July 2021
Bio Note: I am a former school librarian who was intrigued by almost every book I put on my shelves. As a reader and as a writer, I don’t restrict myself to one genre. I’ve had two poetry books come out during the pandemic. One for adults, Manna in the Morning (Kelsay Books, 2021) and one for young readers, Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence (Albert Whitman, 2020).
Aesop’s World of Critics
When I stay awake at night
heeding too many voices, I
should remember the story
about the man, his son, and the donkey.
How the man was ridiculed for walking
when he could ride.
I should picture the father in the fable,
how he mounted the donkey
and traveled on until asked:
“How can you ride so high
while the child trudges?”
Switching places, the son rode
for a few miles before meeting
more questions: “Lazy boy!
How can you make your father walk?”
Embarrassed, the boy and man
shared the donkey’s back,
only to be reproached again
for overloading a poor beast.
Flummoxed, the pair
couldn’t think what else to do
except carry the donkey
through the next town
where they heard
louder taunts and jeers
for trying to be like me
and please every critic
passing by.
Reading On
“How did you go on?” she asked,
the tone of her voice, surprised,
as if she couldn’t see herself
making the same choice.
I didn’t have an answer for her, just an anecdote
about the novel I plowed through last month.
“I kept reading,” I told her. Even though
only a few chapters entranced. Others
annoyed me or made me cry. “But I kept reading.”
Curious to know how Eleanor handled
the loss of her husband, how Elliott fared
after his business failed.
“I kept reading.” To see if Eleanor and Elliott
found joy in a grandchild or a new pursuit;
if the end, despite the heartache in between,
made me grateful I maintained my hope
that the words, waiting on the next page,
would take me past the previous chapter
to a satisfying conclusion after all.
©2021 Jacqueline Jules
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It is very important. -JL