Everything Writers Need | Writers of Kern
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 [email protected]
by Anna Marco
Poets don’t be afraid to fall off the paper edge Into the abyss of A E I O U Aaay eeee eye Oh spinning euuu Fall Into word pools Get tangled up in xyz and ABC Break rules, Make rules Onomatopoeia excites Cuckoo meow honk boom Typing tapping Swirling twirling black marks upon white paper Form communication Soul speak spirit Heart to heart language Be the opposite of normal Gifted wordsmith not crayon scripture It's how we live Throbbing head Midnight invocations we fall off the paper edge To sleep and start again tomorrow Go
Anna Marco was born into theatrical heritage, gifted in creative writing and majored in Media. Her professional writing career spans 30 years. She is an internationally published author to 6 books and 800 magazine articles. She won the Los Angeles Valley College Poetry Contest for “The Lemon Tree.”