where fancy led" is a collection of poetry with roots in the rolling hills of West Virginia. It blooms and blossoms from my travels and imagination. Writing has been a lifelong pursuit and poetry my literary love. I don't know what you will think or feel as you read; what is important is that you feel! The beauty of poetry is the wide range of emotions one feels while reading a poem. I have delighted in many moments caught up in wordplay and hope that you share the magical flights with fancy while reading my poems.

where fancy led

A COLLECTION OF POEMSBy Jean Boggs Baker

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2011 Jean Boggs Baker
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4634-0021-7

Contents

Foreword.............................................xivIntroduction.........................................xviiAcknowledgments......................................xixIndex of First Lines.................................209

Chapter One

Love, Friendship and Family

Heartbreak

* * *

Curse, – cry languish – wait –
Love left me behind.
I bemoaned my fate,
Being young and blind.

Then a dear old aunt of mine,
Compassionate, and serious,
Said regrets are out of line.
She told me this, and told me thus –

"Be happy, darling, and be gay.
Don't give your foolish heart away.
Never, never sit and pout,
Wear your dancing slippers out.
There are plenty of fish in yonder lake."
And quickly I did land one!
I relinquished my heart, and it did break –
Now sorrow's my companion.


The Follies of Youth

* * *

Love's stealth caught me by surprise.
Blinded by my lover's sighs,
I stole from my Arcadian vale,
Where faith, hope, and charity prevail.

High on Wings of Love we sped,
Following where fancy led,
Living on love, frolic, and thrills,
Dreaming of El Dorado's hills.

We built lofty towers in Spain,
Where love and joy and beauty reign,
Towers that reached the firmament,
Until joy became discontent.

When the embers of our love were dead,
To my Arcadian home I fled,
Where faith, hope, and charity live on,
But the innocence of youth is gone.

How much more will I have to pay
For fiddling precious life away?
I know, from the wisdom granted me,
That charity is not always free.

Did I not stand by my window last night
And see, outside, by the moon's hazy light,
Folly's ghosts looming in the air,
And the old piper waiting there?

All my courage I must gather,
Although I would really rather
Relive the follies of my youth
Than face the mirage-lifted truth.


Love's Traitor

* * *

Nothing's as sweet as a secret romance,
Until you are faced with doubts;
Then you sigh for reassurance
Or resort to jealous pouts,
For that euphoric rapture
That every lover knows.
Doubt is love's traitor
And grief is what it shows.


The Concept of Love

* * *

When I adopted Anna Lee,
It was obvious as could be
That each of my other three
Were consumed with jealousy.
(Oh, for an olive branch or dove!)

Gathering candles, my children round me came,
And were given one, lit by the mother flame.
(Stilling the green-eyed monster was my aim.)
Comparing the flame to mother love,
Was an inspiration from above!

They noticed how each flame
Was exactly the same,
And with wide-open eyes,
Each one could visualize
The concept of love.

Yet, when Christmas came
They forgot the flame,
Becoming little calculators,
Tallying up their gifts and favors –
Push had come to shove!


A Love Story

* * *

There once was this couple,
Or so I have been told,
Who remained good friends,
Though their romance grew cold.

The lady vacationed in Greece
With some of her friends,
This is how the story begins, and
This is how it ends:

Pictures that they took
Were placed on Facebook.
The young man saw her picture there,
The girl with the flaming red hair!

He was ever gallant and bold,
And so he called his friend of old,
And asked if he could meet somewhere,
That girl with the gorgeous red hair.

She liked what she heard about him,
But all the same,
He had at one time been
Her friend's old flame.

It was a surprise when he called
Out of the blue,
And she answered the phone
Before she knew.

Melissa liked talking to Matthew, so
He called when he had a chance,
And this was the beginning
Of a long distance romance.

She lived in one state,
And he in another,
So they had to make plans
For meeting each other.

They met in proud Charleston,
That southern town by the sea,
And later they decided
That's where their wedding would be.

In the end, I was blessed with
A new grandson,
And they now have
a little one!


When I Was Feeling Down

* * *

When I was feeling down,
I donned a pretty gown
With ruffles to caress my throat,
And thumbed through poetry of note.

Then into the fire, I did stare,
Rocking in my favorite chair,
Vanquishing the way of tears –
All the hurts of yesteryears.

I began to rock and rock,
Rising when I heard a knock –
My great grandsons came trooping in,
Each, with a mischievous grin.

"Tell about the olden days," they say,
And all my sadness was washed away.
We talked about all kinds of things –
Wild strawberries and grapevine swings!

We discussed Biblical stories like Noah's ark,
And Jonah in the belly of a whale or shark;
About Elijah's cave on Mt. Carmel,
In the days of Ahab and Jezebel.

How Elijah could raise the dead
And bring down fire from overhead.
How he departed in a chariot of fire
And ascended into paradise or higher!

As the evening quickly wore on,
We discussed ancestors long gone.
Children love to hear stories of old,
Or at least, that is what I've been told.

The hour was late, when I heard the clock chime
And I saw it was way past their bedtime.
As they were leaving, the boys said,
"Say your prayers and go to bed."

        Her Letter

        * * *

    At the time, he could hardly believe
    That his love had gone like that –
    They moved away when her mother
    Married an aristocrat.

    The mailman handed him her letter
    On the way to his boat,
    He is puzzling over it,
    For this is what she wrote:

    I have only a minute or two
    To write this little missive to you.
    I'm on my way to the Autumn Ball,
    (Where my mother has bedecked the hall),
    Wearing jewels beyond compare,
    With a tiara in my hair,
    And, Ray, I know you would simply love my gown –
    It's from the most exclusive boutique in town.

    Why am I thinking of you today,
    When you are thousands of miles away?
    I've been seeing Bill Barton's son –
    He will go far they say,
    So how can I tell everyone
    That I'm smitten with Ray?

    Ah, Ray, do you remember when
    I promised to wait for you?
...