by daithí
Patricia Belding, a Poetry Society of Vermont (PSOV) member from 1965 until her death in 2018, had served as Membership Chair as well as President. She was known for her work at the Aldrich Library as well for books on the history of Vermont and Barre, with photographs that her husband Jack had taken.
Although many knew of Patricia’s contributions to the library and Vermont history, not everyone knew she was also a poet. Fortunately, there was a handful of friends and family, who were aware of her contributions to poetry.They decided to gather a collection of her poems in I Have Passed This Way to share with others (Potash Brook Publishing, 2025)
The book is nicely framed by the seasons in Vermont, with poems that show Patricia to be a close observer of Nature, as well as someone who reflects upon the world of which she was a part.
To give you a small sampling of what a reader will encounter once they enter the book, I have picked snippets from the 4 Seasons and one poem from Between.
SPRING
“This final day of March a steady rain
reminds me April’s nearly here. I clean
the fireplace–sweep ashes that remain
from winter’s Sunday-afternoon routine.”
(from “Thoughts of Greening”)
SUMMER
“…Clouds form fast, delete the sun.
The day seems more like night.
Frenetic leaves flip upside down,
display a show of white.
When maple trees behave that way
it’s time to head for home.
These are words my mother used
to warn me of a storm. …”
(from “A Show of White”)
FALL
“…One day, after my brother taught me
flinging, I felt as strong as an Amazon.
Our crab-apple tree provided the missiles;
a two-foot-long branch, culled by the wind,
the catapult. …”
(from “Flinging”)
WINTER
“My reading lamp is on. It’s nearly four
this mid-December day. The winter light
is ebbing, as it must, I can’t ignore
the promise of the sunset gleaming white
through maple branches lined above the ridge.
I turn the lamp off, set my book aside. …”
(from “Interim”)
BETWEEN
“…I’d had my chance to take his life;
I let him live. I had my reasons,
Knowing how it is to be out of place,
Hovering, lost between two seasons.”
(from “Between Seasons”)
photo of Patricia Belding from Vermont Digger article June 2013