Dear Readers,

William Wordsworth once said, “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.”

Even though spring is bursting with new life, evoking powerful feelings, it has a tranquility about it as well. Doesn’t spring just inspire poetry in your heart? Songs, poems, spoken word pieces. We’ve all been exposed to poetry our whole lives. From the simplistic “Roses are red, violets are blue,” to Frost’s sublime, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference,” poetry influences us.

Poetry can be traced back to the oldest book of the Bible as well, the book of Job. Maybe you didn’t realize that large parts of the  book of Job are poetry. They lose a great deal of their beauty when translated into English, as do the psalms. Meter, rhyme, metaphor, symbolism. Poetry encompasses all this and more. 

And so, The Redbud Writers Guild is pleased to introduce you to many of our wonderful women poets. This special poetry issue brings you an unusually large number of articles because each poem is short—no epic Beowulf here—but packed with beauty you’re sure to enjoy. Be sure to leave a comment for the writers. Your kind words are always an encouragement to them.

Thank you for joining us!