A swift pure cry

I love to read children's books. They always fascinate me. One of my favourite sections in a bookstore is the children's section. I can buy a lot of the classics at half or less than half what the same title would cost in the adult section, and these are unabridged versions or even better, illustrated versions.

Some of my friends give me an incredulous look whenever I mention the fact that I read children's books. To them, children's books are for kids. Well, what many people don't realise is that some of the best written books one can find today are on the bookshelves in the children's section. Of course, that applies to graphic novels, too, but I'll save that for another posting.

I just read a children's book called A Swift Pure Cry by an Irish author, Siobhan Dowd, and felt compelled to just note down these gems.

A pier is a disappointed bridge, Mam used to say as they'd often walked down it, hand in hand. It's trying to get somewhere, but it's run out of faith.

The sea has made the sand a mirror
Which my two feet destroy,
And in that mirror two eyes I see,
A sadness and a joy.

The tender bouquet, the rock shelf, the frozen child: a heartbreak on the world.