Going to Innisfree

So—2026 sneaked in while I wasn’t looking because I was laid low by what a kind, highly efficient nurse practitioner designated a heavy viral load. The aches, pains, fever, and congestion that started at Christmas have just now loosened their gnarly grip. I am almost back to normal.

When I am unwell, I return to my romantic tendencies and find myself once again in Innisfree. Although I have never really visited Innisfree and the picture is of a different lake, I imagine it looking so. A few days ago, I posted the Yeats poem on social media, read it to my myself again and again, and then rested in its melody.

Before the new year’s inevitable demands and cares come rushing in, I thought you, too, might need a bit of rest so I give you the following:

“The Lake Isle of Innisfree”

By William Butler Yeats

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;

Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,

I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

In truth I and my husband have a lovely rural existence, but life still gets hectic, and I, for some strange reason can become quite driven. In fact, right now I am in a bit of a flurry of excitement as the third book in my RANCH GIRL series is scheduled to be out in a couple of months. I have seen the cover and the first proof of the interior. The typesetting should take place before long. My middle-grade children’s books (basically for children in grades 2-5 or, really for readers aged 8-88) are published by Pelican Publishing (New Orleans) which is an imprint of Arcadia Publishing (SC). This third book is called Ranch Girl and the Plan. You may recall, my first two books are as follow:

I haven’t been given permission to release the cover for my third book yet but will put it in a post when I can. Thank you to those of you who are interested. For teachers, including homeschool teachers, I have written classroom guides for the first two books. They are free to download from the Arcadia Publishing Website at https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/pages/classroom-guides .

Okay. What I want to say about the New Year is that we all need to remember to pace ourselves. Find your own Lake Isle of Innisfree and go there to rest and renew during the year ahead. Literature rests me. In particular, Frost and Wordsworth and Jane Kenyon rest me.

Until next time, “The Lord bless and keep you; The Lord make his face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 (NKJV) Happy, happy New Year!