peggy's poems have been featured on WAAM's Sunday morning program, Senior Spectrum. 'My Desert Storm Hero' was written for her youngest son and went to over 260 troops from lower Michigan stationed in the Gulf, in 1991, as part of a Dom Bakeries local promotion. In conjunction with this effort, she was featured in local newspapers and guest speaker at the Livonia Christian Business & Professional Women's Club.

Known locally as Poetry Portraits by Peggy, poetry readings have taken her as guest speaker to Home Shows, Weddings ('Johnnie, Can You Hear Me?'), and a Memorial Service ('Char's Legacy'). Also known locally as Faith Singing, she is currently presenting a combination Poetry Reading/Southern Gospel singing program for seniors in nursing/assisted-living residences. She has written poems on request for Retirements, Birthdays ('The Man in the Brown Business Suit'), Graduations ('You're a Star'), Mother's Day ('My Mother the Lady') and Father's Day ('My Favorite Man'), Baby Showers ('The Alphabet Love Story'), the Mother of the Bride on the Eve of the Wedding ('Daughter of Mine'), among others. 'On Beyer's Old 4th Floor' was written in honor of the nurses on the Maternity Floor there prior to it's recent relocation to St. Joseph's Hospital. 'Double X Lex' was written for her oldest son for purchase at the Novi Expo Center, January, 1999. 'The Seasons of Our Lives', an inspirational poem about a person who loses their sight as an adult, was donated to the Hope School for Multiple Disabilities, Springfield, Illinois, Valentine's, 1999.

Read an Excerpt

THE CALL OF LONG AGO

I see Spinning Wheels, Washstands, Halltrees,
Old Ice Boxes, Buggies, and Me
In Rustling Petticoats and High Button Shoes
And Ladies of Fashion in Parasol and Plume.
I hear the Ring of the Blacksmith's Anvil
And in the Air is the Tallow - they're making Candles!
At the General Store there are Soft Muslins and Silks
from which to Choose,
And there goes a Peddler, in Handmade Leather Shoes.
I Love the Smell and the Look of the Wood.
Oak, Cherry or Pine, if it's Old, it's Good.
See that Grand, old Four-Poster Bed
Where, after their Labors, they Lay their Heads?
See the Butter Churn over there?
It catches my Eye and I Stare.
I see a Mother Kneading Dough for her Family's Bread,
And Men Toiling, building Homesteads.
Smell the Chicken Frying on the Old Cookstove,
And in the Fields Corn and Hay Grow.
I see Quilting Bees, Pig Roasts and the County Fair,
And Suntanned Children with Golden Hair.
When I look Up I see You
In your Sunday Best and your Highly Polished Boots.
I hear Horses Hooves on Bridges of Wooden Planks.
I see the old Country Church where they Gave Thanks,
Back when Everyone Knelt Together to Pray
And at Sunrise Greeted each New Day.
Had it not been for Circumstance
We might have Lived Then, Perchance.
When Time Stood Still -
By Wonder, Not By Will.

THE SEASONS OF OUR LIVES

I remember Autumn and Shuffling through Leaves,
the Rustle of Scarlet and Gold, formerly Green.....
How we would play Hide and Seek,
and from Piles of Leaves we would Peek.
I remember Rolling Hills of Sparkling Snow;
up the Cable Cars in Winter wewould Go
To a Destination way up High,
to our Location in the Sky.
I remember the World so Alive and Refreshed
when Spring would take our Breath
Away with Birds Singing in Rhapsody,
and the Earth new Life Bringing.
I remember Blue Skies
and radiant Blue Eyes,
When you held me Close
and we made a Toast
To Us,
Just Us.
It was on a Summer Starlit Night.
that was Before I Lost my Sight.
Now the World has taken on a Different Hue
and every Sound and Scent is Reintroduced by You.
And you Spur me On
to the vast New World Beyond.
I Hear the Leaves Rustling beneath our Feet
and Feel the Touch of your Hand as we Meet
The Seasons of our Lives,
together, You and I.

THE SUNSHINE SHIP

Some say Love is a Gift and it's Value Lost,
When it's not Shared - like Cake without the Frost.
Ponder with me for a Minute.....
The World, with No Love in it.
Imagine Love as an Island far out in the Sea,
Transient, Inaccessible, Wild and Free.
I know, for you and I Sailed there, in my Dreams.
And, sometimes, Dreams are a Direct Route to Reality.
The Isle of Love was as Near as a Sigh;
Eager, our Anticipation was High.
We were Joyous as our Ship rolled over the Waves.
Lifted up, we were Buoyant for many a Day.
Alas, the awaited Isle was in View.
You held me Close, as I Gazed at you.
The Scene before us should Not have been a Surprise.
While many were Happy, others had Tearful Eyes.
For many, the Reward was Worth their Wait,
And far Exceeded anything they could Anticipate.
For others, the Reward had been all too Brief,
Like shifting Sand beneath their Feet.
Let us Drift and Float for a long, long While,
In the Direction of that Fleeting Isle.
We may Sail into many Sunsets in the Sunshine Ship,
And we'll both be Losers.....if we Miss the Trip.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1	American Heritage
	My Desert Storm Hero
	Replicas of Days Gone By
	The Call of Long Ago
	The Great Bird in the Sky
	There's Going to be a Square Dance Tonight!
	War and Peace
Chapter 2	Day-by-Day, a Reflection (Volume I -- Optimistic)
	Age
	Dreams
	Only a Year
	See the Old House
	Seventeen Winters Ago
	Survival
	The Passage of Time
	The Seasons of Our Lives
	You're a Star
Chapter 3	Day-by-Day, a Reflection (Vol. II -- Humorous)
	All in a Day's Work
	Daddy, When Can I Drive
	'Double X' Lex
	Garage Sale Fever
	Let's Go Out for Dinner Tonight!
	Payday Blues
	That Horse Will Win Someday
	Your Charming Rabbit Hat
Chapter 4	The Friendship Flower
	Char's Legacy
	Coffee Klatch
	My Favorite Man
	My Golf
	My Mother, the Lady
	The Alphabet Love Story
	My Precious Friend
	Only a Fortnight
	The Friendship Flower
	The Lady Manager
	The Man in the Brown Business Suit
Chapter 5	Superior Force
	Dream Dynastyland
	Take 2 Minutes
	The Passage of Time
	Time In
Chapter 6	On the Way to The Tresstump Tea Party
	A Happy Yesterday
	Hobo, the Cross-Eyed Cat
	On the Way to ... The Treestump Tea Party
	The Alphabet Love Story
Chapter 7	In the Village Chapel
	Belated Roses
	Blue Days of Regret
	Daughter of Mine
	Dreams I'm Afraid to Speak
	In the Village Chapel
	Johnnie, Can You Hear Me?
	Leave Me if You Need To
	Man of My Dreams
	My Fondest Dream
	On Beyer's Old 4th Floor
	Opportunity is Her Name
	The Arm that Once Held Me
	The Low Road
	The River of my Need
	The Stranger
	The Sunshine Ship
Chapter 8	King of Kings - Faith Speaking
	Are You Really a Christian?
	Did You Know Jesus, the Child?
	Did You Know Jesus, the Man?
	Did You Know Jesus, the Saviour?
	Does God Need Another Soprano?
	The Single Man's Prayer (Jesus is the Bridegroom)
	The Single Woman's Prayer (Jesus is the Bridegroom)
	The Talks we Used to Share
	Where is God?
	Who Made Man, Perfect Man?
Chapter 9	Tribute to Princess Diana
	The Pearl
	The Roses