CELEBRATING THE POEMS OF KIT BORDEN

FOUR POEMS BY KIT BORDEN

Wild Things

Yellow-headed step-children, 

Persistent and wild, taking,

Taking orders from no one, uninvited

Each year appearing in the garden,

Blooming and sending out

Fluffy and white balls of seed

My children will wish on.

Each year more numerous

Than the year before,

Bringing friends with you,

Filling the garden of neat green

With dots of yellow.

Our ancestors did not call you weeds.

You gave them wine, coffee, and greens

And they called you dandelions. 

Beginnings

How does a sea creature know how?

    Who teaches a scallop to furl?

    Why does a sand dollar grow flat,

And conchs grow their homes in tight whirls?

     Oysters and clams have dull colors

    And coquinas grow rainbow arrays.

     Wondrous things along the seashore

   Never cease to amaze.

When we go looking for seashells,

    do we wonder where it all began?

Creatures so different and intricate,

    All taken for granted by man.

And She Laughed

"Caretakers of the world,

    unite, revolt," I said.

She laughed, my mother,

    Caretaker of my years.

She was dying, and she laughed.

    "You need to put the tablemats

Away at night," she had said.

  She couldn't control the cancer,

So she worried about small things.

    And she laughed.

Orange and Purple Sunset

How does God find the time each day

To paint the sky in bright array?

I'm traveling early morning roads

When the palette in the sky explodes.

It never ceases to amaze

To watch the sky become ablaze
As sunrise lifts o'er mountain haze

And colors come in streaks and rays.

It's times like these--cool, crisp, and clear--

I see his work, and God is near. 

The poems above by Kit Borden were first published in Out of Our Hearts and Minds, Poetry and Prose by the Transylvania Writers' Alliance (2006).

About the Poet:
Catherine (Kit) Townsend Borden was born in Charleston, South Carolina, but now lives with her husband David in Transylvania County with magnificent views of the mountains. However, Charleston and the sea still hold a special place in her heart, as do the beauty and friendships she finds while traveling in Mexico. She has taught all ages from preschoolers to adults, but children are her favorites, and she has written a number of stories for them. Kit also participates in fundraisers to raise funds for multiple sclerosis research, riding along on her scooter for fifty mile walks. She also used sales from the Transylvania Writers' Alliance's 2006 anthology to add additional moneys to that research.