Of fairy tales and poems

A fairy tale sunset

Once up on a time, they say, there was a girl . . . there was a boy . . . there was a person who was in trouble.  And this is what she did . . . and what he did . . . and how they learned to survive it.  This is what they did . . . and why one failed . . . and why another triumphed in the end.  And I know that it’s true, because I danced at their wedding and drank their very best wine.

~ Terri Windling

Deep in the woods where magic lives

For her Nuturing Thursday post today, Joss wrote about the first book she ever read and lists eleven books which stayed with her in some way.  Joss’s post brought me back to my childhood and the first book I remember reading.

Deep in the marsh

The book was larger than life in my earliest recollections of it.  Almost as big as me.  As I grew older, the book diminished in size, but not in influence or enchantment.

Fairy lights shine in the grasses

It was an oversized book, filled with delightful, colorful illustrations.  There were stories about people making choices (The Lady or the Tiger), and poems about calico cats and gingham dogs (The Duel).  One poem, called Vespers (written by A. A. Milne), about Christopher Robin saying his prayers, stayed with me to this day, in part because someone put the words to music, and there’s nothing like a tune to get words to stick in my head.  (You can hear the song version here, if you’re interested.)  I used to sing the song to my own Christopher (usually referred to on the blog as Oldest Son or the father of my beautiful granddaughters).

Purple lights

There were fairy tales in the book, too, and those I loved most of all.  I still do.  Fairy tales, myths, and legends were favorites of childhood, and my taste for them, almost a thirst, has carried over into my adulthood in the form of some of my choices when it comes novels.

Spinning gold

I don’t know the name of the book.  Probably a Collection of Children’s Tales and Poems or some such thing.  Or the Illustrated Collection of Children’s Tales and Poems.  Or neither of those titles, but something like it.  The poor book was falling apart by the time I was a teenager.  I’m not sure what happened to it.  It disappeared one day, as if the book itself thought I had outgrown it, or learned enough from it, and it was time to pass on its tales and poetry to another child.  (An Adult probably threw it away, but I prefer my version.)

Twinkle, twinkle

A couple of years ago, when I was feeling unwell (with shingles), I tried to bring my love of fairy tales into my photography.  I still try, but it’s not quite there yet.  It’s something I want to do with the camera rather than through editing.  Not that I’m a purist or above using Photoshop or other programs to do some manipulating.  It helps, though, to have a good start on it, and I’m learning how to get the camera to do things I used to do in Photoshop.  Photo editing and manipulating aside, I’m always on the lookout for trees and branches and other things in nature that remind me, even in the smallest way, of fairy tales or myths.

Doesn’t this tree from Assateague look like it belongs in a fairy tale?

A few other books that have stayed with me throughout the years (in no particular order other than how they came to mind):

• The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
• Dune by Frank Herbert
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Once And Future King by T. H. White

Let’s go back to when the setting sun was turning raindrops into sparkling stars in the marsh grasses (Tuesday, I think).

I’m sure there are many more, but those were the first few that came to mind.  How about you?  Are there any books you’ve read that have influenced you or stayed with you in some way?  Please leave a list in the comments.  I love talking books.

All that glitters

Thank you for dropping by on this sunny day here on the Eastern Shore.  It’s chilly, but not too bad if you dress for it.  The sunrise this morning was gorgeous, almost out of a fairy tale, but I haven’t had a chance to upload the pictures yet.  I’ve noticed that sometimes the sunrise and sunset mimic each other so I’m heading out soon to see if Sunset will imitate Sunrise today.  Meet you on the dock.  I’ll even bring hot chocolate.

Because every fairy tale has a light side and a dark side.

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂