Mountain Laurels is a second edition of the original collection of poems self-published in 1977. It was the first published collection of poems written by Genevieve C. Sparks (1920-2003) over many years in what she calls "the simple form of mountain colloquial." While some individual poems draw their meaning from a personal experience of the poet, "the basic thought of the book in its entirety is," she says, "the great inspiration derived from the love of nature. God placed the beauty of nature with especially natural grace in the wild and wonderful mountains of the Appalachian ranges." Living in West Virginia many of her poems speak the wonders of the Appalachian mountain world. In "To Climb a Mountain," she extols that "If ever you climbed a mountain,/ You will understand what I say;/ All the streams of life become a fountain,/ And tomorrow is today... You're in the clouds and the world's in a spin;/ Your struggle a joy for Heaven is near,/ And God gave the mountains to the mountaineer:/ Who, with enduring strength, labors long,/ Taking his seasons in stride./ The mountain freedom is his song/ And the towering hills are his pride."
