The ultimate gift: Iowa teacher pens book of poetry for his mother
At age 10, John Thompson promised himself he'd write a book about his mom. Now 55, he did — and giving it to her was among the "happiest" moments.
The ultimate gift: Iowa teacher pens book of poetry for his mother At age 10, John Thompson promised himself he'd write a book about his mom. Now 55, he did — and giving it to her was among the "happiest" moments. Check out this story on desmoinesregister.com: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2018/12/03/ultimate-gift-iowa-teacher-pens-book-poetry-his-mother/2153478002/
Mackenzie Ryan, Des Moines Register Published 11:35 a.m. CT Dec. 3, 2018 | Updated 11:51 a.m. CT Dec. 3, 2018
John Thompson (top) is holding a book of poems he wrote for his mother, Marjorie Thompson.(Photo: John Thompson / Special to the Register)
John Thompson was a 10-year-old boy when he watched President Nixon give his final remarks as president.
It wasn't the scandal or political implications that he recalls from the speech, which he watched from his southern Iowa farmhouse. It's the way Nixon spoke of his mother on national television.
"My mother was a saint," Nixon said, adding: "She will have no books written about her. But she was a saint."
Through his elementary-school-aged eyes, Thompson knew his mom was also a saint. And he promised himself that one day, he'd write a book about her.
Thompson, now 55, made true on his childhood promise this year.
Just before Thanksgiving, he gave "Winter Maria: Poems of Sainthood, Motherhood and Unlikelihoods" to his mother, Marjorie Marie Thompson, now 86.
He couldn't wait for Christmas, he told the Register. Thompson was feeling too thankful that Marjorie was still here to receive it.
At one point, he didn't think she would be.
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Marjorie Marie Thompson opens a book of poems written by her son (Photo: John Thompson / Des Moines Register)
Refocusing on family
As 2014 stretched into 2015, Thompson grew afraid.
His mom had been in and out of hospitals in Des Moines and Kansas. She's suffered four congestive heart failures and her children — Dennis, Carol, Susan and John — worried she might die.
"I was praying for time," Thompson said.
As she recovered, Thompson knew his schedule needed to change.
An English teacher and community college instructor, Thompson stopped coaching varsity girls basketball and pulled back from other activities.
On weekends, he started making the hour-long drive south from Pella to Lamoni, where he grew up, a 2,300-person town near the Missouri border.
The trips brought back childhood memories of his mom baking treats for his schoolmates.
And how, when he was 5, she enrolled them in a "mom and tots" swim class. When the class ended, they were the only ones who failed and had to take it again.
"It didn't hit me until I became an adult that she didn't even know how to swim — and she still did that," Thompson said.
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Marjorie Marie Thompson (Photo: John Thompson / Des Moines Register)
A shy start to poetry
As a teen, Thompson didn't sign his name to his poems.
He was shy and didn't think his farmer father would approve. So he'd quietly slip them onto his English teacher's desk.
His teacher, Billie Evan, finally confronted him as a senior. "I know it's you," he recalls her saying.
Evans told him it would be tough to make a living as a poet, but he had talent.
Thompson thought back to those words often, through his studies at the University of Iowa, where he grew frustrated by the "free verse" form in vogue. He was drawn to more traditional forms.
He self-published his first poetry book — which helped him win acceptance into a Harvard summer writing program. His confidence grew and he earned a masters' of fine arts in poetry at New England College in New Hampshire.
Back in Iowa, he taught school and launched a side career as a poet and independent publisher, eventually traveling to Iowa's 99 counties to write.
"Winter Maria" is Thompson's 12th book published by his company, Blue Jay's Bungalow Press.
His former teacher's words rang true: He hasn't made much money, but he's gained rich experiences, Thompson said.
And more than any of them, it's the moment his mom opened a wrapped microwave box to see the blue-covered, 145-page book he'd written for her, four decades after he first had the idea.
"It was definitely one of the happiest, satisfying moments of my life," he said.
A poem for mom
One poem in particular brings back John Thompson's memories of writing poems and spending time with his mom.
"My mother's aging
is a kind of sleeping,
an act of beauty,
princess winks."
— "Winks" by John David Thompson
"Winter Maria: Poems of Sainthood, Motherhood & Unlikelihoods" is written by John David Thompson and published by his small company, Blue Jay's Bungalow Press. It's available on Amazon and certain independent bookstores.
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