| "Roses are red | | | | You may want to create a scrapbook for family |
| Violets are green | | | | poems and created cards, or several scrapbooks if |
| I'm really sorry I hit my brother | | | | you have more than one poet in the family. You can |
| But he was being mean." | | | | organize the family scrapbooks by writer, poem |
| Kids not only say the darndest things, they write them, | | | | subject (Dad, mom, the family dog or cat) or by |
| too. Whether this poetry springs out of creative writing | | | | occasions: birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, |
| exercises in the schools, or in HEARTSONGS, HOPE | | | | graduations, new homes, weddings, births, and so forth. |
| THROUGH HEARTSONGS and JOURNEY | | | | Or you can include poems in scrapbooks you've |
| THROUGH HEARTSONGS 13-year-old | | | | created to record these occasions, scrapbooks that |
| now-deceased-but-never-forgotten writer Mattie J.T. | | | | contain decorations, invitations, announcements, |
| Stepanek's case, out of special circumstances, | | | | pressed flowers, and so forth. |
| degenerative muscular dystrophy, that bring forth a | | | | Some tips for successful poem preserving: |
| remarkable gift, the rhymes can easily be lost through | | | | * While it's tempting to include the yellowing paper your |
| time, moving, throwing away of school papers, or just | | | | son wrote his first poem on, consider recopying it on |
| simply forgotten. | | | | pretty paper and include it. You can include the original |
| While our children's poetry may not become | | | | paper if you wish, but do so beside the typed or |
| best-selling books and CDs (Stepanek teamed up with | | | | handwritten version. |
| young country star Billy Gilman to produce a CD), | | | | Do the same if a poem has smudges or spills. |
| those sweet or questioning verses of childhood and | | | | * If you haven't dated a poem by your child, look at the |
| angry, angsty teenage songs bring pleasure, joy and | | | | writing and compare it to different ages. Always list |
| comfort. They are as much a part of history as official | | | | your child's age. |
| family records. How many of us wish we had saved | | | | * Always date family poems, either on paper or by |
| our poems form clutter, neglect, forgetfulness, or the | | | | making a note on a printed label or in handwriting. |
| (we hope) well-intentioned suggestions of parents that | | | | * If you can't guess when a family poem was written, |
| "You just aren't a poet"---or even a parent throwing | | | | look at the occasion. If it was your 50th birthday or a |
| away our written longings? You can bet Mattie | | | | particular wedding anniversary, you know the date |
| Stepanek's mom would never throw away his first | | | | (unless your memory is like a man's!) |
| poems! | | | | * When you've started scrapbooking family poems, |
| Whether we have the gift to become a poet or not, | | | | always choose heavy paper for future poems, or |
| whether or not our children are Emily Dickinsons, those | | | | paper that holds up well. |
| scribblings and typings are part of our life, our thoughts, | | | | * If the poem goes with a photo, include the original |
| our feelings. They are gifts in themselves, and loving | | | | even if the image of the photo is on the paper the |
| children everywhere have the creativity to give them | | | | poem is printed on. Or include a photo from the event |
| as presents. Mothers and fathers, grandmothers and | | | | or a photo of the family member the poem is about |
| grandfathers, are moved beyond words when they | | | | for an illustrated poem! |
| receive a card on construction paper, or even | | | | * Consider typing up a page that includes sample |
| computer-created by a junior Bill Gates or Charles | | | | quotes from family poems, a kind of "Best Of the |
| Schulz. That card may contain a poem about "The | | | | Jones Family" list. |
| Greatest Dad in the World." Do you want to throw it | | | | * Finally, if anyone in your family doesn't mind hearing |
| away and keep all the store-bought greetings you | | | | their recorded voice, record a CD or cassette of the |
| take for granted? It may even move your spouse to | | | | poems and include it with the scrapbook. |
| wrestle with love poems, and you want to save those | | | | You may never get your poems read nationwide, but |
| too. | | | | you and your family will treasure the memories they |
| The answer is scrapbooking. Poetry on paper is | | | | bring. So start writing, and happy scrapbooking! |
| perfect for preserving in the pages of scrapbooks. | | | | |