'But Rabbits Don't Climb Trees': Nature's Wonders, Animal Inhabitants of South Carolina Coast, Set in Poem

March 8, 2010

EDISTO ISLAND, SC – March 3, 2010 – The coastal islands of South Carolina down near Charleston are a unique world where the marshes are home to lush, green, plant life and interesting critters that can slither as well as surprise.

Through the eyes of Marsh Rat Annie in But Rabbits Don’t Climb Trees (published by iUniverse), readers can see the marsh country like never before. Her poems reflect on how critters of the marsh live, how marsh mamas care for their young, storms, hurricanes, and Christmas nights. Marsh Rat Annie’s poetry reveals that animals all have their own ways of coping, have personalities and instincts. They are fun to observe, interesting for Marsh Rat Annie to write about, and fun for readers of all ages to get to know. Here are the first stanzas of I Speak to the Creek:

  Sometimes I walk out to speak to the creek.
  Sometimes the creek speaks to me.
  We tell each other our secrets and
  it carries mine back to the sea.
  In the outgoing tide the marsh grass whispers.
  It tells where the marsh hen’s nest lies.
  It exposes an oyster bed nearby
  where coons can feast under night skies.
  Gulls float lightly on the cool water,
  the fishing is good and it’s free.
  The laughing gulls chortle and cackle.
  Could it be that they’re laughing at me?

About the Author
Marsh Rat Annie was born in Mineral Wells, Texas, and grew up near Phoenix, Ariz. She worked on the school newspaper at Agua Fria Union High School and fostered her interest in animals from a young age, riding horses on the family ranch, later moving to the South Carolina islands, where she and her family operate a reptile zoo and educational center. She has overcome her terror of snakes — thanks to her husband — and intends to continue writing. She enjoys gardening, her pets, painting, and sitting on her swing by the creek overlooking the marsh — a source of much of her observations used as a basis for this poetry.

But Rabbits Don’t Climb Trees

Available from: http://www.iuniverse.com/, http://www.bn.com/, and http://www.amazon.com/.

iUniverse offers a variety of publishing services to help individuals publish, market and sell fiction, poetry and nonfiction books. The company utilizes print-on-demand technology, and is one of the largest self-publishing companies in the U.S. iUniverse is based in Bloomington, Indiana.