By PAUL J CONDRA
And another thing, she's blind.
Rosemary Yasparro, who wouldn't reveal her age, has spent the last year bringing her collection of verse, Remember the Raincrow, to life. It has been a tedious and difficult task for Yasparro, who is legally blind and can no longer type. As such, she relied on the help of her husband of more than 30 years, Joseph, to put her magical words into readable form.
But if Rosemary has difficulty finding letters on the keyboard, she has no problem finding the words to fit her rhymes.
Remember the Raincrow (the title refers to the name her grandfather used to give to singing doves) contains about 100 poems, each one occupying about a page in the book. They are all written with rhyme and meter because, as Yasparro says, I hate free verse. Anybody can string some lines together.
Yasparro has a love of history, especially the Civil War, which is something reflected in much of her poetry. But she also writes poems about love, her childhood, fantastic adventures and folklore, such as one she wrote about the ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman.
Discussing her creative method, it's as if Yasparro's poetic muse sits patiently on her shoulder, unpredictably and boldly delivering messages into her ear as subtly as a billboard on the side of the road.
She explained how often she's simply driving along the road with her husband when suddenly she has to tell him to pull over so she can scribble down some rhymes.
These poems are unique, and they speak to everybody in different ways, said her husband, Joseph.
They're also quite clever. Yasparro has a clear gift for wrapping a poem up like a bon bon and delivering it on a plate. Though she claims only one real mentor, the late Jeanette Shelly Heflin, there are many influences clearly visible in her works from Edgar Allen Poe to Emily Dickenson, to William Shakespeare.
But while Remember the Raincrow rollicks along with adventures and messages about life and love, Yasparro clearly possesses a bold sense of humor worthy of Shell Silverstein that she is not afraid to unleash. Take Cold Turkey:
My body screams for nicotine,
each nerve is tense indeed,
But worst of all is the caffeine
Without the devil's weed.
So now the battle has begun
And I won't beg or borrow,
But for now, I'll Just have one
Then I'll quit tomorrow.
Yasparro also says she has memorized every single one of her poems. Over the course of an hour interview, she recited several from memory, including one that didn't manage to make it into the final book.
As Yasparro published the book herself, she and her husband are now concentrating their efforts on getting the word out. For now, the book is only available through the Yasparros but will soon make a trial run at Barnes and Noble. For more information contact Rosemary Yasparro at PO Box 217, Lynbrook NY, 11563.
