Despite great differences in our poetic styles, I strongly identify with Barbara Crooker’s conclusion at the end of her thoughts on poetry as therapy presented on the Crab Creek Review blog as part of their Writer’s Notebook series:

I don't usually like to post about corporate campaigns, but I liked the idea of this one, so I'll bend the rules. Quaker Snack Bars has created Birthday Party with a Purpose Kits in partnership with Kids Care Clubs. Kids Care Clubs are a program of the HandsOn Network whose mission is to, "develop compassion and to inspire a spirit of volunteering in elementary and middle school age youth."

Three years ago on October 7th, my three month old daughter Ella died. The three months she experienced this world was asking a lot of her. In 2001 my birthed my first child at 21 weeks gestation without success. Now I'm left with memories and anxiety that have began to affect many aspects of my life. I have anxiety of visiting doctors and stress about death of my other children. I know death is as much of life as birth. I am a firm believer in celebration at death, it's as important to our existence as birth. That doesn't make it easy.

What does it say when "Peter Peter pumpkin eater" is the only thing that comes to mind when I think about pumpkin poetry? I mean please, can a nursery rhyme be any more offensive than that one? Pumpkin shell indeed. Luckily, there are other pumpkin rhymes and I'm hoping one of them will get stuck in my head soon and rid me of Peter and his patriarchal ways.

      I recently read an article about the challenges of flying with young children and was not surprised to hear that parents experience high levels of stress and anxiety from the experience; however, I was amazed at how much anger and resentment other passengers directed at the traveling parents.  Some readers commented that parents were “selfish” to travel with young kids and that the kids should be “drugged” with Benadryl.