2024 is L.M. Montgomery’s 150th birthday! The L.M. Montgomery Institute (LMMI) at the University of Prince Edward Island is celebrating with 150 tributes – celebratory statements or greetings – that reflect upon personal connections to Montgomery or on an aspect of her life, work, or legacy.
As both a reader and writer, Montgomery first loved poetry. What better way to celebrate World Poetry Day on 21 March than through poetic lenses. Featured today are tributes from Jessica Brown, Joy Lenentine, and Rosalee Peppard Lockyer.
*
Transfigured
For L.M. Montgomery on her 150th birthday
by Jessica Brown
Fir trees have names
and alongside old brooks are
tiny hollows that become
clefts for the imagination
Not for climbing out of the workaday world
but out of what we do to it:
often belittled, hanging from the shoulder-blades
like clipped geese wings
You learn instead to unclip the tethers,
real things brighten real things
Sunshine lands on water
water glows
Shadows fall among molting leaves
and purrs the path into new shapes
The fault lines between heaven, earth
handshaking rather, pearl-wise gleam
of dawn’s light lands on low hills,
far pastures, Houston sidewalks—I mean to say
over all the light falls, gives over to the mind
what can be transfigured
with eyes that see
Loneliness, ache, ghosts, ambition,
garret secrets, anything too long hidden away—
the playground elm, a daisy weed, one single sunset
these stretch out, become meals for the mind
And for the heart, kin.
Jessica Brown is a writer, poet, and narrative practitioner. She lives (and walks the hills) in County Clare, Ireland.
*
I Am Anne and Anne Is Me
by Joy Lenentine
I am Anne and Anne is me
Well, Anne is who I want to be
We met when I was just a child
I loved her heart, so free and wild
And so began a deep fixation
Upon this girl from my own nation
Red-haired, ugly, freckled, too
I understood her point of view
Neither is it my native loam
Dear PEI, our souls’ true home
Enchanted shores and rolling hills
Sure to evoke a series of thrills
A contented, plain and simple life
Though not without its scrapes and strife
To live outdoors and to pretend
Each and every tree a friend
Anne cherished those for whom she cared
Brimful of joy and zest, she dared
Always one to speak her mind
Rarely failing to be kind
Gratitude wells up within
For her blithe spirit, so like kin
Anne yet inspires me to see
How sweet this life can truly be
Joy Lenentine lives and writes in the shadow of the World’s Longest Covered Bridge, under which runs the mighty Wolastoq/Saint John River in Hartland, New Brunswick. She is a passionate lover of words, sea glass, Octobers, and all things Anne of Green Gables. Joy writes from her heart for connection and consolation to remind herself and others that we need not walk this delightful/disappointing life-path alone. Joy warmly invites you to visit her poetry page on Facebook!
*
A Sesquicentennial Year Recipe
celebrating L.M. Montgomery
by Rosalee Peppard Lockyer
A mix and a mingle
Of words that tingle
The silverest tongue
And tickle the tum
Of old and young
For years to come...
Before you begin, hold your heart “just so”
You know what I mean – and only you know
Make sure it’s Twilight
Before the New Moon
Use your soul for a bowl
And your mind for a spoon
Then open a book
– Any book on Maud’s shelf –
To cook up a Friendship, in spite of yourself!
Add the I’s of:
Innocence
Intelligence
Imagination
Then E’s in:
Encouragement
Empathy
Education
The measures and mixes are different for all
The method’s your secret
The proofing, your call
Remember to sprinkle a twinkle of Love
That you held in your heart from the start (see above)
Et voila, the Moment of Magic appears
‘Round the bend of your cheek
In Friendship’s tears
Rosalee Peppard Lockyer is a published Canadian women’s oral historian, poet/author, and musical performer who creates “song portraits” of our heroines, including L.M. Montgomery. She has loved her lifelong friendship with Maud. www.rosalee.ca
*
Next week we will be celebrating performance artists celebrating Montgomery.