Poetry: writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience, in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm.
Welcome to the August 8th stop on the blog tour for Poetry from my Heart by Paul Guerin with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, author guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.
Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means there is no additional cost to you if you shop using my links, but I will earn a small percentage in commission. A program-specific disclaimer is at the bottom of this post.
Author Guest Post
Early Childhood Cameos
“As childhood memories return to me
I recall the good parts too
Harvest time with donkey floats
Summertime with lots to do”
I arrived on Earth on September 18th 1946 in the small townland village of Castletownroach, situated in County Cork in the Republic of Ireland [Eire].
“I’m in Castletownroche, Republic of Éire
The Emerald Isle and land of the faerie
Near the city of Cork in its namesake county
A fresh green land of pastoral bounty”
It was a humble start and I didn’t feel welcome:
“Those hurtful words so long ago
Heard inside a mother’s womb
Unwelcome child we hate you so
Those words heard loud inside that tomb”
We lived in a two-room hovel with no running water and no toilet facilities.
” We were poor as poor can be
In a house with a broken floor
No running water, nowhere to pee
A single bed and not much more”
I survived by the grace and loving kindness of an old Irish grandmother, sporting a black dress, black shawl and a wicked temper, driving a razor-sharp tongue. I called her Nana.
“Nana Was a kindly soul
Who postured hard and tough
She nurtured me as best she could
But we never had enough”
Nana taught me to fear [her] retribution and used it to keep me safe and provide security that I could find nowhere else. One memory I treasure [I was 3], is the time I was playing on a high wall and Nana coaxed me down with promises of no retribution. Of course, I felt Nana’s retribution as soon as I acquiesced!
“Nana said come down Paulie
Come down get off the wall
Come on down, there’s a good boy
I’m frightened you might fall”
But Nana always made me feel secure:
“It was a simple life back then
Nana made me feel secure
With little food and basic needs
We lived a life we could endure”
As I grew bigger, my job was to walk to the town square [where there was a hand pump] and fill a pail of water to take back home as our daily water supply. That too was our only source of hygiene:
“I cleaned my teeth in darkened soot
Using fingers as my brush
Boiled nettles as our vegetables
We ground them into mush”
Often there was not much to eat:
“Nana cooked on the smoky hob
With a fire of turf and a big iron pot
Pig’s cheeks in cabbage did the job
A simple life with not a lot”
My uncle Jackie lived with us and he was my male role model age zero to five. He played an accordion in an Irish Show Band and he taught me to fish in the Awbeg River in the Blackwater Valley.
I was only four years old, but I will always remember those quiet evenings when flies were the choices
“Down by the Awbeg, the men all around
Standing there quietly, not even a sound
I’ll never forget their murmuring voices
As evening drew down and flies were their choices
I have held onto that magic of that quiet safe place, all my life
All my life I’ve held on to the magic back then
And I’ll never forget those old fishermen
Who loved me and helped me feel safe and feel free
As they murmured and murmured their souls out to me”
Thank you Nana!
About the Book
Poetry from My Heart
A Journey through Feelings
by Paul Guerin
Published 6 April 2022
Tellwell Talent
Genre: Poetry
Page Count: 300
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
Poetry: writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience, in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm.
Poetry means different things to different people. For me, it is all about feelings. If it captures the emotions of the reader, a poem will resonate and fill the soul. It can mean everything to one person and not much at all to another. The mood of the reader and no-one else determines the outcome.
For example, love poems are wonderful when you are in love and their passion is amazing. If you are facing adversity, however, love poems likely will just annoy or even anger you.
In “Poetry from my Heart”, I have attempted to divide the poems into categories which will fit your mood no matter what you are experiencing at the time you choose to explore them. There should be something for everyone, no matter whether you are in love, out of love, you hurt, you are lonely, angry, abandoned, or you are facing other challenges in your life.
Poetry has a healing power that nurtures the soul and quietens the mind, and so I hope that whatever your situation is in life, you will find something here that helps you safely on your journey.
Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | BD | B&N | Chapters Indigo
Excerpt
Conflicting paths
There are too many paths ahead
But can I choose only one
My feelings are confused by loyalty
I no longer know what is real
Something changed when I met you
But are those feelings real
If you are real what a gift that could be
I could keep you in my heart forever
I could love you forever
But I am too confused
Could we be together as loving souls
Are you really my soul mate
Why does reality block the way
Why can’t I find the right path
Which way shall I go
About the Author
As a very young boy, I lived in a small Irish townland village called Castletownroche. The village was situated in the very beautiful and pastoral County Cork. I had an Irish uncle who played in a showband and who taught me to fish at age four. I wrote a poem about that. My mother was absent and I never knew my father. I wrote another poem about that. We lived in abject poverty. I survived by the grace and loving kindness of an old Irish grandmother sporting a black dress, black shawl and a wicked temper driving a razor-sharp tongue. I called her Nana.
Nana taught me to fear her retribution and used it to keep me safe and provide security that I could find nowhere else. Well into my teens, my inner world was cast in fear and I had no real sense of belonging or attachment to anyone or to anything. The inability to handle those feelings eventually led me to substance abuse. My journey along that road has generated much of the poetry of adversity, hope, and inspiration that you will find in this book. I truly hope that those poems in particular will salve the souls of those of you who are still trudging that happy road to destiny on your way back from hell.
Not surprisingly, I have had difficulty in maintaining healthy relationships throughout my life, and much of the love poetry is about those failures and many, many, sorry attempts to return to love. Those painful/happy experiences had a major influence on my writing.
Website | Facebook | Goodreads
Giveaway Alert!
Paul Guerin will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B&N gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway| July 18 | Sandra’s Book Club | July 25 | Long and Short Reviews |
| Aug 1 | The Pen and Muse Book Reviews | Aug 8 | Westveil Publishing |
| Aug 15 | The Faerie Review | Aug 22 | Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews |
| Aug 29 | Fabulous and Brunette | Sept 5 | Our Town Book Reviews |
| Sept 12 | All the Ups and Downs | Sept 19 | It’s Raining Books |
| Sept 26 | Archaeolibrarian – I Dig Good Books! | Oct 3 | Welcome to My World of Dreams |
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Thanks for hosting!
Sounds like a good read.
Thank you for sharing your guest post and book details, I have enjoyed reading about you and your work and I am looking forward to reading your collection of poems
I love the cover and think this book sounds like a wonderful read!
Thank you for the opportunity!