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My Secret Corner

by Ruby Hunter Greenlaw; co-published with Menagerie Publishing

158 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #01-0114; ISBN 1-55212-715-X; US$17.50, C$19.50, EUR14.50, £10.00

This book is a collection of the author's poetry on varied subjects.

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About the book      About the author      Sample excerpts      Catalogue info

About the Book A Note from Ruby's co-publisher: I greatly enjoyed preparing the poems for this book and I know they will be enjoyed by any who read them. There is something here for everyone. Ruby has heard from many of her readers over the years, many of them strangers who had to tell her what her poems have meant to them. Many of them were ill or going through an illness with a loved one and found 'solace', the word they often used, in reading her words, many poems dealing with death, dying, and cancer. Often she has been told her first edition of 'My Secret Corner' is always kept by the bedside and worn out from constant use. Some of her poems are lighthearted, some are whimsical, some of them are astute comments on today's society and governments and ring loudly of truth. Some of them tell of her feelings or the feelings of others while going through the death of a loved one. Some tell of her childhood in an island fishing community, remembering everything from carrying pails as a youngster to fill the bath tubs and outdoor 'biffies', the local name for the outdoor 'facilities'. There are love poems and poems of life-long friendships that end with a separation by death. Many of the poems in this edition are new, never published before. Many of them are award winning. All are enjoyable and entertaining. I'm sure any reader will find this book a good read, a book that will be kept nearby to be read again and again. Jan Lister Caldwell Editor Menagerie Publishing

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Review of My Secret Corner

This collection of poems looks at relationships, places, and aging.

Workers in a factory town where the factory is closed and the town in disarray will relate to "The Old Sardine Factory". Rather than focus on the rusty corrugated buildings, the poet focuses on the people that made the building hum.

"An Old, Old Christmas" will bring back memories of all those childhood Christmases. There are the smells, the people, the gifts. Yes, what happened to those Christmases?

"It Will Never Come Again" is an affirmation that each moment is unique and we should treasure every minute of our lives. It also points to the brief time children are in our lives.

In a similar vein is "Mother's Day". This poem looks at a mother whose grown children come home for one day and bring joy to a mother's heart, even if only for a day.

Ms. Greenlaw also has poems dedicated to her late son, Jens.

Is the poetry in the class of Elizabeth Barrett Browning or Walt Whitman? Only time will tell. The problem with poetry is that not enough people buy it for the poet to make a living from it. But I enjoyed Ms. Greenlaw's poems as I saw relationships and the fleeting nature of time and life in a startling way.

Rating: Three and a half stars
Reviewed by: John Hoh
Bookideas.com

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About the Author Born on Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy off the coast of New Brunswick, Canada, and Main, USA, Ruby Hunter Greenlaw is an award winning poet and a distinguished member of the National Society of Poets. Ruby has also won several Editor's Choice Awards for her poetry. This is the second edition of My Secret Corner, with never-before-published poetry added. She was married a day after her 18th birthday, in the bedroom of her cancer-stricken mother. Dying only five weeks after the wedding, her mother had told her she could die in peace knowing Ruby was married and could give a home to her three younger sisters. She and new husband, Danish born Fred Hunter, made a home for her three sisters, ages 11, 14, and 16, and then had five children of their own. Ruby was widowed at a young age when a teen-age driver hit her husband while he was on a walk. Ruby worked at several jobs to support her family, including private nursing and a restaurant cook. She moved to the St. Stephen area and eventually met Eston Greenlaw, just out of the US Air Force, and they married in 1961. He cared for her five as if they were his own and they had a son together. They are retired and living in St. Stephen. Though Dyslexic, Ruby had never allowed it to interfere with her writing or whatever she wanted to do in her life. She is also an avid painter with scenes from her childhood island home a favorite theme. Ruby is a cancer survivor who uses her optimism and faith to help others and continued to write both poetry and short stories during her illnesses. She recently lost a son and used her writing as an outlet for her grief, composing a poem about her feelings during that time. Ruby has been a great inspiration to others both through her friendships and her poetry. Click here to read about Ruby's first book, Secrets

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Sample Excerpts

Secret Room

There's a secret room inside my heart.
I keep all my treasures there.
Things that most people throw away,
I hold them gently with care,

The flower a tiny child gave me,
With the hope of some love in her eyes,
The joy in the hug she returned to me,
Oh, so innocent, yet so wise.

Another told me he loved me.
I had given him some cookies to share.
That's the truest love you*ll ever know.
What else can you find to compare?

A card received with the printing amiss,
That was lovingly copied with care,
A smile full of happiness when you say
"It's the nicest Valentine card by far."

To feel the trust in the tiny hand
Put with such love into yours,
To teach them to walk, and sing, and play,
Then help them to open all doors.

There are many more treasures in this secret room
That I'll keep with me all through the days.
The treasures I find most rewarding
Are the ones you can*t take away.

I'll always keep this one little room,
Locked up and safe from despair.
This one little room is just mine, you see,
And I want to make sure it's still there.

Polished Soldiers

Like polished soldiers, row on row,
They stand in sunshine's gleaming light,
Portraying patience quiet unknown
In fields that reach far beyond.

The plumes upon their heads all dance,
A choreograph of light and time,
A liquid movement, though controlled,
Still swing and sway with each new breeze.

In tranquil shadows now they stand,
With heads bowed low as if they sleep.
The dancing wind has left, it's gone,
And what remains there in the mist
Are soldiers straight, tall and strong.

And with the morning's light
Becomes
But a field of corn.

My Sisters

The tears are in the music,
Not running down my cheek.
Grief has filled my heart today.
I just can*t find relief.

My sister said, "My days are few.
The cancer's back again.
I must do the things I've wanted to do
Before the pain begins."

My heart fell to the bottom.
Tears were very near.
"There's not a thing that I can do
To ease your pain, my dear."

In sadness now I watched her go
To a place of dreams.
There'll be no pain or sadness there
Among the angel beams.

My two sisters I've watched go
Beyond the shadow of time.
I say goodbye with tear filled eyes.
I stand and wait till the time is mine.

My Son Jens

The sound of sorrow spread its wings
O'er a bright and shining day
The tears of sorrow filled my eyes,
My heart and soul to stay.

How far the flaming pain has gone
Much deeper than the sea.
There's not a thing left here on Earth
That will ever set me free.

The anguish in my mind became
A race of jumbled dreams.
Until God whispered softly,
"Your son is here with me."

My mind relaxed and through the mist
All my thoughts proved true.
I smiled a bit and dried my tears.
I'll let him go with You.

The Fern, The Rose, and The Firefly

Around the garden, colors bright
Start to fade with coming night.
Every color we've ever known
Stand as if they are alone.

As the darkness closes around so bold,
Mostly shadowed greens and gold,
They seem to be in disarray,
Then they, too, fade away.

The darkness takes the colors bright
And changes them to match the night.
I turn to go because the dark
Now hides the flowers and the lark.

But just as though I was on time,
I stopped to look once more at mine,
And saw a twinkling speck of light,
Then many more were on the site.

I stared in wonder, there transposed,
As they framed the fern and then the rose.
The mystic lights so very small
Turned the garden into a hall.
In melodic time they whirled on by,
The fern, the rose, and the firefly.

My Friend

Today I lost a fortune,
Not in silver or gold,
But in something much more precious,
A friendship that's grown old,

A friend who has been with me
Through my laughter and my tears,
Who*s always there to make me see
And to help me share my fears.

She laughed with me and cried with me,
And she helped me say a prayer.
The thing that helped me most, I guess,
Was knowing she was there.

I guess they needed her up high
So He took her home with him,
And left me here to wait
Until we meet again.

If I Knew You

As we take our journey
Down the path of life,
Sometimes it's filled with love,
Sometimes it's filled with strife,

And we just keep on going
With the decisions that we make,
And then somewhere along the way,
We find out our mistake.

There is one thing I've wished for
Since I can't remember when,
To really love someone
And still be their friend.

I've always felt within my heart,
If this one thing was true,
That we could love forever,
If you knew me as I knew you.

We all keep our little secrets
Locked within our minds.
We hide the doubts, the pain, the tears,
Until another time.

If we could tell our soul mate
What was really in our heart,
We could live a life of joy
And never, never part.

But like the sunshine of today,
It very soon will pass away.
Just keep your fears locked in your mind
And bring them out some other time.

And very soon I'll see
Some other time is now for me.
I don't have time to change the way
That life has brought me to today.

But I will feel my whole life through
That all the good things would be true,
And all life's treasures would be free,
If I knew you and you knew me.

Housewife's Refrain

The books all said, 'Take care of HIM
And HE will always be your man',
And so you play it by the book.
You wash and clean, work, and cook.

When HE gets home his slippers are there.
You offer HIM what HE thinks is fair:
A hot drink, a cold drink, a big glass of beer,
So HE can relax in HIS nice easy chair.

You throw in the laundry and pick up HIS mess,
Start cooking dinner and try to change to a dress.
Your work clothes are hot and you don*t want them soiled
And you have started thinking HE'S getting spoiled.

When supper is over HE sits down to read.
He's well taken care of; had HIS beer and HIS feed.
You put the clothes in the dryer and run up the stairs
To make up the bed and take the clothes from the chair.

HE gets into bed and is soon fast asleep
While you do the dishes and then try to sweep.
By this time you're exhausted and feeling real blue.
You're so tired you're wishing you'd stayed single, too.

You finally fall into a light, troubled sleep
And wake in the morning when you hear the clock beep,
Run down the stairs while HE showers and shaves;
Get HIS breakfast all ready and you feel like a slave.

When HE'S gone you sit down with a nice cup of tea
And ask yourself over, 'What's happening to me?'
You call into work to say that you're ill
And all you can think is, 'I've had my fill.'

So you dress up real pretty and go out to shop.
You buy yourself slacks and a nice flowered top.
Everyone tells you how nice that you look
While you*re hunting around for another ŒMAN* book:

One that says HE has to do half,
That HE also has to talk and to laugh,
That you're all done being the tired old maid.
The new book tells you that you should be paid.

The new book is helping. HE'S changing HIS ways.
HE now says there's not enough hours in the day.
Now HE wants a book on how to prepare
For what lies ahead in the upcoming year.

HE'S now really convinced men have it real tough,
To take up the slack for that bit of fluff,
But I guess HE'S decided HE still needs the touch
Of the girl that HE married and still loves so much.

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Catalogue Information

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