AMERICA the BEAUTIFUL by BEN CARSON, M.D.

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"Five of the locals were killed, the first of whom was Crispus Attucks, an African American and the first American to die in the Revolutionary War."

CINNAMON BLACK REBORN BY ANGELIA VERNON MENCHAN

This is a novella about family and relationships. CINNAMON BLACK REBORN by ANGELIA VERNON MENCHAN was a sparkle of light in my day. There are a few mistakes on the pages or formatting mistakes. Still,  it's a good read. Cinnamon loves her son, Muha, and his girlfriend, Miko, who is Black and Japanese. This stood out to me. The family fits together so well even with the added challenge of racial diversity. Grandma and the clan just seem like loving, giving people. I like when old family homes are given away, and that is exactly what happens when Grandma decides, at ninety or so, it's time to live closer to her friends.

Cinnamon is more than lovable. "I don't want anything to come between us. That book is important to me but after God, you and this marriage are most important. Cinnamon also has a loving husband named Malcolm. He can be jealous too. As Angelia Vernon Menchan puts it "Malcolm can be painfully jealous." When a friend named Hampton calls her Cinnamon Bun, it doesn't sit well with Malcolm.Cinnamon is also a writer. She's writing her memoirs. Most people can identify with the struggles it takes to become an author. "I'm hiring Abigail to do the edits."

I really enjoyed the love shared between this husband and wife. I call this a really cool night of romance. "Malcolm and Cinnamon strolled along the beach hand in hand." One sentence, but it's such a perfect sentence.ANGELIA-VERNON-MENCHAN/e


 

ZANE by BRENDA JACKSON

Zane and Channing are very, very attracted to one another. Channing is in love with Zane. Zane? He claims not to love Channing. He definitely doesn't have marriage on his mind, and he refuses to even use the word love in a sentence. For much of the novel I stayed angry with Zane. I felt he was taking advantage of Channing. He always wanted to make love to her. I felt he was using her. Unfortunately, his touch, his looks just drove Channing around the bend more than a couple of times. She would just melt when he came near her. It's sad how Zane treats Channing. His whole family likes her. His sister Megan tries to talk to Channing as a caring friend even though Zane is her brother. Zane is wonderfully good looking, but stubborn as a bull.

This romance novel, ZANE by BRENDA JACKSON takes a hard look at men and their fear of commitment. Really, how in the world does a woman know how to treat such a heavy issue? These men are really and truly afraid of responsibility and are afraid of promising to be true to one woman. Finally, Zane explains where his fears lie. He loses his parents and aunt and uncle all at once in a crash. This makes him afraid to ever give his love away again. I enjoyed the heavy issues in the novel. I must write the physical love becomes very heated and happens many times because of Channing and Zane's weakness for one another. Therefore, the steamy moments are not without reason. When they see one another, both become magnets.

The novel takes place in Denver, Colorado and Atlanta. I will never forget the romantic moments like the one where Zane sends Channing not a bouquet of  roses but a huge red rose bush. Amazing what men will do to get in our good graces again. Mostly, I liked the idea of Zane having a huge family. I wanted to get to know each one of them. Brenda Jackson also describes a handsome man so well it makes you want to find him at your front door with a picnic basket. She definitely knows how to write romance. brendajackson

A SEDUCTIVE KISS by FRANCIS RAY

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One moment Dianne has everything in the world she wants, but in a matter of moments her world crumbles to nothing. Dianne at thirty-two years old is one of the top models in the Harrington dept. stores. Her grandfather established Harrington stores, and it became a successful legacy for his family. So Dianne and her parents are involved with the business. However, this one day is totally different. Dianne walks into the meeting to learn she is no longer top model. The board members think she is too old. She is only 32 years old, and they think she is really too fat. In other words, she's not a size 6. Her parents are there at the meeting on that ugly day. The problem is they are not backing up Dianne. They are against her. Leaving one to think they wouldn't mind adding more negative thoughts to the table about Dianne. Really, her parents are pleased to bow where the money is abundant.

I felt so sorry for Dianne. It's a sad day when your parents don't remain loyal to you. In that meeting room Dianne had only herself. She stood totally alone. Thank goodness for faithful friends. Dianne goes to Alex. The question is will he be able to help her. After all these aren't minor problems. Dianne has no career. She has nothing, not even a place to stay. There aren't many people in the world who are willing to help someone who can't even see the sky from the bottom of the well and can't even crawl up and out of the well either. It's also difficult to help a woman when her self esteem has been battered.

This novel, One Seductive Kiss by Francis Ray is filled with real life issues. It's not a romance filled with making love, go to a fancy restaurant and then, make love again. This is a heavy romance about how to hold on when your whole world is falling apart. It's about true friendship. In other words, taking a chance to help a friend when you have no idea whether they are going to fail again. Greg, a designer, stepped in to help Dianne when nothing was real. She only had a dream. One Seductive Kiss is also about new ideas. Dianne's very problem will cause her to hear what other women are saying about the clothing industry.  There is something no one has thought of doing, or something no one feels like taking a risk for and proving whether the stars are right or just flashing lights.It's about courage too. The courage to take a chance with a career and a chance on love. Alex covers the love part in the novel. Does he come through, or is Dianne just high maintenance? Will he sleep with her, and then, throw her out? Anyway, I'm so looking forward to reading more novels by FRANCIS RAY.

PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR

A Farm House by the River

I know a little country place
Where still my heart doth linger,
And o'er its fields is every grace
Lined out by memory's finger.
Back from the lane where poplars grew
And aspens quake and quiver,
There stands all bath'd in summer's glow
A farm house by the river.

Its eaves are touched with golden light
So sweetly, softly shining,
And morning glories full and bright
About the doors are twining.
And there endowed with every grace
That nature's hand could giver her,
There lived the angel of the place
In the farm house by the river.

Her eyes were blue, her hair was gold,
Her face was bright and sunny;
The songs that from her bosom rolled
Were sweet as summer's honey.
And I loved her well, that maid divine,
And I prayed the Gracious Giver,
That I some day might call her mine
In the farm house by the river.(Poem Hunter)

IN FLANDERS FIELD by MAJOR JOHN MCCRAE

In most ceremonies of remembrance there is a reading of an appropriate poem designed to help the listener understand the experiences of service people and their relatives in wartime.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
The poem was written by a Canadian Medical Corps doctor, Major John McCrae, who was serving with a Field Artillery Brigade in Ypres. The death of one of his friends in May 1915, buried in the cemetery outside his dressing station, affected him severely and he wrote his poem as a way of expressing his anguish at the loss. He was dissatisfied with the poem when he finished it and threw it away but one of his fellow officers retrieved it and was so moved that he sent to the media in London, where it was published by Punch on 8 December 1915. Its simple but evocative encapsulation of the horror of the trenches has made it the most famous of the war poems

Sherman Alexie / Poet

Grief Calls Us to the Things of This World
  by Sherman Alexie  

The morning air is all awash with angels . . .
                                            - Richard Wilbur


The eyes open to a blue telephone
In the bathroom of this five-star hotel.
  
I wonder whom I should call? A plumber,
Proctologist, urologist, or priest?

Who is most among us and most deserves
The first call? I choose my father because

He's astounded by bathroom telephones.
I dial home. My mother answers. "Hey, Ma,

I say, "Can I talk to Poppa?" She gasps,
And then I remember that my father

Has been dead for nearly a year. "Shit, Mom,"
I say. "I forgot he’s dead. I’m sorry—

How did I forget?" "It’s okay," she says.
"I made him a cup of instant coffee

This morning and left it on the table—
Like I have for, what, twenty-seven years—

And I didn't realize my mistake
Until this afternoon." My mother laughs

At the angels who wait for us to pause
During the most ordinary of days

And sing our praise to forgetfulness
Before they slap our souls with their cold wings.

Those angels burden and unbalance us.
Those fucking angels ride us piggyback.

Those angels, forever falling, snare us
And haul us, prey and praying, into dust.

- See more at: http://www.poets.org/

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Grief Calls Us to the Things of This World   by Sherman Alexie The morning air is all awash with angels . . . - Richard Wilbur The eyes open to a blue telephone In the bathroom of this five-star hotel. I wonder whom I should call? A plumber, Proctologist, urologist, or priest? Who is most among us and most deserves The first call? I choose my father because He's astounded by bathroom telephones. I dial home. My mother answers. "Hey, Ma, I say, "Can I talk to Poppa?" She gasps, And then I remember that my father Has been dead for nearly a year. "Shit, Mom," I say. "I forgot he’s dead. I’m sorry— How did I forget?" "It’s okay," she says. "I made him a cup of instant coffee This morning and left it on the table— Like I have for, what, twenty-seven years— And I didn't realize my mistake Until this afternoon." My mother laughs At the angels who wait for us to pause During the most ordinary of days And sing our praise to forgetfulness Before they slap our souls with their cold wings. Those angels burden and unbalance us. Those fucking angels ride us piggyback. Those angels, forever falling, snare us And haul us, prey and praying, into dust.

- See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19508#sthash.wbxcREKi.dpuf

Sponsor a Poet Page | Add to Notebook | E-mail to Friend | Print

Grief Calls Us to the Things of This World   by Sherman Alexie The morning air is all awash with angels . . . - Richard Wilbur The eyes open to a blue telephone In the bathroom of this five-star hotel. I wonder whom I should call? A plumber, Proctologist, urologist, or priest? Who is most among us and most deserves The first call? I choose my father because He's astounded by bathroom telephones. I dial home. My mother answers. "Hey, Ma, I say, "Can I talk to Poppa?" She gasps, And then I remember that my father Has been dead for nearly a year. "Shit, Mom," I say. "I forgot he’s dead. I’m sorry— How did I forget?" "It’s okay," she says. "I made him a cup of instant coffee This morning and left it on the table— Like I have for, what, twenty-seven years— And I didn't realize my mistake Until this afternoon." My mother laughs At the angels who wait for us to pause During the most ordinary of days And sing our praise to forgetfulness Before they slap our souls with their cold wings. Those angels burden and unbalance us. Those fucking angels ride us piggyback. Those angels, forever falling, snare us And haul us, prey and praying, into dust.

- See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19508#sthash.wbxcREKi.dpuf