NC Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green

 North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green and Brenda Kay Ledford.

I attended the Multicultural Women's Conference at Hinton Rural Life Center in Hayesville, NC on April 19-20, 2024.  The keynote speaker on Friday was North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green.  She gave a marvelous speech encouraging women to "Rise Up to the Power of Stories."  She said we all have a story to tell and highlighted the achievements of blacks in America.

I enjoyed meeting Jaki and consider her to be one of the finest living poets today.  If you have not read her poetry, her books are available on Amazon.com. You may also hear her giving a poetry reading on Youtube.com.  

AN AMAZING SHOW

 Dogwoods take center stage

in the Spring Show,

they wash the mountains

with snow and upstage

the tulips lifting their cups

to drink the morning light.

A chorus of songbirds

perform in the redbud trees

as the trillium join the act

dancing in dainty pink slippers.

Hyatt-Mill Creek laughs

and skips past the Grove Farm

where new-born calves

frolic in the verdant grass.

The rhododendrons and azaleas

line up for the celebration.

An audience dons dark shades,

lifts their heads heavenward

to behold the magical show:

a total solar eclipse.

                --Brenda Kay Ledford

I hope my blogger friends are having a beautiful spring and were able to see the solar eclipse.  We only saw a partial eclipse, but it was still an amazing "sky show."

Brenda Kay Ledford's Story Featured in "When Love Wags a Tail"