Rebecca's Reading Room

S6 E14: The Drowsy World Dreams On by Walter Everette Hawkins Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. Today’s reflection began during a quiet walk through the campus of Simon Fraser University. I paused at the Trottier Observatory, surrounded by maps of the stars and the turning seasons, while students passed by on their way to class. In that moment, I was carried back to my own university days and rem...

S6 E13: Looking Up - A Garden Meditation at Park & Tilford Gardens, North Vancouver Welcome to Garden Meditations, a quiet series from Rebecca’s Reading Room. In this reflection, filmed at Park & Tilford Gardens in North Vancouver, I invite you to pause and look up. Beneath a canopy of spring blossoms, this moment becomes a gentle reminder that not all growth is visible at eye level. Somet...

S6 E12: Walking Toward What Must Be | A Reflection on Rodin’s Burghers of Calais Filmed in the garden of the Musée Rodin in Paris, this short meditation reflects on The Burghers of Calais by Auguste Rodin. Rather than focusing on history alone, this piece explores a quiet but powerful moment — the walk toward what feels inevitable. There is no despair in these figures. Only acknowledgment. Each ma...

S6 E11:: Up in the Air: A Poem, a Mother, a Memory The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson How do you like to go up in a swing, Up in the air so blue? Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing Ever a child can do! Up in the air and over the wall, Till I can see so wide, Rivers and trees and cattle and all Over the countryside— Till I look down on the garden green, Down on the roof so brown— Up in the ai...

S6 E9:The Power of Reading Spaces A reading room is a designated space in a home or public area specifically designed for reading and quiet contemplation. It typically contains comfortable seating, good lighting, and shelves for books. My definition of a reading room, however, is more expansive. Whenever I have a book in hand, I am in reading room. Taking a few minutes, in a busy day, to read give...

S6 E10: Walking in Nature with Myra Viola Wilds Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. I’m Rebecca Budd, and this is a quiet moment from Rebecca’s Reading Room. A poem has a way of returning to us. Not always when we expect it, and never in quite the same way. Several years ago, I recorded this poem by Myra Viola Wilds while walking along a forest path. Recently, it found its way back to me—and I bega...

S6 E8: Forgiveness by John Greenleaf Whittier Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. Today’s reading is a poem by the American poet John Greenleaf Whittier titled Forgiveness. I recorded this recitation while walking through a cemetery in Bath, England, a place where the quiet presence of history invites us to reflect on our shared human journey. Whittier’s poem reminds us that life is brief, that pri...

S6 E7: Welcome April with the reading of poetry. April is National Poetry Month! Spring, with its renewed energy after a Winter’s rest, awakens our hearts to the words of poetic inspiration. Poetry is one of the oldest creative endeavors – an art form that has the benefit of diversity. Haiku, sonnet, spoken word, epic, limerick, ode and so much more. Each generation adds to the collection that has...

S6 E6: Lady Godiva by Alfred Lord Tennyson - A poetry Recitation Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. Today I am sharing a recitation of “Godiva” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, a poem first published in 1842 among his early works. Tennyson wrote this poem after visiting the town of Coventry in England, where the legend of Lady Godiva had lived for centuries. According to the story, Godiva pleaded with he...

S6 E5 A Garden Meditation - Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden Welcome to this quiet reflection. Today’s meditation comes from the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, a place where architecture, water, and stone come together to create a space of stillness in the middle of the city. The images and sounds you will experience invite us to slow down, to notice, and to remember that calm a...

S6 E4: Dear March - Come In by Emily Dickinson March brings balance. It strips judgement of its urgency. Once this guest has arrived, trifles fall away. What matters is presence, not verdict. “Dear March—Come in—” reminds us that some moments should not be rushed or improved upon. Some seasons are meant to be welcomed, sat with, listened to. March is not yet bloom, not yet abundance—but it is esse...

S6 E3: Where Stories Sit Beside Us Welcome. I’m so glad you’ve found your way here. Rebecca’s Reading Room is a place for readers who don’t just read books, but take them somewhere. Into parks. On to benches. Beneath trees. Into moments where the world softens and the page begins to breathe alongside us. A few years ago, I was sitting in a park with a book in my hands, the kind of book that announ...

S6 E2: Celebrating Robert Burns Every January 25, Burns suppers are held all over the world—around kitchen tables, in community halls, and wherever people gather to honour words that have endured. Today, we’re celebrating Robert Burns, affectionately known as Rabbie Burns—the great Scottish poet and lyricist. Burns has been given many honourary titles over the years: the Bard of Scotland, the Plou...

S6 E1:A Long, Long Sleep, A Famous Sleep by Emily Dickinson (Poem 582) A long, long sleep, a famous sleep That makes no show for dawn By stretch of limb or stir of lid,— An independent one. Was ever idleness like this? Within a hut of stone To bask the centuries away Nor once look up for noon? There is something both eerie and tender in these eight lines. Emily Dickinson’s poem opens with the rhyt...

S5 E18: The Elephant Child by D. Wallace Peach © An elephant child, carefree and wild Walked into the wintry woods He followed fox tails and jackrabbit trails Ignoring his mother’s “shoulds” Of course, he got lost and chilled by the frost As night began to fall To his rump he sunk and tooted his trunk But no one answered his call Oh, that cold night, to the elephant fright The clouds began to snow...

S5 E17 October By Robert Frost O hushed October morning mild, Thy leaves have ripened to the fall; Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild, Should waste them all. The crows above the forest call; Tomorrow they may form and go. O hushed October morning mild, Begin the hours of this day slow. Make the day seem to us less brief. Hearts not averse to being beguiled, Beguile us in the way you know. Release one...

S5 EX: Celebrating Halloween with Carl Sandburg Happy Halloween! Why do we love Halloween? Maybe it’s the thrill of shadows, the whispered stories of ghosts and goblins, or the sheer joy of transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary with costumes, pumpkins, and flickering candles. Halloween is a night where imagination takes the lead — where even the wind seems to carry secrets. Tonight, I’m...

S5 E16: Letting Go – A Reflection on Sara Teasdale’s Poem, “Leaves” “One by one my leaves fall. As the wind wills I let them go.” So begins Sara Teasdale’s quietly powerful poem Leaves. With just two lines, she opens a meditation on release — not as an act of despair, but as an act of grace. Teasdale often wrote at the edges of feeling, where the heart meets the natural world. In Leaves, she surre...

S5 E15: Happy Birthday Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Today, August 28, 1749, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Poet, playwright, novelist, philosopher, scientist — Goethe embodied the boundless energy of creativity. His words carried the currents of human longing, joy, and striving into every corner of life. Centuries later, we still turn to him, not out of duty to th...

S5 E14: Benediction by Georgia Douglas Johnson There are moments in life when we are called to let go — not out of indifference, but out of deep, abiding love. Georgia Douglas Johnson’s Benediction captures such a moment with tenderness and strength. It is the voice of an elder, perhaps a parent or mentor, sending their beloved into the world with a heart full of hope and release. When I first rea...

S5 E13 The Valuable Time of Maturity by Mário Raul de Morais Andrade One of my first poetry recitation was the poem, “The Valuable Time of Maturity,” by the Brazilian literary giant Mário Raul de Morais Andrade. This piece found its serendipitous way to me through an email from my mother. Its heartfelt messages resonated deeply within me. As I navigate through life’s complexities, I find that Andr...

S5 E12: As if the Sea should Part by Emily Dickinson The poem "As If The Sea Should Part" by Emily Dickinson delves into the concept of infinity through the imagery of an infinite ocean. The speaker envisions the sea parting to reveal further seas, symbolizing an endless sequence and emphasizing the vastness of the natural world, ultimately questioning the limits of human perception. In...

S5 E11: Facing My Fears: A Poetry Meditation by Colleen M. Chesbro Fear is a powerful emotion that arises in response to perceived threats or dangers. It is an instinct that has evolved to protect us from harm. When we encounter something that triggers fear, our bodies prepare us for fight or flight. Facing My Fears by Colleen M Chesebro offers a poetry meditation on the power of releasing our anx...

S5 E10: Dorothy Dances by Louis Untermeyer Louis Untermeyer’s poem “Dorothy Dances” captures the essence of youthful exuberance and the fleeting nature of joy. The poem vividly portrays the character of Dorothy, who embodies innocence and a carefree spirit. Through rich imagery and rhythmic cadence, Untermeyer captures the dance as a metaphor for life’s ephemeral moments. “Dorothy Dances” invites...

S5 E9: Sunshine After by Josephine D Heard Josephine Delphine Henderson Heard, an American poet linked to the Harlem Renaissance, made significant literary contributions that connect to earlier Black American writing traditions. Her poetry, characterized by directness and traditional forms like sonnets and ballads, explores themes of nature, faith, and racial identity, mirroring the sociopolitical...