Kathy Sabol, of Clarkston, has recently had a book of 100 of her poems published.

Clarkston resident, Kathy Sabol hopes her recently published book of 100 poems, “Heart, Soul and Inspiration,” will give the world something to smile and hope about. From funny poems about fishing and dogs to serious subjects such as 9/11 and the controversial death of Florida’s Terry Schiavo — Sabol’s poems touch on a wide range of subject matter.

As bleak as things sometimes appear to be, Sabol said God is still there and we need to think about Him for a few minutes. This sentiment is reflected in her writings. Sabol said people often tell her they keep her book on their nightstand and read a poem or two a day.

The 100 poems compiled in “Heart, Soul and Inspiration” were written over a 20-year period in Sabol’s life. She wrote her first few poems in her later teens while still in high school. She kept the poems in a special binder but didn’t write more for more than 20 years. During this time, Sabol married and had a daughter. She spent a great deal of time volunteering and raising her daughter. Her family never knew that she was a writer until she began to write in the last couple of years.

Sabol said some of the verses just write themselves. She never knows what will trigger a poem.

“No One Cries In Heaven” is about Alzheimer’s disease. People that she has met while sharing her book said they sent that poem to family members of Alzheimer’s patients to show support.

The poem “Child Within Her Heart” is about the birth parents that gave up their child for adoption. The inspiration for this poem came from a discussion with her sister-in-law, who volunteers at Problem Pregnancy and a talk by Ruth Graham, the daughter of Rev. Billy Graham. Sabol attended a meeting where Ruth Graham was the keynote speaker and she spoke about her daughter, who became pregnant at an early age and released her child for adoption. Ruth Graham’s words about “somewhere in the shadows is a mother who gave her child (up) for adoption” inspired Sabol to write the poem. Sabol sent a copy to Graham who replied that she loved the poem. It was joyful but also made her cry, Graham said.

Sabol believes that God inspires her to write her poems.

She wrote “Dog In the Hunt,” after a quail-hunting experience with friends and their dogs. She watched the dogs work and the saw the bond between man and dog. Sabol called it a sweet little poem. One person told her this was just the right poem for her son, who is a hunter.

Another of her poems is “My Wish to Fish,” which chronicles her fishing trip on a boat in Lake Huron and how she spent most of trip with her head in a bucket.

Sabol had 98 poems and wanted one hundred to complete her book. On a trip to Alabama with her parents, she asked for God’s help and had the inspiration for the two remaining poems.

She said poetry is a work of art with rhyming and meter. She believes you should write poetry simple.

When Sabol was ready to publish her book through Author House Publishing, she was asked what kind of cover she felt the book should have. She had a vision of a dove, an image of hope that she wanted to convey with the book.

People tell Sabol that they cry or laugh over certain poems in her book.

“It has touched people in different ways,” Sabol said. “I think I was supposed to write this book. I’m not very social. I’d rather be the person in the corner of the room. But the Lord had other work for me to do.”