April National Poetry Month

Christie (Cummings) Finley grew up in Bakersfield where she graduated from Bakersfield High School and Bakersfield College.  At UCLA, she studied Germanic languages and literature and earned the Master of Arts degree in 1973.  That same year, she began teaching German at Santa Monica College and continued teaching there for 30 years.  She also did work for various Los Angeles law firms.  She is retired and lives with her husband in Sherman Oaks, California.

Christie (Cummings) Finley grew up in Bakersfield where she graduated from Bakersfield High School and Bakersfield College.  At UCLA, she studied Germanic languages and literature and earned the Master of Arts degree in 1973.  That same year, she began teaching German at Santa Monica College and continued teaching there for 30 years.  She also did work for various Los Angeles law firms.  She is retired and lives with her husband in Sherman Oaks, California.

Christie (Cummings) Finley grew up in Bakersfield where she graduated from Bakersfield High School and Bakersfield College.  At UCLA, she studied Germanic languages and literature and earned the Master of Arts degree in 1973.  That same year, she began teaching German at Santa Monica College and continued teaching there for 30 years.  She also did work for various Los Angeles law firms.  She is retired and lives with her husband in Sherman Oaks, California.

God is So Good,
Even in small ways.
He truly Loves us
All our days.

See how simply
He shows His Care,
Even by providing
Socks to wear!

In my travels
I thought I’d brought
Enough clothing,
But I had not.

So I realized
I’d probably
Have to wear socks
That were smelly!

Until I opened
The suitcase that
My cousins gave me
Which belonged to their Dad.

They’d planned to give it
To a thrift store,
But I needed to pack
Quite a bit more.

I opened the luggage
And what did I see?
A pair of black socks.
I smiled happily

Because the thin socks
I’d brought to wear
In boots were bagged
With dirty underwear!

God always knows
Exactly what we need.
He works in mysterious
Ways, indeed.

That’s one reason
I give God the Glory.
His Love’s for all, forever.
And that is my story.

Named after poet Percy Shelley, nature inspires Shelley’s poetry.  Several of her poems appear in chapbooks and anthologies, and her debut book was published in 2020.  Shelley is a wife, mother of 3 grown girls, dog mom, legal secretary, Newsletter Editor for WOK, and member of Parkside Church.  Rhyming is breathing to Shelley.

Written for International Day of Peace (September 21, 2021) video of the Peace Initiative, Bakersfield College

Portia Choi published a chapbook of her poems Sungsook, Korean War Poems. At Writers of Kern meetings, Choi met Helen Shanley and MaryLou Romagno who became good friends and mentors. Choi hosts First Friday Open Mic and publicizes National Poetry Month in April.  She administers www.kernpoetry.com.  Email at portia@kernpoetry.com