My Poetry Corner October 2026 features the poem “The Benefit of the Doubt” from the poetry collection Life on the Blue Planet (USA, 2025) by Cheryl Batavia, an American poet and retired schoolteacher. All excerpts of poems cited in this article are from this collection.

Born in Quincy, Massachusetts, Batavia is the daughter of a United Methodist minister. During the 1950s and 1960s, together with her younger brother and sister, she spent her childhood in several small towns in Pennsylvania and Virginia where their father served as pastor to the local community. Her love of nature bloomed as they explored the Pennsylvania farm country, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

In the poem “My Father” (p. 26), she describes him as a great speaker and storyteller, / gardener, fisherman, / hunter, builder, / athlete! Though she could never live up to his high expectations, she knew that he loved her…as she loved him.

She speaks of her mother’s treasure trove / of wisdom she shared with them in the poem “Quoting Mom” (p. 28). With unfailing care and concern for her children, their mother taught them the golden rule: “Treat other people / as you wish to be treated.” This became a reliable guide to life for the poet. Her favorite quote from her mom is “You might as well laugh as cry!”