You Were There, and other poems - 8. And, lo –

Poem 22 left me stunned. It belongs in anthologies to be read by every student. It could be one of the greatest classics you have brought to our attention. I could barely spare I thought for Numbers 21 and 23, both excellent in their own right. I was particularly struck by the depth and detail in 21 and by the untold story of 23. 

I love all of these.

Poems 22 and 23 are excellent with great messages.  But Poem 21 struck me as an example of something we might see often, yet not always appreciate the form and beauty inherent in it when certain persons are involved.

Poem 22 has a wonderful message of how something might change for the better.

Poem 23 -- I fully agree with @Parker Owens.

I've returned to editing this book today, and wrote the following note to accompany the "Sal" poem, which is dated August the 23rd, 1995. It's making my eyes tearful to think of him . . . .

------------------------------------------------------

[4] “Sal” A beloved, special friend of mine, Sal Messina, was a person I met in Japan and continued to know after he and his husband moved to the Bay Area. He passed in the year of Pandemic 2020.

I wrote the following poem several hours after his memorial service:

It’s the evening of Sal’s funeral

[October 1st, 2020 – 10:14 pm]

The sideshows burn circles in the pavement;

the ash hangs relentlessly in the air we breathe;

a nation holds its breath, waiting to see if

democracy dies on our watch;

and today was funeral day for

a dear, dear friend who will never –

not in a million lifetimes – be replaced.

On 7/18/2024 at 10:20 AM, Parker Owens said:

Poem 22 left me stunned. It belongs in anthologies to be read by every student. It could be one of the greatest classics you have brought to our attention. I could barely spare I thought for Numbers 21 and 23, both excellent in their own right. I was particularly struck by the depth and detail in 21 and by the untold story of 23. 

Thanks, Parker. By classic, you mean something written a while ago, I guess. It's hard to know what things a person writes will resonate with people; and that this was written in the 1990s maybe makes it a classic.

Thanks for reading these 

On 7/18/2024 at 10:21 AM, chris191070 said:

I love all of these.

Thanks, Chris. I'm glad you're reading these old works of mine

On 7/18/2024 at 10:27 AM, ReaderPaul said:

Poems 22 and 23 are excellent with great messages.  But Poem 21 struck me as an example of something we might see often, yet not always appreciate the form and beauty inherent in it when certain persons are involved.

Poem 22 has a wonderful message of how something might change for the better.

Poem 23 -- I fully agree with @Parker Owens.

Thank you, ReaderPaul. With the young woman drinking coffee in a cafe in No. 21, I was consciously struck by how many beautiful moments like these we glimpse during the day. It takes only openness to see them, but effort to shape them into things like poems. But not that moment is captured and replayable.

Thanks again