tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534908559298056622024-03-13T18:58:15.950-07:00prosegardenRobert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.comBlogger911125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-32040053438037496242023-12-11T21:17:00.000-08:002023-12-11T21:17:56.765-08:00Still Eager to Hear About Sacco and Vanzetti, at Whitman Public Library <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5oAalH7xD5kEdujXUQ7ZEoWT2b4qVZG6j7X7dP9SHja3RTnOapiAq9mhRFSkdwA8mQJ5DuknmVLQWBAhOJVMDzeS4nysD8lBp3UIT7uYUUIK-iRBnperF99TEZKB1MDrRMKwRRG6kDZyHHKFb4RS2T1umtd8KnVIdv0FPtXlIB_2uPPSrJSI5nVOuLBri/s1056/23whitman%20library%20talk.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5oAalH7xD5kEdujXUQ7ZEoWT2b4qVZG6j7X7dP9SHja3RTnOapiAq9mhRFSkdwA8mQJ5DuknmVLQWBAhOJVMDzeS4nysD8lBp3UIT7uYUUIK-iRBnperF99TEZKB1MDrRMKwRRG6kDZyHHKFb4RS2T1umtd8KnVIdv0FPtXlIB_2uPPSrJSI5nVOuLBri/s320/23whitman%20library%20talk.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The program room at Whitman, Mass. Public Library filled steadily, until more chairs had to be separated from a file a pile in the far corner of the room and placed on the floor to accommodate the audience for what librarian Barbara Bryant called "<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">the best-attended author talk we have ever had!"</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The talk about Sacco and Vanzetti </span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">was her idea, her invitation. I hadn't given a talk about the two Italian immigrants falsely accused of murder and robbery back in 1920, and ultimately executed by the state of Massachusetts seven years later despite worldwide protests -- for half a dozen years. I gave a bunch of them, mostly in libraries, after the publication of my novel based on the case, "Suosso's Lane."</span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;">The audience that filled the Whitman library program room was almost uniformly of an age to know that we're all part of history now. </span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">This talk was about the facts of the case, not directly about my book. The book is fact-based, but goes beyond the historical record to invent a contemporary (wholly fictional) investigation to turn up some new evidence about the old case. Those talks were fun, but a little fraught -- I was hoping back then to sell books.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">To prepare for this talk, I had to go back to my notes and printouts for those talks from seven years ago and reacquaint myself with what I used to know well enough to share by memory with an audience, Facts, dates, places, names were particularly important, indeed essential, because this was a talk about the case, its history, rather than about the book. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Here's what I told them, the good people of Whitman, about the Sacco-Vanzetti case, the international affair that exposed America's prejudice against immigrants, particularly those from Italy.</span></p><p><br /></p><h1>Long Ago in Braintree... The Crime That Began the Sacco-Vanzetti Case Took
Place 100 Years Ago<o:p></o:p></h1><p class="hc">By Robert Knox <o:p></o:p></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">These are difficult days in American politics – perhaps difficult
days in America, period. But times were tough a hundred years ago as well,
especially for immigrants and for civil liberties – i.e. constitutional
protection of free speech and other basic rights.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">A little more than a hundred years ago, on April 15, 1920, the
crime took place that began the notorious Sacco and Vanzetti case – an American
scandal of injustice that became an international cause – in which two Italian
immigrants who professed anarchist beliefs were accused without a shred of real
evidence of committing a heinous crime, tried in a prejudiced courtroom,
convicted by a nativist jury – that is to say, all male American citizens in a time
when only men could vote – and eventually executed 7 years later, by which time
their case had become an international cause de celebre. (They were famous
names worldwide, everybody knew about the case; everybody worldwide knew they
were victims of injustice.)</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjKrV5kWJgbk6IOzMePVx2jqaz7-RNqbbZY58nN4X_AOd4ux4C2DJk6skwNGdSmruIo4MrX2Rz_uRhxmRHymEvZ2NCpzC8H7igcrMgcdcGz8MZmCVI-HICdyT6L-CF0j1GPRMDrG3H3WBnoAAE1AUck2ZOUkdd7xSf00jGruhzK3ppzfbHwjQBzr8cdZX/s426/16sl-immigrants.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="426" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjKrV5kWJgbk6IOzMePVx2jqaz7-RNqbbZY58nN4X_AOd4ux4C2DJk6skwNGdSmruIo4MrX2Rz_uRhxmRHymEvZ2NCpzC8H7igcrMgcdcGz8MZmCVI-HICdyT6L-CF0j1GPRMDrG3H3WBnoAAE1AUck2ZOUkdd7xSf00jGruhzK3ppzfbHwjQBzr8cdZX/s320/16sl-immigrants.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Immigration, always an essential part of the American story, looked
a lot different in the early 20<sup>th</sup> century. Immigrants came from
Europe – not from Mexico, Central America, Asia, the Caribbean, Africa or the
Middle East, as they do today. They came at first from England, Scotland, Ireland,
Germany, Scandinavia, mostly northern European countries. But from around 1880 and
into the 1920’s, in greater numbers than had ever been seen, they came from
southern and eastern Europe. From Poland, Russia, the Balkans, Portugal,
Turkey, and – the single greatest number – from Italy. For those who came from Italy,
the cause was almost always purely economic. Disasters weakened the economic
base of Southern Italy: drought, crop disease, the collapse of traditional
fisheries and the lumber industry. At the same time advances in maritime
transportation made it easier, and less expensive, to cross the ocean. Many Italian
men crossed the ocean to work in seasonal industries and then return home with
their earnings year after year. But many others, including women and children
–whole families – chose to come and stay. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">During those peak decades, 1880-1920, national prejudices grew as
numbers of immigrants did. Some towns or companies made it clear when they were
hiring more workers that they did not intend to hire Italians. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Two immigrants</b>: Bartolomeo Vanzetti arrived in America in
1908 as a young man of 20 to “put an ocean between my mother’s death” and the
rest of his life, he said…. Unlike most, he did not come for economic reasons.
His father was a wealthy farmer in northern Piemonte Italy (in Villafilletto) who
wanted Bartolomeo to learn to run his businesses. He sent him to the city to
learn to be a pastry chef and help the family business that way. Bartolomeo
found pastry-making to be factory work, piece-work, a miserable business in
conditions that nearly killed him. He became seriously ill with a breathing
difficulty, was sent home, where his mother devoted herself to nursing him back
to health. Then she developed cancer and died after months of suffering. Her
devoted son thought that her efforts to save him weakened her. Wishing to
separate his future from a painful past – he had a deep relationship with his
mother, but a poor one with his father, he decided to go to America, which he
thought of as “the land of the free.” No big divides between social classes; no
oppressive national church. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">Vanzetti was not an anarchist when he arrived. His life in the US
led him to that philosophy. He later told reporter about the early years, “I
was a Dago to be worked to death [a pejorative]…. We lived in a shanty, where
the Italians work and live like a beast…” Like other day laborers, he is forced
to follow the availability of work, a trade he called “pick and shovel.” After
five years mostly in New York, rumors of work brought him to Mass., and
eventually to Plymouth, where he boarded with the Brini family who came from
his region in Italy, and who lived in North Plymouth, the immigrant section of
town. [this is how I got interested in the story...working for community
newspaper publisher based in Plymouth] He became close to the family’s
children. He called Beltrando Brini his “spiritual son.” Recorded interviews
collected and published later show V. to be kind, courteous to women, gentle
and loving to children; V was a talker, a thinker, a dreamer, a reader. Among the
books he owned was “the life of Jesus Christ” by Ernest Renan. Anarchism became
his religion; its ideals gave meaning to his life… Among his jobs was working
on repairs to Plymouth harbor. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">Nicola Sacco was born in the town of Toremaggiore (SE of Italy) and
emigrated to US in 1908 at age 17. He loved machinery. He emigrated with his
brother Sabino, and when his brother returned to Italy in 1909 and he was left
alone in the United States, he began to take lessons on shoe-trimming and
became an excellent shoe trimmer. He was a skilled worker; made a good living. He
married his wife Rosa, when he was 21, she 17, and first child was born in
1913.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">He found settled work in a shoe factory in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoughton,_Massachusetts" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Stoughton</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Massachusetts</span></a>;
he developed a strong relationship with the owner, the son of an Irish
immigrant. He made a good living because he was so good at what he did. A shoe
trimmer is piece work. He could make a day’s pay in a few hours. He was also
attracted to the cause of labor, and participated in strikes. …Sacco helped
with the defense of Arturo Giovannitti, an Italian labor organizer -- one of
the principal organizers of the famous 1912 Lawrence textile strike -- an
Italian immigrant who had been arrested on a dubious murder charge. It
was one of his first radical activities.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB0S_k7JoUtNMnoqeQcMs4gZ_VzZUP7ZG-fw7DBGcvs-7lDSnmKKqF-VFj2ait3poxsv-sHUgouNNBRnLSvMgvbgy-IWwPNGhyphenhypheny4U3sviNfyjEhFtcTTbTu0dqQaTtu8mYhSFaaGgSvksKPDHm0EXGKD9plCi9NzdUJ67FwDJ3X-U5FP5bYXV-iA0Ta56r/s640/15SLcordage.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB0S_k7JoUtNMnoqeQcMs4gZ_VzZUP7ZG-fw7DBGcvs-7lDSnmKKqF-VFj2ait3poxsv-sHUgouNNBRnLSvMgvbgy-IWwPNGhyphenhypheny4U3sviNfyjEhFtcTTbTu0dqQaTtu8mYhSFaaGgSvksKPDHm0EXGKD9plCi9NzdUJ67FwDJ3X-U5FP5bYXV-iA0Ta56r/s320/15SLcordage.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />A definition: The word “anarchy” means ‘no authority.’ [From the
Greek: ‘a’ means not; archon is a ruler] It doesn’t mean chaos. It means living
with no governing state, no political or “established” religious institutions.
No rich; no poor… V. called anarchy “the beautiful idea.” People, he believed,
would live happily and survive materially by forming voluntary cooperatives. Sharing
resources. Recognizing the needs of others as important as one’s own.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">For anarchists like V and S and for many other social critics, the
fundamental issue in this stage of western civilization was “rich versus poor”.
…today we call that “the distribution of wealth.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">Believing that workers were oppressed by the capitalist system, by the
owning of property, anarchists like Sacco and Vanzetti – both became disciples
of the anarchist theorist Luigi Galleani (V. called him my ‘master’) –
supported and took part in strikes. Though he did not work there, Vanzetti took
part in the 1916 strike against the Plymouth Cordage Company, a large
ropemaking business. WWI created a great demand for American resources such as cordage,
but war-driven inflation ate up workers’ earnings. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">When America joined the war in 1917 (3 yrs after it began), the act
forced political radicals to choose: participate or not? Anarchists opposed all
war; they opposed the draft; they opposed governments. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Sacco, who supported strikes by his physical
presence – strikes were often street battles – also became a disciple of Galleani. He began attending weekly meetings of an anarchist group in 1913 and subscribed
to <i>Cronaca Sovversiva </i>(“Subversive Chronicles”), as did
Vanzetti, an anarchist newspaper published by Galleani in Italian. He became
a devotee of Galleani and in the next several years wrote for the paper, donated
and solicited funds for anarchist activities, as well as support his family.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">So the two men have much in common, a
world view, an allegiance to the views of a powerful theorist, or ideologue in
Galleani. A strong commitment to social change. They’re the kind of people the
business and political establishment hate and fear. They want change. As
anarchists see it (or ‘radicals’ generally), the ‘establishment’ hates change;
it wants to preserve the status quo. The owners and the politicians are rich;
they don’t care if you’re poor. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The two meet at activities held in opposition to
the war. Then, in 1917, both join a group of men leaving home to travel to
Mexico and live under pseudonyms in order to avoid the draft. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The Mexico experiment lasts a few months. No jobs;
no money. Then both men go ‘home.’ Sacco returns to his young family, in Stoughton,
Massachusetts, where he worked for a shoemaker, who valued him so highly he
gave him management responsibilities and paid him to keep an eye on the factory
after hours. Vanzetti goes back to Plymouth; has to find a new place to board, the
Brini family doesn’t have room for him any more. He boards with a widow a few
streets over in North Plymouth. He also finds a new to make a living; selling
fish, door to door, among the immigrant community. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">OK, now comes the heavy political stuff. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">During a period of anti-radical and
anti-foreigner hysteria known as “The Red Scare,” [ask yourself if this was in
your American History class] a well-organized criminal gang carried out a
brazen daylight robbery in Braintree, Mass. The robbers stole a shoe factory
payroll and shot and killed the paymaster and his guard at point-blank range. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">We'll come back to the crime, but first we have to talk about the Red Scare of 1919–1920 — a time of national
paranoia in which thousands of immigrants were detained without due
process of law.</span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">After the US entered World War I in 1917, Congress
passed laws to suppress all criticism of government’s decision to join the
ongoing European slaughter or any means the government chose (such as the draft) to conduct the war.
Anti-war critics were prosecuted, the non-citizens among them deported to their
native countries. (For comparison, imagine that response to war protests and
criticism of the government during the Vietnam War era.)</span></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">When Galleani was deported to Italy, some of his followers
‘declared war’ on the government – arguing that the government had already been
making war on them -- on the institutions that suppressed their publications,
broke up rallies of war critics, and used the courts to suppress their First
Amendment freedoms of expression. In response, these followers – some of them
members of the same ‘gruppo’ that Sacco and Vanzetti belonged to -- sent bombs through the
mail and placed them at the homes of their ‘enemies’ in government and big
business. These "Anarchist Fighters" were self-declared enemies of the state.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">In his recent book “American Midnight,” historian Adam Hochschild
detailed the US government’s outrageous violations of war critics’
Constitutional rights – and the rights of Americans in general. Thousands of
immigrants were rounded up in mass raids, declared ‘disloyal’ and sentenced to
deportation before a single federal judge stepped in to overturn decisions made
without due process of law. </span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">His legally prescribed role was to make sure "due process" had been followed before he approved the deportation orders. He refused: due
process had not been followed. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">A crackdown on labor organization was taking place as well: Union meetings were
broken up by local and government police; speakers, and simple participants,
dragged off to jail… A lawless war was declared on members of the most active labor
organization of the time, the IWW, the Industrial Workers of the World, known
as Wobblies. Private industry, especially 'big business' supported the war. There was lots of money to be made from it. Organized labor -- unions -- cut into their profits. Now that the US was at war, big business wanted union organizers to be seen as traitors. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Wartime deportations included the nation's most famous critics of capitalism, among them </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Emma Goldman, a Russian immigrant, radical, anarchist, and America’s most popular </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">lecturer. She traveled whole
country, drawing audiences everywhere and speaking on a wide range of social and political subjects. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;">Eugene V. Debs, not an immigrant but a Socialist party candidate who received almost a million votes for President in 1912, was jailed for opposing the decision to go to war.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mobs of what were called
“Super-Americans” physically attacked and broke up meetings of war critics, draft critics, and labor organizers. Enforcing wartime restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly required the creation of the first </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">federal
police force, called the Radical Division of the Department of Justice; it later became the
Investigation Bureau; finally the FBI, its principal duty from the very beginning being to </span><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">ferret out and suppress 'subversion' by labor organizers or 'radical' critics of the status quo. </span><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">J. Edgar Hoover, in his 20s was there from the Red Scare to the Civil Rights era when his agents were harassing leaders such MLK.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">After the government suppressed Galleani's network, destroyed his printing press, burned his writings and tried and deported the maestro himself back to Italy, his followers decided they had to fight back. Going underground, hiding their identities, they formed the "Anarchist Fighters" and mailed bombs to the </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">houses of federal judges, police chiefs and prominent
capitalists, "terrorist" style, in revenge for the 'war' the American government had been waging on them. F</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">amously, June 2, 1919, bombings in major cities such as Washington DC and Boston shook the nation. </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Top of the page was the bomb that exploded on the front
steps of the Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer’s house in DC, destroying most of the
house but not harming the family. Other buildings were destroyed, but almost no one
was seriously hurt, except for the anarchist who blew himself up when the bomb he was planting at Palmer's house went off prematurely. Remarkably, w</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">e know his name, Carlo Valdinocci, an Anarchist Fighter and follower of Galleani. Sacco and Vanzetti would have known him.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> These
bombings lead to the "Palmer raids," as they are known, in late 1919, when federal agents and vigilantes
conduct major raids in big cities rounding up supposed radicals and thousands of
immigrants – lots of Russians, since after the Russian Revolution ‘communism’ is now perceived as a major
threat. Detainees are roughed up and kept in poor conditions. Congress passes a law making it
illegal to be a member of an anarchist organization. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> Federal agents declare they will find those responsible for the bombings, but get nowhere. After almost a year, the feds arrest </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Andrea Salsedo, a member of the Galleani network; a</span><span> printer, he made the leaflets denouncing the government the ‘Anarchist Fighters’ include in their bombs. H</span><span>e’s questioned, tortured, and held without charges in
police office building in New York City. He smuggles out a letter to Vanzetti, asking for help, and Vanzetti heads to New York, though it's unclear what he can hope to accomplish. But before he can get to see him, Salsedo dies falling out a window of a police building. The cops say it was a suicide; other anarchists say he was pushed. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> But the crackdown on 'radicals' following the Anarchist Fighters' bombings creates the hostile law-enforcement atmosphere in which any critic of the government, the war, or wartime profiteering by Big Business is treated. This politically tense atmosphere may explain why local and state police in Massachusetts tried hard to convince themselves that 'radicals' might be responsible for a shoe factory robbery in Braintree. </span><span> </span></span></p><p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
<!--[endif]--></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Crime:</b> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">In a well-planned criminal enterprise, a gang carried out a brazen daylight robbery in
Braintree, Mass., on April 15, 1920. The robbers stole a shoe factory payroll and shot and killed
the paymaster and his guard at point-blank range.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Some days later, in a completely unrelated matter, members of Sacco and Vanzetti's "Gruppo" decided that in view of the government's sweeping attack on radicals and immigrants following the Anarchist Fighters' bombings, they should hide evidence linking them to Galleani, such as copies of his journal "Cronaca Sovversiva." </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">…The Gruppo decides to send some of its members to </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">collect anarchist lit from other members and hide it. Sacco and Vanzetti and two other group members </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">decide to retrieve a comrade’s car left at the home of a mechanic in
Bridgewater. Police have staked out the car, on the grounds that that Bridgewater is somewhat near Braintree (not really) and since some anarchists have taken to planting bombs, maybe they also commit robberies -- a notion that, a century later, makes no more sense now than it did at the time. Cops tell the mechanic to call them at once if anybody comes for the car. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;">Four Gruppo members, two riding a motorcycle, arrive at the Bridgewater mechanic's home one evening to retrieve the car, which they plan to use to round up anarchist literature from other group members. The mechanic stalls, then tells the visitors that the car isn't ready to drive yet. His visitors shrug, decide it's now too late to make their rounds without a car. The two guys get back on the bike for the ride home. Sacco and Vanzetti take off on foot to the nearest streetcar stop. Meanwhile the mechanic's wife has called the Bridgewater police to say four "foreign" guys came looking for the car.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">State police put out the word to local cops to look for foreign-looking guys leaving Bridgewater. Streetcars are stopped, and two men with foreign accents are taken off a streetcar at gunpoint, hauled to a police station and interrogated. After the two men </span><span>freely admit to being anarchists, Sacco and Vanzetti are </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">charged with robbery and murder, despite any evidence linking them
to the crime. They were charged, police would later say, because they lied
about what they were doing on the night of their arrest. They said they were visiting a friend. And b</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">ecause they were
carrying weapons. </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><i>Quick fact check</i></span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">: This is America! lots of people
carry weapons – it’s legal. Vanzetti told the police they were carrying guns "because there were a lot of dangerous people around." Clearly, though, </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">they came under suspicion largely because they were
friends of another anarchist who owned the car. It’s hard to find a clearer
case of “guilt by association.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><b>The Trial</b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhszA5gRusipBBUIjWkMcqGjuhWP1H_pLpdKnsRD_x1PaqD1RVg0G3YAuiTVrUeXQesOQB42e_S_6wLy-5AlsryoO81WG7P2Ro8-9YfjEJt4GLITJF4lb6pEDn0FV83wzxVSwVR0T9JhEaqLbjXXE_U8v2V3dvAVTZ_s2Tu5LvMjD5oeJqoh0aQ8AdbZ_Nl/s600/16sl-svcuffed.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-size: x-large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="600" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhszA5gRusipBBUIjWkMcqGjuhWP1H_pLpdKnsRD_x1PaqD1RVg0G3YAuiTVrUeXQesOQB42e_S_6wLy-5AlsryoO81WG7P2Ro8-9YfjEJt4GLITJF4lb6pEDn0FV83wzxVSwVR0T9JhEaqLbjXXE_U8v2V3dvAVTZ_s2Tu5LvMjD5oeJqoh0aQ8AdbZ_Nl/w400-h293/16sl-svcuffed.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;">Since police and prosecutors lacked any substantial evidence
against the two radicals, both of whom had witnesses for their whereabouts on
the date of the crime, they went about creating it. Among the many shoe factory
workers who managed split-second glimpses of the crime from factory windows,
the state found a few whom they could pressure, or threaten, into testifying
that they recognized the defendants. In the best of circumstances eye-witness
testimony to the brief, violent or otherwise criminal acts of strangers is
highly unreliable. The overwhelming majority of factory workers interviewed
either said the accused were not the robbers, or they could not make an
identification based on what they had seen.</span></p><p></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">When the case went to trial, ballistic experts disagreed over
whether a bullet removed from one of the victim’s body could have been fired by
Sacco’s gun. Recent re-examinations of both the ballistics and autopsy evidence
suggest that the state fired a bullet from Sacco’s gun and subbed it for one of
the bullets surgically removed from a victim’s body. Since the state failed to
maintain a secure chain of evidence, the case’s physical evidence was
contaminated.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">The trial’s native-born, male jurors were themselves hardly
unbiased. After the trial, the jury foreman said he didn’t care whether the
defendants were guilty or not, saying “they should hang <em>them</em> all.” It
was clear who was meant by this ‘them’ — foreigners with political beliefs that
native-born citizens found threatening.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
</p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">And trial judge Webster Thayer made his own bias clear in a widely
reported comment to a college classmate, at an alumni reunion, after passing
sentence: “Did you see what I did to those anarchist bastards?”</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">The defendants' attorney, a respected labor lawyer naturally appealed, beginning a legal process that lasted seven years. Appeal hearings were delayed, postponed, rescheduled for a host of reasons -- so-called prosecution witnesses had left the state and needed to be tracked down. Expert witnesses </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">were ill and
could not attend until recovery. The judge was ill for a year. The appeals court judge was ill, and then needed a vacation. When the state's supreme judiciary court finally rejected the defense's appeal, only then could Webster Thayer pronounce sentence: death in the electric chair. </span></span></p><p class="hc"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The sentencing brought widespread public protests, both in this country and abroad, to a boil. A typical newspaper headline from 1927 captured the universality of working class and progressive condemnation of the court's decision: </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #373737;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Protests and demonstrations and strikes
all over the United States, in Germany, England Australia, Switzerland,
Paraguay, Mexico, on every continent except Antarctica."<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #373737;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp01jBTMG9MECDErsqaLKu-LyADNS7eFX-gI-oRMTyQW5yh6G-hZllIdwmZqCEalLkOG4Ay6H6sDPJOHLIItV2se16XV9mUDqWxzT_HjVdihpEySnPFWML9pUUAS1QAwiUZ1-ViGclfvJeQL2CS_p2eRt6APyTgm2lcCX8RGFCtagAPmdIsjmKIqVWE3yS/s592/16sl-paris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="592" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp01jBTMG9MECDErsqaLKu-LyADNS7eFX-gI-oRMTyQW5yh6G-hZllIdwmZqCEalLkOG4Ay6H6sDPJOHLIItV2se16XV9mUDqWxzT_HjVdihpEySnPFWML9pUUAS1QAwiUZ1-ViGclfvJeQL2CS_p2eRt6APyTgm2lcCX8RGFCtagAPmdIsjmKIqVWE3yS/s320/16sl-paris.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">In Paris, a protest gathering drew a reported one million people. </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">A who’s who of prominent figures
from different walks of life expressed support for Sacco and Vanzetti either
publicly or privately. Writers Dorothy Parker and Edna St. Vincent Millay
</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_JJGuNAkJekuy_dX-QhWzYE0mX1YujkCMz9YzTFS6FFeDhw-WWlyNyIW5RtZ5R4BTxXbq0jB4K580CLZr6BGdi6yHnahW55VRYS9Y5tjZUDtkS3g3iJMTuufNbXDBFMgjr-aXLHgV4IGNedamemLmj0Fi0bauyY7LyvkrIYUdQSKaA1wGZiqYGGXLq54/s640/16sl-signs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="640" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_JJGuNAkJekuy_dX-QhWzYE0mX1YujkCMz9YzTFS6FFeDhw-WWlyNyIW5RtZ5R4BTxXbq0jB4K580CLZr6BGdi6yHnahW55VRYS9Y5tjZUDtkS3g3iJMTuufNbXDBFMgjr-aXLHgV4IGNedamemLmj0Fi0bauyY7LyvkrIYUdQSKaA1wGZiqYGGXLq54/s320/16sl-signs.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />showed up to demonstrations. Benito Mussolini, then prime minister of Italy,
explored potential avenues for requesting a commutation of the sentence.
Various others, from Albert Einstein to George Bernard Shaw to Marie Curie,
signed petitions directed toward Massachusetts Governor Alvan T. Fuller or U.S.
President Calvin Coolidge.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">The defendants' attorneys made a final appeal for clemency to the governor of the state. Unhappily, the overseas attention paid to the case may have worked against the defendants. Governor Alvan Fuller, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large; text-indent: 0.5in;">a Republican, visited them in prison while weighing an appeal and was impressed by Vanzetti's personality, remarking: “what an attractive men.” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large; text-indent: 0.5in;">Vanzetti had used jail time to improve his English. He wrote letters to supporters, and a few memoirs. Fuller said he considered granting a pardon but, one associate explained, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: "var(--serifFontFamily)", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"He felt that worldwide interest in the case proved that
there was a conspiracy against the United States."</span></span></p><div>
<p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;">Their execution, after several stays of
execution by Fuller kept the case on the front pages in the
summer of 1927, drew international outrage, including violent demonstrations in France and in some other European countries. Thousands of people gathered the night of
the execution, Aug. 23, 1927, many of them on the Boston Common, in a vigil…dispersing after
midnight in sorrow after word passed that the men were dead. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="hc"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWankAgfCrhaDOvyhxQBDtV-wfv49AfttGXzb_RC8Zjli9gOlHlQOzx1dXcx67tuE0m-FS3HSu4QhZJ9Q6R-EkfnXtciJYn7e8qBdgIiQzsIUDkGrhyFRDsDpBUTbGdNkX3KEXio34W8_9_MmwtrtEe1n7gUhCA_EloCCdDDhO8pTEsL31NpTKFAXqoYWN/s330/16sl-funeral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="330" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWankAgfCrhaDOvyhxQBDtV-wfv49AfttGXzb_RC8Zjli9gOlHlQOzx1dXcx67tuE0m-FS3HSu4QhZJ9Q6R-EkfnXtciJYn7e8qBdgIiQzsIUDkGrhyFRDsDpBUTbGdNkX3KEXio34W8_9_MmwtrtEe1n7gUhCA_EloCCdDDhO8pTEsL31NpTKFAXqoYWN/w400-h324/16sl-funeral.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />The executions also led to a huge public funeral march through the
city of Boston regarded as the largest public gathering in the city until the
Red Sox World Series victory parade in 2004, with the crowd estimated by
newspapers at 200,000.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p style="background: white;"><b><span style="color: #373737; font-family: "var(--serifFontFamily)",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">FINAL WORDS<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p style="background: white;"><span style="color: #373737;"><span style="font-size: large;">I will give the last
words to the two principals in this story:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white;"><span style="color: #373737; font-family: "var(--serifFontFamily)",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"At his trial Sacco said that life in the U.S. is good for
people with money but it’s not good for the working and the laboring class, and
at his sentencing, he said, 'I know this sentencing will be between two
classes, the rich class and the working class, and there will always be
collision between one and the other.'"<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white;"><span style="color: #373737;"><span style="font-size: large;">Vanzetti said their
deaths would be a worthy sacrifice. He said he mkight have spent his life
talking to sad men on street corners, winning no change or improvements: a
failure. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #373737;">But “</span>Now we are not a failure. This is our career and our
triumph. Never in our full life can we hope to do such work for tolerance, for
justice, for man’s understanding of man as we now do by dying. Our words, our
lives, our pains—nothing! The taking of our lives—lives of a good shoemaker and
a poor fish peddler—all! That last moment belongs to us—that agony is our
triumph.”<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class="hc"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="hc"><br /></p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-89466280705746982972023-12-05T08:08:00.000-08:002023-12-05T08:08:01.013-08:00Still Thankful: Seasonal Poems and a Time to Remember <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXEAwYy6hvT-XdbMXP6TPNfRYzZqWXlGxdxdOsux70BzWJv7mBvr3CFmg1sN57fgNwHBBWN7pS5JciBL2vxYosJNuIzerxCeG79EmsTWfY0woj3qrb_KxEsfUsuyYX1k90mo5yHkuwBG8NXv27SyQACjs0JEsg_wIITTEOT3XWkmSwQrgBFQUgYfb4LZp/s600/23leaves%20december.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXEAwYy6hvT-XdbMXP6TPNfRYzZqWXlGxdxdOsux70BzWJv7mBvr3CFmg1sN57fgNwHBBWN7pS5JciBL2vxYosJNuIzerxCeG79EmsTWfY0woj3qrb_KxEsfUsuyYX1k90mo5yHkuwBG8NXv27SyQACjs0JEsg_wIITTEOT3XWkmSwQrgBFQUgYfb4LZp/w480-h640/23leaves%20december.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My thanks to editor Jim Lewis for including two poems in the December issue of Verse-Virtual. The poems are a response to a seasonal request to poets to write a poem about what we're thankful for... Big question; so many, many answers. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Here's my poem </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">--below the photo -- on gratitude for the beauty of the natural world.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Twilight in Paradise</b></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;" /></p><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
We’ve been here before
Not ‘here’ in the literal sense,
but such an evening path to Perfection
If you live on Perfection Road,
you know the signs.
The sorcery of twilight when an autumn afternoon
nuzzles August balm
and then the light fades, so soon this time of year
And your street, your road,
each house after perfect house,
silence unbroken, no traffic finding this way,
nor wandering through, confused,
the driver’s nose in a map… </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
No motorcycles, power tools, radios
nothing at all to spoil a perfect silence,
smear with words
the perfect end of a perfect day.
And not one perfect person,
old, young or in between
stepping out of doors
to watch the sun set over Hillside Pond
or see the full moon rise above
Mount Blue,
the perfect place from which
to watch the seething traffic back up on the way
to pop-idol stadium</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span></pre><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-49824278199989414222023-11-13T09:09:00.000-08:002023-11-13T09:09:50.462-08:00It's a Truly Seasonal Story... If Plants Could Talk <p> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span data-offset-key="976oe-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Now that we're all in a November state of mind.... (chilly? holiday season? early dark?) ... my humorous short story "Reasoning with Azalea" is up online on <i>Witcraft</i>, a journal looking for ways to win a smile. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span data-offset-key="976oe-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, Azalea is a plant, but she does a pretty good job defending her point of view. If you click on the title, the whole piece comes up. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span data-offset-key="976oe-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">It's a two-minute read at most. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span data-offset-key="976oe-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Here's the link <a href="https://witcraft.org/2023/11/13/reasoning-with-azalea/">Azalea </a></span></span></span></p><p><span class="x1fey0fg" style="background-color: white; color: var(--blue-link); font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span data-offset-key="976oe-1-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here are the first few line</span><span style="font-size: medium;">s:</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I know it’s cold, Azalea. </span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don’t like the cold either. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">But you’re not going to spend the winter indoors this year spooning with your buddy, electric heater. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em;"><span style="font-size: large;">Not this year. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em;"><em style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">He’ll miss me! You think you’re the reason he gets hot!</span></em></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em;"><em style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></em></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; margin: 0px 0px 1.75em;"><em style="box-sizing: inherit;"></em></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0yIuyn3q5TCUQCjtTqQi0NE0HSc7b5sdz4bovx-AGWWybJC2trxx7YXlK-r6gW_-dqlXfRDvX9R36yFXxep8B2gors2GBKTzw8-s7ZlEOgeOZa0Jj-6-QhD83vXLIaV3yG5AER3_SK660b1-_YtsU8WODkoVLZLhLmmOizHptip8QK4KduTyKa_LydLMH/s4160/20230530_111056%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0yIuyn3q5TCUQCjtTqQi0NE0HSc7b5sdz4bovx-AGWWybJC2trxx7YXlK-r6gW_-dqlXfRDvX9R36yFXxep8B2gors2GBKTzw8-s7ZlEOgeOZa0Jj-6-QhD83vXLIaV3yG5AER3_SK660b1-_YtsU8WODkoVLZLhLmmOizHptip8QK4KduTyKa_LydLMH/w400-h300/20230530_111056%20(1).jpg" width="400" /></a></em></div><em style="box-sizing: inherit;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></em><p></p><p><span class="x1fey0fg" style="background-color: white; color: var(--blue-link); font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span data-offset-key="976oe-1-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><br /></p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-22726546602828850442023-10-17T08:51:00.000-07:002023-10-17T08:51:41.602-07:00Poems in October: Seeing too much blood, too often <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCR65xaHCzCWO4JXApIbtRSAmIjZHDOMHudbi5rqEYKcish3Nsbha8K7qMANJz3HHAsH8dCHfa0w1yjcBan6JoxllSNCNmyxDsaQPDs_8FOXN8N8fj3AHIr9HBzhqHOFmemnFjFCNvMaNIDkDaNYbqg47VQLkdmflnR6bEs5dEEDOCpKSx6JAL24ALHiWT/s4160/20231013_104925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCR65xaHCzCWO4JXApIbtRSAmIjZHDOMHudbi5rqEYKcish3Nsbha8K7qMANJz3HHAsH8dCHfa0w1yjcBan6JoxllSNCNmyxDsaQPDs_8FOXN8N8fj3AHIr9HBzhqHOFmemnFjFCNvMaNIDkDaNYbqg47VQLkdmflnR6bEs5dEEDOCpKSx6JAL24ALHiWT/s320/20231013_104925.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">This past summer has been a bit of a blood bath. <span style="background-color: white;">Damage to my bladder from long-ago prostate cancer radiation treatments has left me seeing much more of my own blood, and on a regular basis, than I ever wished to. My journey back to status quo ante (a work in in progress) has included a lot of walking at a gentler pace.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> I am grateful to English poet Robert Nisbet, a frequent contributor to Verse-Virtual <span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;">for his kind comments on my poems in the October issue of Verse-Virtual: "The problem with any poems about personal ailments is that they can so easily cloy, but the linguistic jauntiness of Bob Knox's first poem carries us over all of that risk. And his second poem has a real range and richness."</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> I have been a contributor to Verse-Virtual, a community of poets that publishes a monthly journal, since 2014 and a contributing editor since 2015.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> Here are my two "bloody" poems from the October issue. </span></span></p><div class="paragraph" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana !important; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Red-Blooded American</b></span><br /><pre style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
Blood inside, blood outside, blood all over
For days it rains red,
messy, sleep-broken, unspeakable, red-basined days
The body on a short leash,
Punishment enough, I thought, for an eon of sins…
Then nothing: no flow, no stream,
no whisper in the cistern of the soul
Just the pain of bone-dry efforts
Burn, burn, the smoke of effort,
no fire of release…
No higher expression
of the body’s deepest need than this:
Gotta pee!
We struggle down to the ER,
dedicated spouse now designated driver –
thank goodness!
Or the impatient patient would have run the lights
through glorious, summer-green, upper-crust Milton,
school-house of presidents,
to a season’s early end.
Succumbing (notices would read) to a deadly combo
of scabs and plasma,
victim of broadly fired radioactive treatments
performed in a prior day
by optimistic clinicians, slightly off-mark
in a crowded neighborhood of organs.
Somebody please, we beg the healers,
free me from this inner strain.
For I am bound upon a wheel of fire,
an old man in a rag of flesh,
who does but slenderly understand what’s bloody up.
</span></pre></div><div class="paragraph" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana !important; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Uphill</b></span><br /><pre style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
I walk slowly uphill.
It’s how I do everything.
Something has tipped the world off balance.
Now the sidewalk, the dirt road, the woodland path,
is always trending up.
Strange… I remember thinking tasks completed,
gardens planted:
‘All downhill from here.’
The world is green, a healthy color.
I dream of swapping flesh with the leaves
that swarm the hillside,
pirouetting in the devil-may-care late summer breeze.
But then, in autumn’s termination, all must wither and go under…
Well, yes, in the end, just a question of timing.
The great shade of the forest
stirs music in the minor key.
I will climb these heights,
once more possess such sights
in a theater of the heart.
My feet regain the path,
reclaim their strength, their range of motion,
renew my journey…
both up and down.
</span></pre></div><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And here's a link to the listing of all the poems and articles published in the October issue. </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><a href="https://verse-virtual.org/poems-and-articles.html">Verse-Virtual </a><br /></div>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-42450412742699231792023-07-03T13:37:00.000-07:002023-07-03T13:37:15.363-07:00The Garden of Verse: Doors That Never Open, and The Gates Through Which All Pass <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPzNFqt1PztjKeRKzXeYLIZ0bjhmrAbegsN4UiGjbb4_t4EIagkOzoMM2mV7BWZuYIIL_BU1QZTpyw_tenZExKUVP3kB2ylHR7L08rI_PtqBec4cwQxeCTUqRYNu43IIBN0ZV6L0KAHC8FUuIQ-cEF0EXGiArIETOnpL8oRM27xk_L5n2gu6GJwyDdVvYo/s4160/20230212_111026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPzNFqt1PztjKeRKzXeYLIZ0bjhmrAbegsN4UiGjbb4_t4EIagkOzoMM2mV7BWZuYIIL_BU1QZTpyw_tenZExKUVP3kB2ylHR7L08rI_PtqBec4cwQxeCTUqRYNu43IIBN0ZV6L0KAHC8FUuIQ-cEF0EXGiArIETOnpL8oRM27xk_L5n2gu6GJwyDdVvYo/w400-h300/20230212_111026.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">My two poems in the June 2023 issue of Verse-Virtual are
both about unusual visits, going to places where I've never been or tend to
avoid. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">"Other People’s Lives" tells of traveling to parts
of the city in which my wife and I live in, Quincy Mass., to deliver notices of
an upcoming community meeting, and discovering that some houses are built with
front doors that are never meant to open. Here's the poem.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">Other People’s Lives</b></p><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
All the doors closed, locked, shut up tight.
No way in, no welcome mat.
The mailbox up and mailed itself somewhere else.
The front door an utter rampart:
No entry. No welcome. Nobody home to the likes of you.
Privacy protected.
Living in the hills.
I’m a mere stranger. Worse, afoot,
no doubt out to seek thrills.
Hence those locks:
The feverish encounter always pre-empted.
Walk your city’s hidden neighborhoods,
those unseen lanes and cul-de-sacs,
divorced from the city’s busy streets,
its commercial thoroughfares, numbered highways.
Quiet nooks, the street may not be, legally, ‘private’
but a taxpayer’s home is surely his, her, or their castle…
What is it like to put three-quarters of a million (probably more)
into a modest lot plus extra-large dwelling,
outpost of well-protected privacy
smack up against a vast and wooded preserve,
people-free at the busiest seasons,
on a narrow street most of us commoners will never find.
What is it like to hide away?
This house is “<i>Protected</i>," so saith the conspicuous advisory
on the never-used front door.
Protected in turn by all-weather storm door with its own </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> tight lock
from the interloper with the handbill declaring the invitation
to “community meeting” –
Offstage laughter indulged in silence: <i>Community? Meeting?</i>
… preventing said interloper, or any other physical entity that
can walk and chew gum
from approaching the double-locked barrier behind it.
The beast within howls his rage, his furious abandonment
when the interloper touches the impenetrable outer barrier,
that second skin of inviolability,
the offense wired directly into his self-devouring imprisonment
of canine sadness.
Bark all you want, Wolfie,
No one is coming to reduce the terrible gnawing anxiety
of your endless hours of incarceration.
No toys out-of-doors, no sign any creature of flesh ever steps
through this parody of ingress,
the mocking shell of the conventional ‘Welcome’ baked into the
unyielding mat spread upon the doorstep,
the empty remembrance of that which we no longer </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> mean to offer.
Unpurposed now, its meaning fouled,
it braves the elements, impersonal, dysfunctional till the very
crack of doom.
Speak not to us of common purpose, public space,
those challenges and opportunities that onetime fell to all,
… the town meeting, the charity drive.
After all, who can you trust?
The state is me, moi, and mine own
And if he, or she – or (conceivably) some trace element of younger lives –
does not come home soon,
I’m surely changing the locks.
</span></pre>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">The second poem, <span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">"Visiting Eternity" follow a rare visit to a place where nobody is worried about who may come to the door. Here's the poem. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Visiting Eternity</b></span><br style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;" /></p><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
The parents are well. We know where to find them.
Back to back on a stone we ran to ground (a year later)
in a busy corner of forever.
It is, admittedly, a crowded neighborhood,
though well-tended.
The next search however proved a bear.
Don’t get excited to find a Goldberg,
their neighborhood is everywhere.
The wind passes the time among them,
the low boxwood, the hedges elbowing into remaining space
between one placement and the next,
row on row, eternity grew up around them.
No social classes, mind you, in this subterranean finality.
Room to move, though under.
If being head partner in the firm, you object to neighboring
the treasurer of the local Communist club,
union chapter, or simple laborer, self-employed accountant
or various women who got things done,
well, it’s a busy neighborhood,
something going every night.
The street signs hard to follow,
difficult sometimes to tell the people apart.
All that may be left is a long stoney fez,
an elemental billboard for a few prosaic data points,
eternity’s stovepipe,
an ear to the wind –
Hard to imagine they are not overhearing our jokes
and errant philosophies,
observing our frustrations:
Reading us as we struggle to find that final
hiding place
in the hide-and-seek of time.
Who, we wonder, will come looking for us…?
You are not in the ground, dear ones,
You are in our hearts and minds
This is our house of remembrance.</span></pre><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">To find poems by the 48 poets represented in the June issue </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">of Verse-Virtual, go to </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><a href="https://verse-virtual.org/2023/June/poems-and-articles-2023-june.html">Verse-Virtual </a><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-56405815438817367842023-05-23T09:05:00.001-07:002023-05-23T09:05:53.468-07:00The Garden of Sad-Angry Poems: Guns and History, They're Still With Us<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Two of my poems were published online last month. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />My poem "They Came" was posted last month on Poetry Superhighway's 25th Annual Yom HaShoah Issue. The poem was inspired by German pastor Martin Niemöller's famous 1946 postwar writing “First They Came.” </span><p></p><p><br /></p><h3 style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0.5rem;"><span style="font-size: medium;">They Came</span></h3><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">First they came for the immigrant children<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />And we looked away<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Because the Leader’s toady told us, “Those are not<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />our children”<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />And we looked at our own children,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />and were reassured</span></p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then they came for the people who cover their heads<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />or pray too much<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />And again we looked away<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Because we were not Iranians, or Iraqis, or Gazans,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />or children of the West Bank detained indefinitely without charges<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />And, as the man said,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />those are not our children</span></p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then they came for the abused, and those who accused their abusers,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />and for the accusers’ advocates,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />and for those who fought against their abusers,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />But we looked away, and jested at the comedie humaine,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />because we were not ourselves the victims of abuse<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />or the advocates for the abused,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />and, after all, we were “not his type”</span></p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then they came for the ones who would never<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />play ball with Der Leader<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The ones who would always be trouble<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />because they were cheated out of their land<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />or, perchance, had been enslaved<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />or who had once owned a country that the slave-owners wished<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 75px;">to possess for themselves</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />or who, we feared, were willing to work<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 75px;">for too little money</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />or who loved the wrong people</span></p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And then because no one else remained standing<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 75px;">in our diminished patria,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />neither advocates,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />nor scribblers with their pencil over the ear,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />nor Enemies of the People with their hand-held devices,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />nor workers’ parties,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />nor defenders of the beaten, humiliated and disappeared</span></p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">nor anyone able to kick the ball from their feet,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />nothing was left for us to do<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />but to lay our own bodies before his feet</span></p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">as the painted, spiked, and horny-headed demons of extinction<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />cheered, and drank, and laughed, and danced upon the bodies<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />of their victims<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />and ran up history’s score</span></p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />First published by The NewVerse.News in July 2019</em></p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></em></p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></em></p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">My poem “Allen Ginsberg’s ‘America’ and Ours” was published New Verse News </span><span style="background-color: transparent;">on April 29. This poem makes use of and takes off from Ginsberg's 1950's
beat poem screed titled "America." His assessment of the politics of
his day inspired me to be a little profane about our own.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></em></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Allen Ginsberg’s “America” (and Ours)</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;">“<span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: black; font-size: 11pt;">America I’ve given you all and now I’m nothing.” – Allen Ginsberg, <i>Howl and Other Poems</i>, 1956</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I am frankly envious of the poet who, on Jan. 17, 1956,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">wrote, in a poem entitled “America,”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“America, go fuck yourself with your atom bomb.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tennessee, I invite, in the same spirit of candor,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">go shoot yourself with your absolutely unqualified no-foolin’, stand-your-ground</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">irredeemably nut-case gun rights laws,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">per events on the ground taking place March 28, 2023.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I could simply echo every sentiment in that mid-century poet’s inspired piece</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> of unbridled spontaneity</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">composed on the theme of his America, in which he that mid-century poet vowed,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">amid other proclamations,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I won’t write my poem till I’m in my right mind”…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">but I do not expect to be in my right mind</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">so long as the YMCA in which I seek to run away from my fury and despair</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">offers news channels on its TV service available to rats like me</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">who run on treadmills of anger and despair</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Networks, that is, on which the munitions-injury expert</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">is asked to describe the effect of AR ammunition on the bodies of children,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and what I increasingly wish somebody (even crazier than me) would do</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">to the persons of the elected Tennessee officials</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">who valiantly protected their freedom-loving constituents from any limitation,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">however slight and publicly supported by official law enforcement,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">on their natural right to destroy the bodies of children</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">with whatever armaments the Good Lord, acting through the protected mediation</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> of the National Rats Association,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">entitles them to possess</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“America,” Ginsberg demanded in his disarming and eternally youthful way:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“when will you take your clothes off?”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“America” – how’s this for pre-visioning the paramilitary far right? –</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“why are your libraries full of tears?”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">America, we ask in our hair-tearing, torn-clothing way,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Why are your courthouses, state houses, ballot boxes and school boards</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">full of self-made demagogues who failed to read the books</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">in their now besieged schoolhouses when they had the chance?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">who think that libraries are merely back alleyways for the gang fights</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> of the culture wars?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">America, we ask, why do the voters of Tennessee develop amnesia of the ballot box?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When will it end, America, your war on humanity?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When will you be worthy of your blues singers, jazzmen, street corner poets,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> dancers on the page as well as on the stage?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When will you invite Stephen Colbert to be the speaker at the next inauguration?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">America, the cherry trees are blossoming</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and I feel sentimental about the days of wine and roses and that legendary decade ban</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> on assault rifles…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and even when the party of Richard Nixon was, by comparison, a beacon of moderation</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Americans, we are obsessed by media, by the Chinese timebomb that goes TikTok, TikTok</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">America, the best minds of my generation are already underground</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">America, there is nobody left to vote for</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">America, our ancestors saved the world from fascism</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But all the fascists have to do today is show their pure-white fannies on TV</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and the writing on the wall goes tic-toc-clock, as the timebomb of private self-interest</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> melts the glaciers</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and brings the ocean to your living room</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">just before the signoff of the foxed and phony nooz</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">America, you are teaching all the world how to kill people,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> best result for the buck</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Because that is all you remember how to do</span></p></div><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"></em></p><div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"> </p></div><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></em></p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></em></p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.52); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0.9rem; margin-top: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></em></p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-19417301451721887312023-05-23T08:20:00.000-07:002023-05-23T08:20:05.507-07:00Lilac Days in Massachusetts: The Sweet Smell of Spring <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0B3yHoRiGQ3rTNxQdIobwa-kBUT4YgKAFg_nZhZZjtF0Z8jBQzR-BmXp2a--MRnGA3lhDa9w-74BTLV9HSX3PcZfIENPJSpn05HgBApCY_ul32urpN29yv7_4Va7CFj3K0jdvDUqx8w9WwMnWWTXeZHd-Wr6z4RxcvKHSSc-1waBpO3rIMdrhkirog/s4160/20230518_150157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0B3yHoRiGQ3rTNxQdIobwa-kBUT4YgKAFg_nZhZZjtF0Z8jBQzR-BmXp2a--MRnGA3lhDa9w-74BTLV9HSX3PcZfIENPJSpn05HgBApCY_ul32urpN29yv7_4Va7CFj3K0jdvDUqx8w9WwMnWWTXeZHd-Wr6z4RxcvKHSSc-1waBpO3rIMdrhkirog/w480-h640/20230518_150157.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFtXRmoi490kuPe191hP2DGDzyVKUEirR9r8CrSucm6X6B8g4ntFYyuySwiTRVIZN6-eVYUZLbHjN2fIvcYZS0l1sVhDIt4JOqKV8ym0ZnK7jM_uD_L90Y4uKEMe_i-oKgR1Top8YQVpEMbntgujVn0sU3Pt8ebZ2QSIBKUIRHBnIzGKB2MKj4sYpHA/s4160/20230512_175329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFtXRmoi490kuPe191hP2DGDzyVKUEirR9r8CrSucm6X6B8g4ntFYyuySwiTRVIZN6-eVYUZLbHjN2fIvcYZS0l1sVhDIt4JOqKV8ym0ZnK7jM_uD_L90Y4uKEMe_i-oKgR1Top8YQVpEMbntgujVn0sU3Pt8ebZ2QSIBKUIRHBnIzGKB2MKj4sYpHA/s320/20230512_175329.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Lilac Days</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">They shine because this is their month,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">their showtime, <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">but so also the cherry and other fruit trees<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">in their many branching varieties, <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">as do the dogwood, and apple, and willow,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">and the nameless white-flowering beauties,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">blossoms, their offerings lasting only a week or maybe, with teasing,
and the right weather,</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">a little more. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVG4eXMfgohHUZhIXKtVC3d_Ou3C3RAQwlHnN8T3hOXB-A4_wk6t5gDLmF89tr_X8oQ3ZcQm6lpF7HkjKrboJLlJ1ni-7QxRtJqAOLdbFhGGkUTGH9Xt_q0eyvkqjXISySsWkQ4xD1u42QlCkBN_O7knFQJHui0tBpn4MFQ_VvAwPGuDWUhtX41pXpMg/s4160/20230518_150217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVG4eXMfgohHUZhIXKtVC3d_Ou3C3RAQwlHnN8T3hOXB-A4_wk6t5gDLmF89tr_X8oQ3ZcQm6lpF7HkjKrboJLlJ1ni-7QxRtJqAOLdbFhGGkUTGH9Xt_q0eyvkqjXISySsWkQ4xD1u42QlCkBN_O7knFQJHui0tBpn4MFQ_VvAwPGuDWUhtX41pXpMg/w400-h300/20230518_150217.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>And the gentle sun,<o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Keeping its schedule, as always, to a perfection <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">unknown here below <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">slipping with matchless grace down a cloudless horizon<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">to the last bans of sunset, twilight<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">but still at night
they sleep with us<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">still they house and keep the birds safe<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> in the quiet
hours<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguS8oZKeV7BfdgYz6BYbYolN2XOXnA9CnmPG9pPVYiK38zo_c5cmmoEt2AEbXbz__9yqYzbiarcjkwAeiDmkxWrMqUSQ5HmwnGkiK2YUgJLtkmOO08XC_s5dq0rxPTEmIYuYBWCdTAEkKsLsBJwFNsW1ihTyj9exCi09vNKhZkQvEfh2iyGhbkU91n_w/s4160/20230519_235935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguS8oZKeV7BfdgYz6BYbYolN2XOXnA9CnmPG9pPVYiK38zo_c5cmmoEt2AEbXbz__9yqYzbiarcjkwAeiDmkxWrMqUSQ5HmwnGkiK2YUgJLtkmOO08XC_s5dq0rxPTEmIYuYBWCdTAEkKsLsBJwFNsW1ihTyj9exCi09vNKhZkQvEfh2iyGhbkU91n_w/s320/20230519_235935.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>and still the morning prays again<o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">that time persists once more to be beautiful<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">precisely because it is so much older than we<o:p></o:p></p><p>
<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqBhtuSYZmNnuI3AIa8oG5BiSm7MQuzxtdnGOqO1rYRQy2h55FKMNa-ANI-nxneTMObNlxiWKPHmqlTga-7gO5N3Ot_fTZfC3ygyAHs7hr-XZbH9ryaTPNi84lZgxEzSuyx7QcLuuw3YsypwNIitPzxtbpP6lU6UqV7zSMlKzWLuKO73HsPbf3VI9Ug/s4160/20230521_160850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqBhtuSYZmNnuI3AIa8oG5BiSm7MQuzxtdnGOqO1rYRQy2h55FKMNa-ANI-nxneTMObNlxiWKPHmqlTga-7gO5N3Ot_fTZfC3ygyAHs7hr-XZbH9ryaTPNi84lZgxEzSuyx7QcLuuw3YsypwNIitPzxtbpP6lU6UqV7zSMlKzWLuKO73HsPbf3VI9Ug/w300-h400/20230521_160850.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>May All Be Blessed!*<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The little fingers on the little piggies<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The big men in my childhood nightmares <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> thumping through
the shadows of my mind <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The killers and the haters, even.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> Who somehow
survive my wrathful imaginings <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">as if they were nothing but what they are –<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <i>maya</i>!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">All the yoga ladies<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The muscled guys<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The busy life of the highway where <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> the machines take
us where they will <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">And the slow life of the late winter day –<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> Gleaming March
sunshine,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Brutal west wind<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">And the yard full of squirrels chasing one another’s<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> tails<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The tails wagging the dogs of peace,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The people below the bombs <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The lasers of love’s eternal springtimes,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The offerings,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Those who carry the finger bowls of time <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">In which we dip our fingers<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">*(After a song by Peter Kater) </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcAzaHWJY4Uc84WBJu_uAjNj47_mra8OpRGngs_PYMCb1RGdA3HiNqWTWMte-Hn7TEVPtuljC5vHKUFdDztlvMqj_9V_TU5OLUN-NQ4hIQyTvvNrN-Gk62c4TcHnPh62W4BlcQDATV1ROMwd50oETwQPAnqkuc9i_Re4yGOSXqKnsWiXHOiLSsp-IFw/s4160/20230522_181631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcAzaHWJY4Uc84WBJu_uAjNj47_mra8OpRGngs_PYMCb1RGdA3HiNqWTWMte-Hn7TEVPtuljC5vHKUFdDztlvMqj_9V_TU5OLUN-NQ4hIQyTvvNrN-Gk62c4TcHnPh62W4BlcQDATV1ROMwd50oETwQPAnqkuc9i_Re4yGOSXqKnsWiXHOiLSsp-IFw/w640-h480/20230522_181631.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-83025304786166937792023-04-14T10:15:00.000-07:002023-04-14T10:15:24.396-07:00Prosegarden Goes Back to its Roots: Spring Is Starting to Shape Up <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBasVNOnJ7bdeqDZBF9Wrb4CkabkNAsfFgtgpoUcb7gewfyljVuU21CcvkkqT5uyToASlKFQlDDYGORTw03C7a2yWCaFV8XfKPLSyYrWVF8z5cswoHoOcWOndZshIUzrVHbSb8myFdiOM6VuoqYORQmLBpabPK-F1mjW0J8MUMfn_fKV6RSJIrjSpiQ/s4160/20230412_155528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBasVNOnJ7bdeqDZBF9Wrb4CkabkNAsfFgtgpoUcb7gewfyljVuU21CcvkkqT5uyToASlKFQlDDYGORTw03C7a2yWCaFV8XfKPLSyYrWVF8z5cswoHoOcWOndZshIUzrVHbSb8myFdiOM6VuoqYORQmLBpabPK-F1mjW0J8MUMfn_fKV6RSJIrjSpiQ/w480-h640/20230412_155528.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">S</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">pring is starting to shape up in our garden in Quincy, MA. The Japanese Weeping Cherry is in bloom.... But the weather has been awfully dry. I'm worried the earth won't be able to support all out plants if we don't get more rain soon.</span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">We've had good days for April flowers. Will they bring May showers?</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2laOt7SYxYiRKPVmc1EDXnXpNGCEGjESeDkT-acn39ozNbJ0iSlrYA-1rRz86Ul-9vePG4ud2YC6xYDLHnytCAZOzZK_wm3NPpI6KNmdM3SCheHxNheovXj8u3S1_8-8qM6ob9V5nMTapXQWdrf-l-QaVEz87dIAXYQMYN9u3g3RGi2eGrhGIbqzow/s4160/20230412_142254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2laOt7SYxYiRKPVmc1EDXnXpNGCEGjESeDkT-acn39ozNbJ0iSlrYA-1rRz86Ul-9vePG4ud2YC6xYDLHnytCAZOzZK_wm3NPpI6KNmdM3SCheHxNheovXj8u3S1_8-8qM6ob9V5nMTapXQWdrf-l-QaVEz87dIAXYQMYN9u3g3RGi2eGrhGIbqzow/w400-h300/20230412_142254.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioCh3g2GQDM-db6jlgZWblgHU1BLQEIaGbgITySilSfqrKOtv3MTXz5zzuGaSz4i9TdV4uuncwvVilq_kDLrIc-ePDDO7v_mUhGf31KAPF4JqH74yrh5alFjF3SfayC79fyvx_b2Dscz-s-2x06J9KWOFSVTZ4gdNMDPG4rQuKs6zWUu_oMIGd-qDAOA/s4160/20230412_155450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioCh3g2GQDM-db6jlgZWblgHU1BLQEIaGbgITySilSfqrKOtv3MTXz5zzuGaSz4i9TdV4uuncwvVilq_kDLrIc-ePDDO7v_mUhGf31KAPF4JqH74yrh5alFjF3SfayC79fyvx_b2Dscz-s-2x06J9KWOFSVTZ4gdNMDPG4rQuKs6zWUu_oMIGd-qDAOA/w300-h400/20230412_155450.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRjTM4ZHKTbPqOqtxfSbA6acng7QvCfjQ8K6LFpzKaIt46OHeq38bB6U2jz0a2h7lj1sqkrbFI35VwonfKL6biVwdfRJ8zfk7r8JZVNkmBdjY0ZGvkUSmtPvwgJbkH0F5M0-RPXdF-nTyfRaaLJe73fq7EKGOQeelaFCS1tZENhIVUXxTcyd_Obd_Gvg/s4160/20230404_153047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRjTM4ZHKTbPqOqtxfSbA6acng7QvCfjQ8K6LFpzKaIt46OHeq38bB6U2jz0a2h7lj1sqkrbFI35VwonfKL6biVwdfRJ8zfk7r8JZVNkmBdjY0ZGvkUSmtPvwgJbkH0F5M0-RPXdF-nTyfRaaLJe73fq7EKGOQeelaFCS1tZENhIVUXxTcyd_Obd_Gvg/s4160/20230404_153047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRjTM4ZHKTbPqOqtxfSbA6acng7QvCfjQ8K6LFpzKaIt46OHeq38bB6U2jz0a2h7lj1sqkrbFI35VwonfKL6biVwdfRJ8zfk7r8JZVNkmBdjY0ZGvkUSmtPvwgJbkH0F5M0-RPXdF-nTyfRaaLJe73fq7EKGOQeelaFCS1tZENhIVUXxTcyd_Obd_Gvg/s4160/20230404_153047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRjTM4ZHKTbPqOqtxfSbA6acng7QvCfjQ8K6LFpzKaIt46OHeq38bB6U2jz0a2h7lj1sqkrbFI35VwonfKL6biVwdfRJ8zfk7r8JZVNkmBdjY0ZGvkUSmtPvwgJbkH0F5M0-RPXdF-nTyfRaaLJe73fq7EKGOQeelaFCS1tZENhIVUXxTcyd_Obd_Gvg/s320/20230404_153047.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Hyacinths are opening here, tokens of spring color. Also daffodils and Vinca. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHb5Rys-3tH84dOhsCHFwuBZKAvOgX1lcGaNNaX-5wwEsPNsbeQbmqPya7UzlKSL0DlrWmRgAWCSykcl4NuImOXNGZgx43dBvtV7iQ9j9SGakGM1BMECKBGnsr95-5Wgem547EZVXPXXRaqYqCmcLDZ5Fun5oA08MknPco2mv9vOXK199Dza1Y1qN8_Q/s4160/20230408_173353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHb5Rys-3tH84dOhsCHFwuBZKAvOgX1lcGaNNaX-5wwEsPNsbeQbmqPya7UzlKSL0DlrWmRgAWCSykcl4NuImOXNGZgx43dBvtV7iQ9j9SGakGM1BMECKBGnsr95-5Wgem547EZVXPXXRaqYqCmcLDZ5Fun5oA08MknPco2mv9vOXK199Dza1Y1qN8_Q/w480-h640/20230408_173353.jpg" width="480" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARhOQwLLYI66Lak-CnLZt5dCeS1TW0CTcfKncIWatvZoXerU-Jme3rYCEsu1kyA-XuLE_9279Y0GPpuQ6VhPg9_8eipmhQe0tTRHfOSSGRHfy7PXOdu6nwmh451ZU6ohAYpLBHQ1Hpb2Mbw6Fj-bvj02LsDPSS3Sc3FFc-6lrubvCoK1Sw3lxebqmkA/s4160/20230408_173030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARhOQwLLYI66Lak-CnLZt5dCeS1TW0CTcfKncIWatvZoXerU-Jme3rYCEsu1kyA-XuLE_9279Y0GPpuQ6VhPg9_8eipmhQe0tTRHfOSSGRHfy7PXOdu6nwmh451ZU6ohAYpLBHQ1Hpb2Mbw6Fj-bvj02LsDPSS3Sc3FFc-6lrubvCoK1Sw3lxebqmkA/s320/20230408_173030.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GofzJdmI0BZZjli_82_aLxb864FFLdvPzDmCThUqy6bNsHQYfnZ3FMjoM1peAsabTqaDn4gznUwc2jthldvRtSQqysWuz4-ZqlpWFRkqRQWpRWd9RLOzjduHtCbRwL880k6jJRbvyH9_L8hR3smYtD8sxbx62Ea7WwoGSsg09eDLF_If1gTKPu3N8Q/s4160/20230408_173152%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GofzJdmI0BZZjli_82_aLxb864FFLdvPzDmCThUqy6bNsHQYfnZ3FMjoM1peAsabTqaDn4gznUwc2jthldvRtSQqysWuz4-ZqlpWFRkqRQWpRWd9RLOzjduHtCbRwL880k6jJRbvyH9_L8hR3smYtD8sxbx62Ea7WwoGSsg09eDLF_If1gTKPu3N8Q/w400-h300/20230408_173152%20(1).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-39995411904867861022023-04-14T09:25:00.000-07:002023-04-14T09:25:43.096-07:00The Garden of History... American Revolution? Boston's Samuel Adams Brought More Than the Beer <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXn0Y482kY6Mev2FcnPPcuzMqpJsyRMPBHC_2DRU_HF371LqUMIKsX2n9zqdVvIyhHuJTaPiu2ozHDs_BFjxR5aY9HyKa7Har_O4hg6ig4pf7Yd_hreE3Cud-DwxtQKUmq5-_OMmwkgO5wKHg07oRvxclUSosbGRMBjJVwvEEbed1Ue2FVEA5x9shW5g/s900/23sam%20adams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXn0Y482kY6Mev2FcnPPcuzMqpJsyRMPBHC_2DRU_HF371LqUMIKsX2n9zqdVvIyhHuJTaPiu2ozHDs_BFjxR5aY9HyKa7Har_O4hg6ig4pf7Yd_hreE3Cud-DwxtQKUmq5-_OMmwkgO5wKHg07oRvxclUSosbGRMBjJVwvEEbed1Ue2FVEA5x9shW5g/w266-h400/23sam%20adams.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;">The recent biography “The Revolutionary Samuel Adams” by Stacy Schiff changed my understanding of the American Revolution, a topic I had considered myself pretty well-versed in. It also exposed today’s general ignorance (and my own) of the role in the revolution played by Samuel Adams. Everybody, certainly in Boston, knows the name, and in recent decades everybody everywhere knows the name of the beer company. But I suspect even among residents of the city where the revolution began, few who walk past Samuel Adams’ grave in a tiny cemetery in the city’s center have little appreciation for the starring role Adams played in a drama that changed Western civilization.</span><p></p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="32e8" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">I’d have to include myself in that number — before reading this book.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0211" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Over the years I’ve have read a number of books about the American Revolution. I’ve read about the America’s War of Revolution. I’ve read books about the ‘the causes of’ the American Revolution.’ However, I suspect, that my mental picture of the events leading to Lexington and Concord in 1775 has been influenced by media depictions of our country’s beginning, going all the way back to a childhood exposure to Disney’s “Johnny Tremain.” When doughty youngster Johnny is quizzed on the need for a revolution, he replies “to protect the rights of Englishmen.” No, the lad is gently corrected by a savvy American patriot in a tricornered hat, “the rights of <em class="vq" style="box-sizing: inherit;">all</em> men.” But that film starts way too late in the story and focuses on a few headline events: the Boston Tea Party, Lexington and Concord.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0e64" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Years later, after the dispiriting conflation of “patriotism” with support for the Vietnam War, I found my love for my country’s origins reignited by a film version of the stage musical “1776.” This version of America’s foundation story gave starring roles to John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin. But after reading Schiff’s book, I see that “1776” also comes way too late to address a deeper issue, the transformation of English-speaking colonials into a new body politic dedicated to civic values such as self-determination and natural rights, including a right to self-government. What the awakening national sensibility in the post-Stamp Act decade called “Liberty.”</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ab0c" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">And it was the other Adams — not John, the hero of 1776 — but Samuel Adams who got us there. At best, all I knew about Samuel Adams was he the guy who was able (as per the Disney movie) to mobilize the proletariat, the rougher element in town, to dress up like Indians and throw the tea into the harbor. A provocateur with a blue-collar sensibility. So, so wrong. So limited.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8489" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">While the declaration produced by the Continental Congress, and the war that followed, are essential, foundational events, “The Revolutionary Samuel Adams” takes readers us to the nation’s true, on-the-ground beginnings: the discovery by an underemployed Harvard graduate who’d tried his hand in varied fields, whose beer-making was not a success, that what his city was truly in need of was something we today call a ‘politician.’</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="45b5" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">“The Revolutionary Samuel Adams” makes a convincing case that Samuel Adams was in fact the essential figure in a generation-long movement that eventually led to nationhood and independence. Schiff notes that Adams’s contemporaries all believed this. Adams, perhaps by way of becoming the essential revolutionary, was also a hell of a tactician, rabble-rouser, political theory thinker and analyst, practical scholar, and excellent writer. Two other firsts, at least in the American vein, are laid to his account: he created the country’s first important local-issues newspaper, and served as its first political journalist.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0cfb" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">I will confess to finding, at first glance, the appearance of Schiff’s biography formidable. Its pages present nothing but a blunt series of long third-person passages. The book is almost dialogue free because 18th century records do not preserve spoken speech. How do you build a scene or depict a dramatic moment without verbal clashes? In fact, “The Revolutionary Samuel Adams” is built on perfectly chosen, exacting, ear-perfect snippets of quotation taken from written sources such Adams’s published newspaper essays, dismissive comments in the letters of Colonial or British officials, and the observations of Adams’s American contemporaries. Although not all his papers were preserved, Adams wrote a lot, at time filling columns in Boston’s five newspapers. If someone had proposed building a book this way, I would have said, ‘Nah, it will never fly.’ But this one not only flies, it soars.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ed58" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">After I put down “The Revolutionary Samuel Adams,” I wanted to pick it up and read it over again from the beginning, if only from the pleasure of the prose. Needless to say, the quality and variety of primary source research is staggering. Schiff shows us, step by step, local controversy by local controversy, months turning to years of small-ball maneuvering and careful weighing of positions. And then as controversy yields to crisis, and crisis builds to deeper crisis — as, that is, Britain sends in the taxmen, then sends in the troops — the practical philosopher Adams shepherds his hometown, then his colony — and then extends Boston’s reach to one or two, and finally to all the other colonies — to a clear, principled stand on the need for the protection of liberty achieved by self-government.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="3e9d" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Nothing in Adams’s early adulthood suggests he will play this role. A Harvard graduate, Samuel failed to find a successful career. In his early manhood he lost family money investing in the “Land Bank,” a fledging sort of credit union scheme to help create a desperately needed small business credit system for Boston’s small merchants and households. The city’s “merchant elite,” Schiff writes, considered the bank a threat to its own interests and got English officials to the scheme out of business, impoverishing many local families. As economic issues became political issues, setting large elements of the city against the wealthy, crown-oriented figures — especially the colony’s appointed governors Francis Bernard and Thomas Hutchinson — class enemies became political enemies, and ordinary colonists began to question the right of the British Empire, Parliament in particular, to make laws that violated their natural ‘rights’ as citizens.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="13b0" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Adams begins to play the role of breadbasket politician, the book tells us, after being elected tax collector — the kind of job you get when everybody else moves to the other side of the room. The aftermath of the shutting down of the Land Bank meant those who had invested stood to lose their property. Saving his own property acquainted Adams with tactics he will use in other causes. He appeals to the court of public opinion. He discovers legal technicalities to slow the case against him, finds obscure precedents, plays the delay game.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e0d4" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">It’s the kind of small-ball game he plays in the years ahead, turning ‘politics’ into a daily, full-time unpaid occupation to build support for the principles that he and collaborators such as James Otis believed in. A tactician playing the long game, the goal of “revolution,” or armed resistance, was not on the table until very late in the game. Instead, “The Revolutionary Sam Adams” shows us retail politician willing to address, tussle, engage, debate and oppose any step taken by Parliament, or by the English government’s appointees and Colonial allies, that he believes infringes on the goal of “the preservation of liberty.”</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="bc48" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">The conflict over what Boston ‘Americans’ regarded as their rights and what Parliament regarded as its authority intensified when Britain attempted to tax the colonists directly to help offset the cost of the empire’s Seven Years War, that ended in 1763 with the expulsion of France from North America. Parliament saw it as a war to protect the colonies; Americans saw it as an imperial war against a European rival that had gained the empire further territories.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="43bd" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Taxation measures such as the Stamp Act led to American resistance. A later tea tax provoked the famous (or infamous) Boston Tea Party. London responded by sending troops to impose its will on stubborn Colonials. Tensions led to Lexington and Concord, prompting the Continental Congress (which grew from Adams’s invention of “Committees of Correspondence”) to give Thomas Jefferson’s his moment in the sun.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="141e" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">But long before any of that happened, this book tells us how the road to independence and nationhood began in Boston.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e6d3" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">In a chapter titled “Nothing Could Have Given Greater Disgust” — Schiff is a connoisseur of the 18th century prose style’s characteristic combinations of ‘correctness’ and blunt content — the author begins: “Here comes Samuel Adams then, a graying widower, inexpensively and unremarkably dressed, familiar with nearly everyone who crosses his path. He is all loose ends and blighted promise. He has held off his father’s creditors, but his house is in disrepair. He has run his malt business into the ground. Charges of financial impropriety cling to him… He could be embarrassed by his brushes with bailiffs, but, cheery and congenial, has elected not to be. He has time to talk.”</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="06b3" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">And talk did. Also write… The author then notes, “His fortunes will not improve but events are about to meet him halfway… Adams’s improbably ascendancy begins now, in 1764. Soon he will preside over Boston…”</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="be65" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Samuel Adams was always controversial. He always had enemies. He was always busy, turning every issue into a lesson, every development to advantage.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="eb27" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">He was a man for the hour. And the hour lasted a dozen years. After which the united colonies declared independence.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7854" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Read this book if you wish to know how, historically speaking, thirteen English colonies became the United States.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8489" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><br /></p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8489" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><i>This book review essay first appeared on Medium.com</i></p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8489" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><i>To find it there go to</i> <a href="https://medium.com/@rcknox2/americas-revolution-samuel-adams-brought-more-than-the-beer-b063d9d3d759">Medium.com </a></p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8489" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span style="color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.06px;">https://medium.com/@rcknox2/americas-revolution-samuel-adams-brought-more-than-the-beer-b063d9d3d759</span></span></p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8489" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><br /></p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph uv uw ts ni b ux uy pz uz va vb qc vc vd ve vf vg vh vi vj vk vl vm vn vo vp jl bq" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8489" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><br /></p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-71252597451116800182023-04-13T08:40:00.002-07:002023-04-13T08:40:50.467-07:00Poems for an Up and Down Spring: Shakespeare's Comedy and Real-Life Tragedy <p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-dVyuKAqQkjGq_Alfo1y3pRrEM_K5rzH99jAjr0jJFyVShfUadidR_AjqpfP5cAgDp3yjcw8hZnE7Py7dJJrrNrS22zdnBNsx2WKEZipEMRdDo26KfAvslJbeKA7DZp9VRQ3W2Cm6pioZ9oYmmOZSha2YERmLgajji8nyg5YJYChe_FxZQ4zPCaDNVg/s4160/20230412_155528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-dVyuKAqQkjGq_Alfo1y3pRrEM_K5rzH99jAjr0jJFyVShfUadidR_AjqpfP5cAgDp3yjcw8hZnE7Py7dJJrrNrS22zdnBNsx2WKEZipEMRdDo26KfAvslJbeKA7DZp9VRQ3W2Cm6pioZ9oYmmOZSha2YERmLgajji8nyg5YJYChe_FxZQ4zPCaDNVg/w300-h400/20230412_155528.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />My two poems in April issue of Verse-Virtual consist of a comedy and a tragedy. “In the Country of Fools, the Half-Wit is <span style="color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit;" tabindex="-1"></a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">King” takes off from the Shakespeare quote. The second poem, “Time Stopped” recounts a recent, very different experience.</span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The issue's theme was based on a quote from Shakespeare's play <i>As You Like It</i>: "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">the wise man knows himself to be a fool." My poem goes back to that play and takes off from a dialogue between the 'fool' Touchstone (a fool in the Elizabethan sense is an 'entertainer' in a royal court who is allowed to speak truth to a king) and would-be suitor (a 'clown' or country bumpkin in the Elizabethan use of the term). </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here's the poem: </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>In the Country of Fools, the Half-Wit is King</b></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;" /></p><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
<i>"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man</i></span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i>knows himself </i></span><i style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">to be a fool." </i></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i>– As You Like It</i>, Act 5, Scene i
So which are you, fellow, wise man or fool?
I have a pleasant wit about me,
if it please you.
‘Tis so? Where-abouts?
Does it hang, top or bottom?
Can you toss it o’er your shoulder, </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">with a continental shudder?
… Or, oooh, somewhere about the middle?
Ay, I know not. Up top, mayhap.
May I see it?
See it?
Yes, if it be particularly astute,
I may wish to borrow of it.
I have much hankering for a witty stew.
Stew? My wits? Thou would’st have my wits </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">for a stew?
Nay, nay. They are in a stew already,
consternation set a’bubble.
Thou are he who has set his wit afire
and cries to heaven for relief.
I? <i>Afire</i>? Give me a glass!
Give me drink that I be put out!
Thou are well put out already.
A glass, say’st thou?
Thou would’st inspect thy parts,
find wisdom in eyelashes,
truth in a carbuncle?
I will have no more of such parts.
Why, with wit thou may smile up a storm.
‘Tis out, pray? The flamble?
Nay, ‘tis thou, knave, were out.
Therefore, clown, abandon!
Which is to say – in the vulgar – to leave
Take heed – take to thy heels,
if thou canst find them – in short, depart!
Aye, sir. Rest you merry.
But, fellow, come back betimes.
“’Tis meat and drink to me to see a clown.”
</span></pre><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second poem, the tragedy, is titled "Time Stopped." It recounts </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">a recent, very different experience. Here's the beginning of </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Time Stopped</b></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;" /></p><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
When I ask myself why, even in the bad moments,
I wish to continue living, sometimes I answer, </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> ‘music’…
Perfect, that day we traveled to Harvard’s sweet old </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> Sanders Theater,
old wood, heart of wood, to hear “the Complete </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Brandenburg Concertos"</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">with friends, decades-old friends, Gail confessing </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> beforehand
that the Brandenburgs were her ‘favorite music’
We climb the heavy stairs to the balcony </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> to look down upon
a rotating ensemble gifted with the power </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> to make things speak,
wholly given over to the task, as though </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> they loved it even more than we</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
Then, the elation continuing, we tramped </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> back down
amid a tribe of devotees mostly grayer than we,
as if the herd had been culled and we lovers </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> of the immortals</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">left behind
while younger bloods kicked up their heels </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">on the campus green.
Late winter afternoon, though mild, light still </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> in the sky,
the love of beauty shining everywhere,
our hearts light, we cross the Yard and </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> near the gate,
the Square’s busy world humming just beyond…
Gail, talking, everyone’s spirits still high, </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> suddenly ceasing
in mid-sentence, begins to fall, slumps </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> to the ground...</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">To read the rest of the poem, here's the link to </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://verse-virtual.org/2023/April/knox-robert-2023-april.html">Verse-Virtual </a><br /></span></pre><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>https://verse-virtual.org/2023/April/knox-robert-2023-april.html?fbclid=IwAR2e9mgzL1B-WOF2NRIfHwKVTOlFgzbckvwZPakSWIpguF_Um1AaKif5bog</p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-5841869225213475002023-02-13T13:20:00.000-08:002023-02-13T13:20:41.153-08:00We're Still Waiting for 'American Midnight' to Yield a Dawn <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnx5BtLhMZVPy26j3aZZeKvBYoKPAdchOZiyGXyrI-rTl03o_D0JF46p9XxhQlh9T7MC8qkLbu-cTHMLX1eBklsYBwDfWGuf7cW9cajFT_YM9lXB-VZtjBSFrXjACF2ZIlipuZqZY2CBY1y4DoxDRpuOf5Lj_gLzZaLMdKGGlbCgeeFHtUUMykuIu7ig/s2048/23american%20midnight.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1552" data-original-width="2048" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnx5BtLhMZVPy26j3aZZeKvBYoKPAdchOZiyGXyrI-rTl03o_D0JF46p9XxhQlh9T7MC8qkLbu-cTHMLX1eBklsYBwDfWGuf7cW9cajFT_YM9lXB-VZtjBSFrXjACF2ZIlipuZqZY2CBY1y4DoxDRpuOf5Lj_gLzZaLMdKGGlbCgeeFHtUUMykuIu7ig/w640-h486/23american%20midnight.webp" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;">In considering the title of Adam Hochschild’s recently published book, “American Midnight: The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis,” it’s those last two words that sting: “forgotten crisis.”</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em;">The events described, often in vivid detail, and well analyzed in this book by an author who has written other well-regarded volumes on historical subjects (“King Leopold’s Ghost” and “To End All Wars” among them), took place a century ago. Many of them transpired in a period historians call “The Red Scare,” though Hochschild’s book goes back usefully a few years earlier,” focusing on the years of 1917–1921, to discuss the systematic repression of radical labor movements such as the International Workers of the World and the country’s long-forgotten Socialist Party.</span></p><div class="dj dk dl dm dn l" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; margin-bottom: 68px;"><div class="ab cl" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="do bf dp dq dr ds" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 24px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><article style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="l" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="l" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><section style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="gp gq gr gs gt" style="box-sizing: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b17d" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">The International Workers of the World (known as the IWW and also as “the Wobblies”) sought to revolutionize labor organizing by collecting all workers into one big union, rather than organizing along trade lines, a practice resulting in small unions that were hopeless underdogs in contests with well-funded, politically connected “trusts” well on their way to becoming monopolies. The American Socialist Party was a vital political party more than a century ago that contested elections in many states, electing enough Congressmen from states such as Wisconsin to pose a viable threat to the two dominant parties that still govern us today. Those parties, increasingly dependent on wealthy donors, took advantage of World War I’s wartime repression to eliminate competition by a party that challenged the right of wealth to rule.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e161" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">I’ll get back to my own take on “The Red Scare,” the origins of which I believe are slighted by this book, but first let’s take a look at its many virtues and the appalling tale it has to tell of a Constitutional democracy losing its way.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="62e7" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Things were not great for ordinary Americans over a century ago even in the relatively prosperous years between recurrent economic downturns called “panics,” or depressions. The nation’s wealth was concentrated in the hands of a few, its politics dominated by the wealthy and big business, and the impoverished could expect little or no help from the state. And the times, Hochschild tells us, especially for dissenters, immigrants and Blacks, were about to take a decidedly extreme turn for the worse.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0df2" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">The book opens with a detailed account of an attack on union organizers beaten, tarred and feathered for doing nothing but sitting around in a union hall in a town — Tulsa, Oklahoma — whose ruling powers wanted to make sure that neither they, nor anyone who shared their opinions, would ever go there again. In another infamous, widely cited instance, mine workers striking in Colorado were mowed down by National Guardsmen, the dead including women and children.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8fcd" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Until the fever broke (more about that later), the repression of dissent by government and big money, hand in glove, and using any available means — groundless arrests, abridgment of First Amendment rights, targeted violence, and simple murder — went so far beyond the ugliest excesses of the “McCarthy Period” that the dominant lesson of “American Midnight” may simply be how much ‘history’ of the ugly sort can simply be forgotten. Especially the sort of history that runs counter to the preferred myth of a vital, growing democracy rising to meet every challenge history and bad actors elsewhere can produce.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="179f" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">In the years preceding America’s 1917 entry into World War I, this book tells us, critics of the status quo, whether acting singly or as part of an organized body that opposed the status quo consolidation of wealth among the few (and the impoverishment of the many) could expect to be targeted by the forces of money and political power, whether the attack came by the suppression of the freedoms of speech, assembly and press, or through the use of brutal physical force.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a8ca" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">President Woodrow Wilson’s decision to join the “allies” and declare war on Germany simply intensified the repression by giving police, courts and vigilantes a new toolbox of repressive laws, and offering ‘patriotic; bigots a new target: Americans of German extraction. Persecution and hatred of Blacks and immigrants, already part of the landscape, was given a new rationalization as well.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b1bd" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Reviews of “American Midnight” have foregrounded the notion that while many see contemporary events such as the rising support for the authoritarian and racist rule modeled by the Trump as an existential threat to democracy, the American political system has faced even worse threats in the past. Further, should we need greater motivation to protect democracy than that provided by current outrages, we should be reminded how truly terrible American right-wing movements can become given their inclination to suppress first amendment freedoms and democratic norms when abetted by crises such as engaging in the first big 20th century war — or, perhaps, a more recent example, the nine-eleven attacks.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f911" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">It <em class="jg" style="box-sizing: inherit;">has happened</em> <em class="jg" style="box-sizing: inherit;">here,</em> the commentators point out. The nation’s recovery from the worst or most blatant of those anti-democratic outrages can also be viewed, optimistic readings of the book’s title suggest, as an indication of democratic America’s resilience.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7ae3" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">We can judge for ourselves how valid those perspectives are, but let’s first take note of a few this book’s well told and widely researched presentation of the many instances of how unthinkably bad things can get. Let us count the ways.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7b45" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">We can find instances on almost any page. In 1917, the nation’s “domestic military intelligence chief” — think about that title — a thing of darkness named Ralph Van Deman considered “any threat of Black advancement” a danger to America, so Hochschild tells us. Van Deman advised his minions that “it has become evident” that German agents “were circulating among the Negro people.” In reality, of course, no such circulation was taking place. But a racist fear can fuel intensified persecution. To Van Deman “and the millions who thought like him,” Hochschild writes, “Blacks defending their rights in any way were the cause for immediate suspicion.” And given wartime paranoia and wartime laws weakening everyone’s civil rights, the persecutors were given authority to surveil and threaten Black leaders and organizations. Threats have consequences. After warning “The Chicago Defender,” a Black newspaper that its reports of lynchings and acts of voters suppression throughout the country were creating “disloyalty,” the newspaper changed its tune, and its coverage, to praising Black soldiers and urging readers to buy Liberty Bonds.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e4ba" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Reporting to bigwigs in the “Justice Department” — an especially Orwellian contradiction in terms in this period — the domestic military intelligence chief sent spies to investigate the minister of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, a strong advocate for Black suffrage. The pastor’s grandson, Dr. Martin Luther King, would later get the same treatment from Hoover’s FBI.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2d1a" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Hochschild’s “American Midnight” era, unsurprisingly perhaps, gifted the country with J. Edgar Hoover and what would become the FBI, an agency explicitly created to investigate left-wing organizations or any groups supporting causes we now call “progressive.” And after Wilson, who had been re-elected on the slogan ‘he kept us out of war,’ decided to lead his country into The Great War in April of 1917, the wealthy and the well-connected used the excuse of wartime emergency powers<span class="ik gx" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;"> </span>to deal with old enemies. As IWW membership surged in the summer of 1917 — with strikes by sawmill workers, construction laborers, factory works, railway track crews, fruit pickers, silk weavers, and teamsters — federal officers of various agencies, city police agencies and vigilantes masking as ‘patriots’ combined to raid the union’s 48 offices nationwide, make arrests, and execute equally Orwellian seizures of personal documents such as love letters (the author tells us) and the works of Shakespeare.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="eb9a" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">You could not be too careful.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="197f" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">After crippling a nationwide union movement — its leaders jailed, the IWW lost most of its members during the war and never recovered — the federal, state and privately empowered agents of repression turned to the Socialist Party, led by Eugene V. Debs, whose presidential campaigns had received considerable voter support. Hochschild describes Debs as “saintly, gentle, and charismatic. Debs was a faithful Christian, and the fervor he inspired” in followers was “almost religious.”</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="76a0" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">The Socialist Party, Hochschild writes, “was a national political force” before the war. Debs ran ahead of the Republican candidate in several states in the presidential election of 1912. Socialists elected governors in Milwaukee and other cities, also winning seats in state legislatures and city councils. In 1917 Socialist candidates were still on the upswing, winning 20 percent of the vote in large cities, 30 percent in several. Somehow these facts never merit inclusion in public school texts, casualties of the Red Scare and the later McCarthy Period repression that demonized political dissent in this country with lasting consequences.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="193f" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Hochschild explicitly lays the crushing of the Socialists at the feet of Wilson’s war. Fearing “a loss of power” after having declared war on Germany, the author writes, Wilson “was determined to crush the Socialists.” The party’s most popular speaker, Kate Richards O’Hare was tried under a new wartime law, The Espionage Act, for criticizing American entrance into the war, and jailed. The same law was used to attack officials and candidates throughout the country. Cops and court somehow interpreted the law to mean that criticizing the government (or corporations) was the same thing as working for a wartime enemy.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f436" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Perhaps as shocking to believers in Constitutional governance, once war was declared, the government used the post office to censor all Socialist party publications. And not only Socialist correspondence, the book makes clear, but any publication from whatever source that appeared less enthusiastic about the war effort than desired. In an era when printed materials sent through the mails were the only form of mass media, the government simply cancelled freedom of the press. Socialist, radical, or even independent publications, including newspapers that depended economically on distribution to readers throughout the country, were simply put out of business.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ba08" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Immigrants were yet another population victimized by wartime repression. Immigration in the years leading up to 1917 had increasingly become a target for the wealthy class as racist and reactionary voices in ‘the nation of immigrants’ contended that people from Southern and Eastern Europe, the bulk of newcomers in recent decades, were “inferior” to the older ‘American stock’ of those descended from Western and Northern Europe. The word “Semitic,” the book notes, began at this time to be used as a pejorative.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2d72" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">And after the October Revolution installed a Communist government in Russia, a new slander, “Russian Jews,” was invented by those who sought both to condemn critics of the war and capitalism and to create new, permanent restrictions on immigration. Those restrictive laws would be passed by Congress in the 1920s.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9f04" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">One such prominent Russian immigrant was Emma Goldman, perhaps the most popular touring lecturer in the nation’s history. A touchstone figure for “American Midnight,” whose harassment, arrest, imprisonment, and eventual deportation is closely described in its pages, Goldman is an appealingly tragic figure in part because of her repeatedly expressed “love” for America. Her deportation is a fitting symbol of an ugly, repressive, and sadistic side of the country’s face.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="3c3d" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">The Trump presidency may have shown us that face as well. If so, despite the failure of his supporters’ putsch to overturn Biden’s election, our national portrait remains still far from American Beauty.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c511" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Back in the “American Midnight” years, however, restricting future immigration did not go far enough. Plans to deport immigrants by the many thousands, particularly those who had not yet become citizens, were widely discussed in reactionary circles. And while widespread deportation was one of the few repressive schemes that did not come to fruition, prominent antiwar critics such as Goldman and Italian anarchist leader Luigi Galleani (a name not included here; but more on him later) were targeted and sent back to Europe.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b76e" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">As an expression of just how far the malefactors of great wealth, abetted by the fearful and the bigoted, are willing to go to protect privilege, Hochschild’s book does contemporary American society a valuable service. Yet as referenced earlier, the idea of ‘midnight’ implies the timely approach of a new dawn. So how, according to this book, did the fever of American greed, repression and simple power-hungry evil break?</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="4e8c" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Enter two prominent period players, one of whom — that monster of twisted rectitude, J. Edgar Hoover — was still a nasty spook in the postwar boomer days of the Sixties. The other is a newly appointed attorney general in the Wilson administration named A. Mitchell Palmer.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="86ec" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Hochschild’s account of the chiming of midnight’s warning bells is usefully exact. On June 2, 1919, with the war over and Wilson in Europe pursuing his dream of a League of Nations, bombs sent through the mail exploded in eight cities. Other bombs addressed to the homes of judges, political figures and first-rank capitalist kingpins such as John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan were intercepted by a preternaturally alert New York City postmaster, who caught on to the look of the explosive’s packaging. The bombs were intended as a counter-attack by “class war” radicals who argued in a statement — titled “Plain Words” and included in the packages — that the government had for years been making war on them.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="fe2b" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Oddly, Hochschild does not include any discussion of the basis of the bombers’ claims: acts such as closing down the anarchists’ Italian-language publications, raiding their offices, arresting and jailing members, and deporting one well-known revolutionary leader in particular, Luigi Galleani, back to Italy where prison awaited him.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="76c9" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Such acts of repression, as this book has plentifully illustrated, had been accelerated by the broad overuse of wartime powers such as The Espionage Act. The targets included “Communists” (especially after the Russian Revolution) and socialist and anarchists who opposed the war and particularly the draft on the grounds that American ‘workers’ were being sent to kill the workers of the other countries. Despite their popular caricature as bomb throwers, relatively few anarchists in America chose the path of overt violence. They were more likely to join strikers’ picket lines and battle strike-breakers and hired cops there. But after America went to war in Europe and attacked dissenters at home, anarchists found themselves targeted for official repression. In the words of the “Plain Words” bomb-mailers: “You jailed us, you clubbed us, you deported us, you murdered us…” These were among the charges detailed on what Hochschild terms “the strange pink leaflet.”</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f970" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Perhaps not that strange, actually. What’s harder to explain, at least for me, is why “American Midnight,” so detailed in other respects, does not follow the work of other historians who have to their own satisfaction at the least settled the question of who the bombers were and why they behaved as they did. The bombers, according to historians of the American anarchist movement, were Italian-speaking anarchists, many of them based in New England, who followed the teachings of Galleani, their intellectually gifted and hardline “maestro,” who uncompromisingly argued for the abolition of all institutional sources of authority and power, all class distinctions, all privileges of birth, breeding and wealth. Only then, anarchist theorists such as Galleani believed, would men and women, in the US as in the rest of the world, create a just way to live together.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9363" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">“American Midnight” describes what the June 1919 bombs, those few that reached their target, accomplished in public uproar, press coverage, and increased attacks on immigrants, especially those from Russia, among whom federal police were determined to find Communist plotters. But while reporting the effects, the book almost entirely ignores their cause.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e81e" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">While there was no significant “Communist” movement in America — the word itself coming into use here only after the successful Leninist revolution of October 1917 — anarchism was a common variety in the radical left-wing garden. Adherents included Nicola Sacco, an Italian immigrant who settled in eastern Massachusetts and made a good living as a skilled shoemaker and frequently supported picket lines in regional strikes. Another was Bartolomeo Vanzetti, who abandoned his father’s prosperous farm in the Piedmont region of Italy in 1908 (following the death of his mother) to pursue the dream of a more just society in “the land of the free.”</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9ea4" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Galleani himself, after escaping from Italian authorities to America, was on the front lines of a strike by silk workers in Paterson N.J., when he lost an eye to a cop’s bullet. Recovering, he and a group of followers set up camp in central Massachusetts, and then Vermont, while broadening his influence on Italian-speaking anarchists in America through his regular publication <em class="jg" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Cronaca Sovversiva</em> (“Subversive Chronicles”). That was one of the many publications banned by the US postmaster once war was declared. The group’s office was raided, its printing press destroyed; some members arrested and held for deportations. Others escaped arrest and went, as we say today, underground.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ee4e" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">As mentioned above, historians of the anarchist movement such as Paul Avrich (author of <em class="jg" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background</em>) clearly identify the bombing campaign of early 1919 as the work of Galleani’s followers in direct consequence of their leader’s deportation and government repression of their movement. Avrich supplies names and dates and reasons. “On Feb. 22, 1918,” he writes, “a team of Bureau of Investigation agents, federal marshals, and local police raided the <em class="jg" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Cronaca Sovversiva</em> office” in Lynn, Massachusetts. Avrich details the “Plain Speaking” response as well: “As for the number of conspirators, as many as fifty or sixty may have been involved… Some made bombs; some planted them.” His book names the principals involved in the bombing campaign and comments, “To men of this stamp the use of violence was no crime; it was a justifiable response to persecution… How else were they to retaliate against their tormentors?”</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="24b4" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">He quotes Vanzetti, who with his comrade Sacco would soon be at the center of an international affair — arguably the true “Trial of the 20th Century,” that would not culminate until the final tragedy in 1927 — and who before the bombings proclaimed, “I would give my blood to prevent the shedding of blood, but neither the abyss nor the earth, nor the heavens, have a law which condemns the self-defense.”</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="61b4" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">The exclusion of this “anarchist background” for the June 1919 bombings in “Midnight” is puzzling, especially in view of Hochschild’s close examination of their consequences. The bombings were a huge nationwide ‘story,’ and their consequences severe. The mailed June 2 letter bombings that were not intercepted caused explosions in eight cities, and though none of them physically harmed their intended targets, the perceived threat of a ‘vast’ domestic conspiracy was naturally alarming. And one of those bombs had an outsize national consequence –a bomb that was not mailed, but hand-carried to the doorstep of the house of the recently appointed attorney general, A. Mitchell Palmer.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f43e" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">While Hoover’s new investigative bureau never had any success in uncovering the identity of the bomber, or the organization behind them, anarchist historians such as Avrich offer particulars such as the identify of the Galleani disciple who planted the bomb, one Carlo Valdinoci — and blew himself up in the act — at the doorstep of Palmer’s high-end DC dwelling. Though seriously shaken up, Palmer and his family were upstairs at the time and far enough away from the blast to escape harm.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="875a" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">The response to this attack on the cabinet officer in charge of the government’s efforts to suppress any and all opposition to the nation’s economic and social status quo to one of the most overreaching and lawless epochs of the “American Midnight” and into the crisis that, arguably, moved the dial from “midnight” to early morning. While the bombing of Palmer’s house dominated the news and led to a manhunt for the bombers, neither Hoover’s new anti-radical agency (soon to become the FBI) or any other investigators could discover who was responsible for the bombings.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="41d5" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">According to Avrich, the conspirators (“ultramilitants, who boldly courted opportunity and danger”) wholly escaped government investigators, even as other immigrants fell victim to the wide, and flagrantly lawless “dragnets” that scooped up large populations of immigrant neighborhoods in American cities and detained them with a view toward deportation. In part, according to Avrich, because Galleani’s followers, anarchists to their fingertips, devolved and spread through the country.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2995" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">While government investigators failed to discover who had attacked Palmer’s house and committed other bombings — a headlines-grabbing, national-threat story that maintained attention on a par with the nine-eleven terrorist attacks of our day — their response amounted to a massive assault on the civil and legal rights of Americans, particularly immigrants. Known to history as the Palmer raids — though, Hochschild writes, they “really should be called the Hoover Raids” — these were originally seen as attacks on groups on potential dissidents such as The Union of Russian Workers. Their intent was to round up candidates for deportation — on the theory that all Russian immigrants, however lengthy their separation from the motherland, should now be regarded as likely Communists. The raids targeted a dozen cities in their first wave, then spread out, essentially rounding up inhabitants of immigrant neighborhoods across the land. Hundreds were arrested, almost all without warrants.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="6d53" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">In the initial raids in New York City a building was destroyed and heads banged, while city newspapers cheered, the ‘free press’ of this era often proving no guardian of First Amendment rights or Constitutional protections such as the presumption of innocence. Similar raids in other cities followed. In Detroit, Hochschild tells us, agents questioned some 1,500 people watching “a Russian-language play.” But the net of persecution, the author writes, spread well beyond that number: “Raiders briefly retained, questioned, and sometimes roughed up a far larger number, and then let them go.” Just another circle in “American Midnight” hell.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9f41" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Hoover, the author writes, aware that many caught in various round-ups were not Russians, much less committed Communists, but pressed his agents to get confessions from the victims of repression that they were members of an ‘anti-American’ organization “and believe in its anarchistic tendencies.” Given such a confession, a victim would be a candidate for deportation. The fig leaf for these unconstitutional detentions, the book tells us, is that Hoover maintained his agents, augmented by mobs of vigilantes, “were closing in” on the bombers, although in fact — to the government’s increasing embarrassment — they were not.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="534d" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">While the raids led to arrests, pre-trial detentions, and some deportations — until halted by the intervention of Louis F. Post, one of the era’s few heroes — they got no closer to discovering those behind the bombings. An undersecretary of labor, required by law to sign each deportation order, Post refused to sign any order that lacked any evidentiary basis. He followed the law at a time when powerful figures desired to bend it to their needs.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="204e" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Palmer and Hoover, however, continued to find targets for repression, now motivated by Palmer’s rising political ambitions. With Wilson ailing, he saw the suppression of a hypothetical “revolution” as his path to the White House.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="04c1" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">“These final months of 1919 seemed like the darkest period of repression that the nation had seen,” Hochschild writes, the “Palmer raids” coming on the heels of a period when conscientious objectors to serving in the country’s wartime military were summarily jailed and dissenters seeking to hold meetings to oppose American participation in the war were convicted of violating the wide-ranging wartime “Espionage Act.” The law basically allowed government to jail someone for saying or writing anything government didn’t approve of on the grounds that it hindered the war effort.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2672" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">The Espionage Act had been upheld by the Supreme Court, which speaks to how poorly the acclaimed Constitutional theory of separation of powers — the idea that if the President or Congress grew power-mad, the courts would step in — worked during the war.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="4adc" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">As the year 1920 began, government raiders abetted by civilian bullies continued to look for subversion behind every door. The “Red Scare,” Hochschild states, “showed no signs of abating.” In Massachusetts cops and cronies raided 39 Jewish bakers gathering to talk about a co-op, and crammed them into inadequate facilities. In sum, the author states quoting another observer: after the institution of slavery, “the Palmer raids could be seen as the greatest single violation of civil liberties in Americans.”</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8894" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">So how did the “Red Scare” fever break? <em class="jg" style="box-sizing: inherit;">American Midnight</em> tells us that to divert attention from the government’s failure to find and arrest those responsible for the bombings of 1919, Palmer, Hoover, their allies and tame journalists began spreading the story that “Communists” were planning collaborative outbreaks of revolutionary violence in order to overthrow the government, beginning with mass revolts on “May Day” — May First, the traditional labor holiday, of 1920. And then, apparently, the red-hunters began to believe their own stories.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="32f8" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">The federal government, backed by big business, and acting in concert with yahoo vigilante groups, state and city authorities, organized in their thousands and breaking whatever laws suited them, prepared to shut down with exemplary violence — all First Amendment guarantees and legal traditions such as the presumption of innocence in abeyance — prepared to shut down the ‘Communist uprising’ predicted for May 1.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="870e" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">With Yahoo nation on tenterhooks, and reactionary forces on the lookout in all major cities, what happened when the sun rose?</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f4f9" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Absolutely nothing.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="535e" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Exploited, and embarrassed, newspapers and public officials who had bought the story began slowly to move away from the pervasive narrative of an imminent threat of a violent Communist revolution, a la Lenin’s Russia, to more mundane stories. The baseless deportations were halted, largely by Post — whose signature was required by law (a law upheld by a court with integrity) on every deportation order. As if shaking off a baseless paranoia fed by prejudice and official lies, other courts began to uphold Post’s ideas of traditional legal standards such as “presumption of innocence.”</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b7ac" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">What puzzles and also intrigues me is why Hochschild mars the completeness of his account of “the Red Scare” — and its consequences well beyond 1920 — by omitting the role of persecuted anarchists whose decision to fight back against government repression ultimately exposed the lies intended to justify its attacks on critics of a capitalist society in which “democratic,” “constitutional” government became a tool of the malefactors of great wealth determined to preserve their power and privileges against perceived enemies such as labor unions and Socialists.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e8a3" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">American anarchists are part of the story of the period the author calls the “American Midnight.” When Hoover and Palmer responded to the June 1919 bombings by arresting immigrants and socialists, the law they used to press for the deportation of immigrants and social critics was called the “Anarchist Exclusion Act,” enacted in 1918.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="74a3" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">In choosing to ignore the anarchist connection to the bombings that led to the Palmer Raids, it appears to me that “American Midnight” misses one of the major impacts of the “Midnight” period — the ongoing racially-based attacks on immigrants from certain parts of the world. And especially those critical of the nation’s social and economic status quo.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b374" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">In the aftermath of World War I, a postwar economic recession resulted in high unemployment among soldiers returning from Europe and an apparent increase in violent crime. These conditions combined with the ongoing hostility of upper-class eugenicists toward immigrants — particularly those from southern and eastern Europe who, their enemies claimed, did not look, act or speak like ‘real Americans,’ meaning people whose ancestors came from northern and westerns Europe. These factors came together in the spring of 1920 — the same spring that saw the exposure of the hoaxed-up May Day ‘revolution’ — when a flagrant daytime payroll robbery, accompanied by two killings, took place at a factory in a town outside of Boston. Under pressure to solve a high-profile crime and take public attention off widespread economic distress, Massachusetts state police, relying on vulnerable, coached witnesses and tampered evidence, found two suitable targets to fit the frame. These were the Italian anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5016" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">In the company of two other anarchist comrades, the two men had been seeking to retrieve a car belonging to still another anarchist from the garage of a mechanic who had been repairing it. The car was not the vehicle used in the payroll robbery and murders. The garage was located in Bridgewater, Mass., nowhere near the scene of the crime. But the glue to make the frame stick was that all four of these men were Italian anarchists.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ceff" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Many readers of “American Midnight” may know the rest of this story, but others will not. The two committed anarchists police fitted up for the crime were found a guilty by “a jury of their peers” — a jury without immigrants. The judge was openly hostile to the defendants because of their anarchist beliefs. The jury’s foreman publicly stated that he didn’t care whether the defendants were guilty or not, saying, “You should just hang them all.”</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b3a4" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">The two followers of “maestro” Galleani were guilty of nothing more than trying to retrieve an automobile that they appeared to wish to use to round up anarchist newspapers and other propaganda literature from their comrades, and hide it somewhere, to protect them the political persecutions they had every reason to suspect would continue. Lacking any actual evidence, police strong-armed vulnerable factory workers to identify the two men as members of the gang that had stolen their payroll and killed a paymaster and his guard. The state faked evidence, twisted arms and charged men who had fallen into their hands through chance circumstances that had nothing to do with the payroll robber to try Sacco and Vanzetti for the absolute last crime true-believer anarchists were likely to commit: robbing <em class="jg" style="box-sizing: inherit;">workers</em> of their pay.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="4e1d" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Planting a bomb on the attorney general’s doorstep — at least for believers in “the propaganda of the deed” — is much more in the anarchist line.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="66f6" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">But an American legal system was determined to make the two men in the courthouse who represented all that so many other Americans hated (or were taught to hate) — they came from the wrong country, spoke English poorly, and believed in a radical philosophy that posed a threat to the wealth and power of the country’s ruling class — pay for everything respectable, Yankee-bred New Englanders were nervous about.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="db76" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">This is the story, it appears to me, that Hochschild simply did not wish to tell. Perhaps because although it begins well within his book’s 1917–21 parameters, it continues all the way until its sad ending in 1927 when the two men were executed in Boston despite worldwide protests over the flagrant injustice of executing the poor and foreign for threatening the peace of mind of the rich and powerful. It leads students of history to a time when the new racially motivated immigrant “quotas” Congress passed in the Klan-ridden 1920s were a poison pill whose symptoms are still with us.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="42d3" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">And possibly because the Sacco-Vanzetti case is clear evidence that even after the inflated, Hoover-inspired fiction of a major “Communist” uprising on Mayday 1920 fizzled — leaving all the doom-predicting “experts” with conspiratorial egg on their faces — many of the kinds of abuses “American Midnight” so fully documents have plainly continued. While government’s baseless attempt to deport immigrants on the grounds that they might be thinking bad thoughts about the capitalist status quo, many of the country’s deeply rooted racist, repressive, anti-immigrant and anti-democratic tendencies continue to influence our politics a full century after the chimes of Midnight sounded and have persisted into the present moment. We have the Trump regime to thank for their conspicuous revelation.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="eaa5" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">In fact, for this reader, that’s the book’s lasting message, the value of studying and recalling even the bleakest elements of our national history.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="1103" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">When it comes to trends such as the accumulation of wealth in the hands of the few, racial injustice, official malfeasance in pursuit of pollical gain, and the reluctance to embrace the truth of our society’s imperfections as exposed in the telling catchphrase “white fragility,” it’s still midnight in these parts. When we consider gerrymandered legislatures, reactionary high-court injustice, the protection of the gun industry at the expense of innocent victims, and the enduring insistence that the beliefs of a few should overrule a woman’s right to control her own body… well, I suspect I am not alone in finding that the American political and economic status quo remains a nightmare from which we are trying to awake.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="1d98" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">And while circumstances are less grim for those of us fortunate to have been born in the now-shrinking middle class, the chimes of that “American Midnight” still ring in the ear and the dawn of a truly just society is yet to break.</p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph ii ij gw ik b il im in io ip iq ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf gp bi" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="1771" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: source-serif-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><em class="jg" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Robert Knox is the author of “Suosso’s Lane,” a novel about the Plymouth, Mass. origins of the Sacco and Vanzetti case.</em></p></div></div></section></div></div></article></div></div></div><div class="l" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;"></div><footer class="jh ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp ab q jq jr c" style="align-items: center; background-color: white; border-top: none; box-sizing: content-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; 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box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center;"><div class="do bf dp dq dr ds" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 24px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"></div></div><div class="l" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;"><div class="l bv js" style="background-color: #fafafa; box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="l js" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="lb lc l bv" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-top: 32px;"><div class="ab cl" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="do bf dp dq dr ds" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 24px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><div class="ab q em" style="align-items: center; box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: space-between;"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-20872460206110610822023-02-13T11:58:00.001-08:002023-02-13T11:58:45.387-08:00<p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ1-gl-9lZOIcMnnYhv7Up9STFFV3w7KQ6TXXG2QBLPWUx3Cd3xoILzLSYCQyr5UrMuYoik_c8EKnsg-dLqaDwzYCDXfnSKUH7ZOvuyMDaDmxDf2kK_xwb08Hp7Vqx0gK89xu780YE_ZdlJLyjymbkuYO91ejEVZ_o6RHYBkG1MyNBaZYJY9mytNCgCw/s4160/20230101_135657.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ1-gl-9lZOIcMnnYhv7Up9STFFV3w7KQ6TXXG2QBLPWUx3Cd3xoILzLSYCQyr5UrMuYoik_c8EKnsg-dLqaDwzYCDXfnSKUH7ZOvuyMDaDmxDf2kK_xwb08Hp7Vqx0gK89xu780YE_ZdlJLyjymbkuYO91ejEVZ_o6RHYBkG1MyNBaZYJY9mytNCgCw/w640-h480/20230101_135657.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anne and I took part in the old tradition of taking a good long walk on New Year's Day. This year we went to the nearest sandy beach that offered a wide expanse for walking, Nantasket Beach in Hull, Mass. That shoreline walk provided the impetus </span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">for my poem "The Ocean's Voice," the first poem appearing in my contribution to the February issue of "Verse-Virtual."</span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The two following poems "Storm Coming" and "I'm in Tears" also have a seasonal setting, though "Tears" is a personal testimony to the power of music. </span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here's </span><b style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">The Ocean's Voice</b></p><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">
Not simply words, even the sculpted words of
scrappy screenwriters,
but more like Zen meditations of surf upon the shore
Child that once was, old man who now relives as ritual
what once was adventure
Ears, thoughts, cells cleansed by reports of a timeless pulse
Heart lifted, feet moving in the wet wintry splay
of a long gray apron,
a stage set grandly enough for continental drift
Days drift with the seasons
Now I wrap flesh in layers of borrowed warmth,
thick as the furs of ancient animals,
and breathe clean ocean air,
the pure product of so much watery soul
and maritime mortality
Tiny creatures ourselves,
earnest as a self-sheltered mollusc,
crawling crablike
to put our toes in the water, if only metaphorically
And withdraw, quite promptly, with an oceanic sigh
Ocean! you were always my mother
And Time, a little stroll on the beach
</span></pre><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can read my other two poems, and the work by any of the 65 other poets appearing in the February issue here <a href="https://verse-virtual.org/2023/February/knox-robert-2023-february.html">Verse-Virtual </a></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-89333387153242059082023-01-16T13:50:00.000-08:002023-01-16T13:50:43.500-08:00Welcoming Winter: Poems and a Pic for January<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-3jlpdbYkUCrYPW0vQDOdS8j4qmnOgRd3mJsdQGN3rSXRUhanHmXVjJwAx2xHijxOxpbJHmq_V0vTUUsmLrdIpZ2qAygHF00A4y63VixeafNbkaej_rGSGuoklvy2vLfynyVIvi92cgbajUoeRkAcCqqBAnmOPT3XfozdotF6JudE-pkbMIX4nY0ElQ/s4160/20230116_124725.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-3jlpdbYkUCrYPW0vQDOdS8j4qmnOgRd3mJsdQGN3rSXRUhanHmXVjJwAx2xHijxOxpbJHmq_V0vTUUsmLrdIpZ2qAygHF00A4y63VixeafNbkaej_rGSGuoklvy2vLfynyVIvi92cgbajUoeRkAcCqqBAnmOPT3XfozdotF6JudE-pkbMIX4nY0ElQ/w640-h480/20230116_124725.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">I have three poems in the January issue of <i>Verse-Virtual</i>., the online poetry journal for which I am a very regular contributor: three every month. </span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">This month's contributions include o</span></span><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">ne on the seasons, "Welcome to Winter." One on a harrowing encounter: "The Blind Guy." And One on the need human beings have for one another, titled "Shepherd Me." </span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Here's </span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"><b>Welcome to Winter</b></span><br style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px; white-space: normal;" /></span></span></p><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
Cover your body with white fat
Grow hair on your neck, the backs of your hands,
ankles, spleen
Smother your skin with the oil of musk,
so effective for reducing unnecessary contact
with others of your own failing species
Cultivate aging machines
They laugh in the face of long-range forecasts
They spit in the wind of progress
They resist as a point of pride
And turn your old car into a dogsled
drawn by the neighborhood delinquents
who refuse to attend those academies of unpleasant demands
offering the acres of the despondency the elders call ‘facts’
Welcome, deep season!
Scrub your windy teeth on the tall and prickly points
of Father Pine, the always acerbic Arborvitae,
and expel your mouth rinse on the gleaming ice follies of </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> yesterday’s lacy network of river and streams
converted now into an arterial network of
just plain freaking cold
Let the ice steam for all comers!
You steam, we all scream
I swallow my fear in huge gulps of repentance
for all that summer love
Embrace me, icicle mother, and all your greenie beaming children
waving frozen wings of beautiful death</span></pre><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">To read my other poems, and those of 62 other poems contributing this month, see </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #050505; font-family: Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://verse-virtual.org/poems-and-articles.html">Verse-Virtual </a><br /></span></span></p><p><span data-offset-key="85can-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span class="x1fey0fg" style="background-color: white; color: var(--blue-link); font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="85can-1-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span class="x1fey0fg" style="background-color: white; color: var(--blue-link); font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="85can-1-0" style="font-family: inherit;">https://verse-virtual.org/2023/January/knox-robert-2023-january.html</span></span></p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-75323972802762886392022-12-03T09:49:00.000-08:002022-12-03T09:49:49.835-08:00The Garden of the Seasons: Monthly Reminders<p> Every year, at year's end we make a calendar for the coming year consisting of photos taken in every month of the preceding year. Here are this year's exemplars. [Quotes come from recent poems.]</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82Kn-KY2svQBQBWaq-hljXQKzMpl62EyTIFXEz04PKRBCbNdq8xdPQgk8CLRpi85z2gyd9JxRQLeuIUklF_9Ag_xDbqpmymYxPxZua7QhmMBCg95uIG_kF1uQ2wwd1VlavuTtuG-ePVWyG-5t9pK486AFm4YRjlYS55HVrS2WINwegIhH3OUDmmoNXg/s4065/1%20jan2%20IMG_9656%20(3).JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3283" data-original-width="4065" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82Kn-KY2svQBQBWaq-hljXQKzMpl62EyTIFXEz04PKRBCbNdq8xdPQgk8CLRpi85z2gyd9JxRQLeuIUklF_9Ag_xDbqpmymYxPxZua7QhmMBCg95uIG_kF1uQ2wwd1VlavuTtuG-ePVWyG-5t9pK486AFm4YRjlYS55HVrS2WINwegIhH3OUDmmoNXg/s320/1%20jan2%20IMG_9656%20(3).JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><b>January</b> </div><div><br /></div><div>They're flighty</div><div>they keep flying away from imaginary dangers</div><div>Who knew the world was so pitted </div><div>by emergency in the watches</div><div>of the wintry morning</div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b>from The Birds of Winter</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1TTj_ljr4xp2hk9bexDeSRCADKONj6FP2riWYS_Xd8P_cesK1GLLvxdo_TJ32SON2knoONuzVVHg5CmsYBhj_URekjF23Un5uzjI-dADmKjsHk1A23s04v4HYjBRE1lkjHHLSODKgkPWuK9fk8B55ObELVj-m1rkdvKkPqkBKCVb-6rUJPkcB8ldZ1A/s3261/2%20feb2%20IMG_9660%20(4).JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3261" data-original-width="3261" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1TTj_ljr4xp2hk9bexDeSRCADKONj6FP2riWYS_Xd8P_cesK1GLLvxdo_TJ32SON2knoONuzVVHg5CmsYBhj_URekjF23Un5uzjI-dADmKjsHk1A23s04v4HYjBRE1lkjHHLSODKgkPWuK9fk8B55ObELVj-m1rkdvKkPqkBKCVb-6rUJPkcB8ldZ1A/s320/2%20feb2%20IMG_9660%20(4).JPG" width="320" /></a></div><b>February</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">birds cease their endless ebb and fly to pose for my happy
season album close-ups </p><p class="MsoNormal">-- <b>from At Least I Was Alive</b> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilX3iGeMQvJ_lNzxwUDu4TY6da_IBUILu6bkb2uKB9fYzoBA_2aAzbuz0-KLPf7uia2giPOZ4Xv_BqNlP4s63SsndnZDg8S3Ih3uPHUFrIsws5CsKW9GBKEU0G2ugQzkK4R8f47UslTpNram7HrNxtDNDnNx6qHWIdBZltuC4dxsbXh9koWeYaBOlMwQ/s4160/3%20march4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilX3iGeMQvJ_lNzxwUDu4TY6da_IBUILu6bkb2uKB9fYzoBA_2aAzbuz0-KLPf7uia2giPOZ4Xv_BqNlP4s63SsndnZDg8S3Ih3uPHUFrIsws5CsKW9GBKEU0G2ugQzkK4R8f47UslTpNram7HrNxtDNDnNx6qHWIdBZltuC4dxsbXh9koWeYaBOlMwQ/s320/3%20march4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b>March</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Things to do:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fertilize perennials<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Add mulch to hold the water<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Plant more native plants<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">More bulbs? Crocuses? -- from <o:p></o:p><b>A Year of the Garden</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwXMrN8uuJhiIDWZ0remgdHjgW5Cm5-uUGdnPB4RY8CzAZfvsFaG0lzLRA6GvHXPpyK8OgJe0ItRZyvvBaPevTyKLXJGTty-MEiq2-8zyZPbT9kjwRVaC-FXO19SrrnqCdxt6abH-IxNVKdDwd0ESbza26yJOtsdNE0ZtYmRWPZ8hJpLomHZWqeXwb3A/s3685/4%20april2%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2763" data-original-width="3685" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwXMrN8uuJhiIDWZ0remgdHjgW5Cm5-uUGdnPB4RY8CzAZfvsFaG0lzLRA6GvHXPpyK8OgJe0ItRZyvvBaPevTyKLXJGTty-MEiq2-8zyZPbT9kjwRVaC-FXO19SrrnqCdxt6abH-IxNVKdDwd0ESbza26yJOtsdNE0ZtYmRWPZ8hJpLomHZWqeXwb3A/s320/4%20april2%20(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b>April</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Your towering daystar <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That tosses spring flowers into the shade<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and drowns the trills of April<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">when nesting songs are on the wing -- from</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>A Poem About Summer</b> <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuN9kCks4m5sIXxYej_N5cyy_GcyeMnBGY6XQQA-eOIjWdctrXIEVJckDeiyLG7P_9t2Lwtx22HlYiCrI2HttBBFDS9r9lF4n6mMJbjIze_HwbkNM-O66Aj7-hrWJjWmYaP5EXDEjR2aO8E7MI6jOcLdbFAAyybHGqPoqSRlP5UbZbr6y6Eo1A2mTIdQ/s4160/5%20may1%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuN9kCks4m5sIXxYej_N5cyy_GcyeMnBGY6XQQA-eOIjWdctrXIEVJckDeiyLG7P_9t2Lwtx22HlYiCrI2HttBBFDS9r9lF4n6mMJbjIze_HwbkNM-O66Aj7-hrWJjWmYaP5EXDEjR2aO8E7MI6jOcLdbFAAyybHGqPoqSRlP5UbZbr6y6Eo1A2mTIdQ/s320/5%20may1%20(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"><b>May</b> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">They
are burying children<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">On the
first days of June<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">The
world is a beautiful place<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">That we
have turned into a slaughterhouse<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">I ask
the Roses to forgive me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">I beg
the Irises to stay a while longer<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">And
help us become as they are, keepers of beauty</span><span style="color: #222222;">--</span><span style="color: #222222;">from</span><b style="color: #222222;"> Slaughter of the Innocents</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpo-gXYz_caJVXEKMCnn72OI8j5h6HUX-SJffVt6YLLsL7D8GQ5qJLxdfXjd0h-0ylXyIDLy-J6Ru6ZyFKD4k_xHpGMQXB80-5F3EjaiiqTkXKm4bmd1dHq0-Bb4wbE-C2M0fE9d-SNH9nq5_CjzzL-mg2RWqoXe1RAtDwC2KONwDNbhFrJR4qdCfHDA/s4160/6%20june3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpo-gXYz_caJVXEKMCnn72OI8j5h6HUX-SJffVt6YLLsL7D8GQ5qJLxdfXjd0h-0ylXyIDLy-J6Ru6ZyFKD4k_xHpGMQXB80-5F3EjaiiqTkXKm4bmd1dHq0-Bb4wbE-C2M0fE9d-SNH9nq5_CjzzL-mg2RWqoXe1RAtDwC2KONwDNbhFrJR4qdCfHDA/s320/6%20june3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b>June</b> </p><p class="MsoNormal">The dream that wakes me in the morning<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The good fortune to be here still <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The good love<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I don’t know, can tulips say that? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Soon it will be roses -- from <b>All We Really Have Are Tulips</b><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwh6LRLSF9-YBLPcOAQjz7h3hPI_YJM_vjSz_3P9Uj7KQyAouESx08snScpnPwWbMmi3HqvDa3H4AFYdC3osEz2RaZkZILs1nrAGzrlWYMIRBu4Rkehpf2xBg6lynXGomdRwAznBu1SAgIHH480logsw732HyzN9SSTgsw2JZldEQaKqXCjYGrCn4ceg/s5055/7%20july3%20IMG_9817%20(3).JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3531" data-original-width="5055" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwh6LRLSF9-YBLPcOAQjz7h3hPI_YJM_vjSz_3P9Uj7KQyAouESx08snScpnPwWbMmi3HqvDa3H4AFYdC3osEz2RaZkZILs1nrAGzrlWYMIRBu4Rkehpf2xBg6lynXGomdRwAznBu1SAgIHH480logsw732HyzN9SSTgsw2JZldEQaKqXCjYGrCn4ceg/s320/7%20july3%20IMG_9817%20(3).JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505;"><b>July</b> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505;">To be the god I
once played at becoming,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505;">Naming the
spring,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505;">Demanding a
dance of attendance,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505;">All those white
and purple flags of allegiance<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505;">Rippling in the
joyful days<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505;">To come -- from <b>Spring Rain</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZ1MFRvmGcgMKs0xng39rX20Jx-puoye5jSPIvIU4wbT0qGwEyKCscs52x0llaIk4XnRp8Ew4x8VyucTQar7qDjFBUhS9GWsqwM_QTWNsIEwOMRaxfmWGDz1CckQF5DQifcI9QI-J16mbn1fQfUNLxso-VOyaF5TR3pgnVohliJCaUqTbZRG0ccEGbA/s4487/8%20Aug-1%20(2).JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4487" data-original-width="3687" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZ1MFRvmGcgMKs0xng39rX20Jx-puoye5jSPIvIU4wbT0qGwEyKCscs52x0llaIk4XnRp8Ew4x8VyucTQar7qDjFBUhS9GWsqwM_QTWNsIEwOMRaxfmWGDz1CckQF5DQifcI9QI-J16mbn1fQfUNLxso-VOyaF5TR3pgnVohliJCaUqTbZRG0ccEGbA/s320/8%20Aug-1%20(2).JPG" width="263" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b>August</b> </p><p class="MsoNormal">August feels a little late <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You’d thought that by this latter date <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You’d surely have more done <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The bees are in the asters<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The butterflies are rare <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The twilights have a sharper tone -- from <b>Calendar Days</b> <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZp_d0N4osPjEzl7NWp7hS0uGj6pnFix1tKCakJnDhfRngICfGWayqEaLNnXtmn7ipViTdOLms7dZyDOUzXaBOeqbWIm8LlvuG7dnAyYhDnOHfLRow9oiXhYQ0IvKNhzSw3rwv6dDZ0ewvb8gpDWCGbEvVl3Lknc3oj0VGV1TLuSOnrMLt1mrJdS5XQ/s4160/9%20september1%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZp_d0N4osPjEzl7NWp7hS0uGj6pnFix1tKCakJnDhfRngICfGWayqEaLNnXtmn7ipViTdOLms7dZyDOUzXaBOeqbWIm8LlvuG7dnAyYhDnOHfLRow9oiXhYQ0IvKNhzSw3rwv6dDZ0ewvb8gpDWCGbEvVl3Lknc3oj0VGV1TLuSOnrMLt1mrJdS5XQ/s320/9%20september1%20(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b>September</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">September’s songs are mellow <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You’re not going back to school <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Marigolds are yellow <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And resolution is the rule -- <b>Calendar Days</b> <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtCkYjtCwWGlnSx8TLMKYQWpy8hXDx-DC23GuHJWBdAvKDLTTqyKg2CyFns9SP6Eza93ScuKV9HeY5y5vWTKKJVAcc38rFf1HfgLVaq_SmdrxEe6oYe0AOvpW4INkyKcpUxwhdcKJQrRvhda2dYRlg0OaPyEE6VAhBb9EXnlcY28LClZ4L6gtv-QLxQ/s5152/10%20oct4%20IMG_9916%20(2).JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtCkYjtCwWGlnSx8TLMKYQWpy8hXDx-DC23GuHJWBdAvKDLTTqyKg2CyFns9SP6Eza93ScuKV9HeY5y5vWTKKJVAcc38rFf1HfgLVaq_SmdrxEe6oYe0AOvpW4INkyKcpUxwhdcKJQrRvhda2dYRlg0OaPyEE6VAhBb9EXnlcY28LClZ4L6gtv-QLxQ/s320/10%20oct4%20IMG_9916%20(2).JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b>October</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Edged by the <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">late, late bloomers<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mums the word -- <b>Calendar Days</b><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505;"><b>November</b> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505;">I walk the
half-bared, spotted earth<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505;">Looking for
signs of old friends<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505;">Who is back for
sure, and who is dicey<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505;">Which bets I
have placed last autumn <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505;">Folding their
hands, or their tents before I can plan a rescue -- <b>Spring Rain</b><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29tIEI1rUcUvcHdgfhn0otak0H1PY3_ShDQUdVblQtqu17IjDW_s09avsh4ThOw57yVGGX55zzeDtnKeJxearzDSpmIUmgzTIjfQ1njZJAHR-NVaOeqDCZYYEukG4XRyiNGQy9RKv6AJ_ErHKn5xkpi6BACbnQ0XTSVVVvZ2VcWm6NtMt9pc5Wln2Vg/s4160/11%20nov2%20%2020221006_174156%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29tIEI1rUcUvcHdgfhn0otak0H1PY3_ShDQUdVblQtqu17IjDW_s09avsh4ThOw57yVGGX55zzeDtnKeJxearzDSpmIUmgzTIjfQ1njZJAHR-NVaOeqDCZYYEukG4XRyiNGQy9RKv6AJ_ErHKn5xkpi6BACbnQ0XTSVVVvZ2VcWm6NtMt9pc5Wln2Vg/s320/11%20nov2%20%2020221006_174156%20(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwq2wamfXfe2pdMQcpSnxi63QX5XW2lfVAWIPbwv44xiq61NFZ7IGyZAKtX3myJs9-NUm1fYatj5sUt2ys6ONYD9sRyU2V4dKsf8xzly7VnHKAst2kiiorVpasnfPJ0QBG-4k0Drur_z45XE6ObgQyuMHEjZQxCztS5UFOr9_W-9Oo8jfMT8Qu36RZhg/s3966/12%20dec3%20(2).JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2833" data-original-width="3966" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwq2wamfXfe2pdMQcpSnxi63QX5XW2lfVAWIPbwv44xiq61NFZ7IGyZAKtX3myJs9-NUm1fYatj5sUt2ys6ONYD9sRyU2V4dKsf8xzly7VnHKAst2kiiorVpasnfPJ0QBG-4k0Drur_z45XE6ObgQyuMHEjZQxCztS5UFOr9_W-9Oo8jfMT8Qu36RZhg/s320/12%20dec3%20(2).JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><b>December</b> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">What rolls the night, so early in these <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"> last
December days,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">rolls the earth backwards, onwards,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">back into the light,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">Oh, rays of light! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">And what pours forth, what pours forth --<o:p></o:p></p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">from <b>The Heart of the Universe</b></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDo9iJadolQveLegjV2YSSJC9rUf3OfIYzOOKMDjRqCkVN05Kf0BmqadQL838kfbbrXc-_Xzb6OlTlkN1RIjTZnYulB4uwe_opIVMc5asUmfpP3zlhmarc-WOxovFjwMGwtwW6Kw8bAxHg9VgQmUWF98nVXxRaVunD5d3YL1Xl3QwNPulUm0wrzaz64w/s4160/cover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDo9iJadolQveLegjV2YSSJC9rUf3OfIYzOOKMDjRqCkVN05Kf0BmqadQL838kfbbrXc-_Xzb6OlTlkN1RIjTZnYulB4uwe_opIVMc5asUmfpP3zlhmarc-WOxovFjwMGwtwW6Kw8bAxHg9VgQmUWF98nVXxRaVunD5d3YL1Xl3QwNPulUm0wrzaz64w/s320/cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"><b>2022</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">In the
life-giving ecstasies of a Berkshire spring<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">I am
thinking not of lilacs last-blooming<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"> in the April of the war’s climactic year, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">but of
the fall of 1858<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">When a
live-ammo demo at Harper’s Ferry exposed <o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">the US Army as the last defense of slavery -- </span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">from <b>Fighting Words </b></span></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Some More </b>garden photos and a few from The Berkshires (below) I'd like to keep around, just </p><p>in case I forget what the world looks like at different times of year.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8KgHA6Mf3L-PUmK2h1t7stNlhUfGKc0kUboNTrV2NjD74hhdc05-QPsMFd2gnw7yEJ2a-QknJGoxbut_W5Y-KRTJRYcqA44B_oxpkcQZkpaX_kvquV417F0DeT4pBcX-DYGTHfjLyc8iCVWO71O7yGaig16K7xGMTJvs3NZHrI1vPZuz_idILMFU5Q/s5152/IMG_9341%20-%20Copy%20-%20Copy.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8KgHA6Mf3L-PUmK2h1t7stNlhUfGKc0kUboNTrV2NjD74hhdc05-QPsMFd2gnw7yEJ2a-QknJGoxbut_W5Y-KRTJRYcqA44B_oxpkcQZkpaX_kvquV417F0DeT4pBcX-DYGTHfjLyc8iCVWO71O7yGaig16K7xGMTJvs3NZHrI1vPZuz_idILMFU5Q/s320/IMG_9341%20-%20Copy%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5cfVeenvV7E2gFWQKwewik_-GhbZqlp_2ImbWK22s9Mk1DNw06CATGrH9v--GvV62lkXwBXA-KLSfvuPI0PSm0qz84wVc5Ze5njI5S6-n6n7jyyzFQ52Ae6D0vdBIYDsF4r2xymlLC7R8DJ8cnfxRRMbUOyR08KHsYIY4NMx5oXf_bHIiqLzm5wd8Fg/s4987/IMG_9366%20(2).JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3645" data-original-width="4987" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5cfVeenvV7E2gFWQKwewik_-GhbZqlp_2ImbWK22s9Mk1DNw06CATGrH9v--GvV62lkXwBXA-KLSfvuPI0PSm0qz84wVc5Ze5njI5S6-n6n7jyyzFQ52Ae6D0vdBIYDsF4r2xymlLC7R8DJ8cnfxRRMbUOyR08KHsYIY4NMx5oXf_bHIiqLzm5wd8Fg/s320/IMG_9366%20(2).JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-6GplMJxcwQOagc72tFm-N9RB2gORDpdY4zZnye2ao7BiVBAq2E6bGeidEeiI9knbbEue3dKZknS-9kivtZjCRFY993I7fP9EamShmoV8FCvJSmoCrXZGhMLeT1AqG3D4zP_FbW-qP0nbAGBtql94PbhDU-hXwY2HLvmuqrDJOy7zMYAjIVRnFP8uA/s320/IMG_9927.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI7hfHA3nHk2S6xyB12InR7rNehKsjS8wyKkGwo9g4DEzaPOHXgpGQKO-qWaMLDrgAsVoGhCCxMisxrtUN_3neSK3UV0yL6FVK4VnEysZfvAXtz6nCb_iBr7d9qFUkVjsUpMjj1C6iUAzOueeXSEB2n6i3C-D9bQ2-bwAyH9JSEb2GDFUsNYo_5DrqAw/s5152/IMG_9929.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI7hfHA3nHk2S6xyB12InR7rNehKsjS8wyKkGwo9g4DEzaPOHXgpGQKO-qWaMLDrgAsVoGhCCxMisxrtUN_3neSK3UV0yL6FVK4VnEysZfvAXtz6nCb_iBr7d9qFUkVjsUpMjj1C6iUAzOueeXSEB2n6i3C-D9bQ2-bwAyH9JSEb2GDFUsNYo_5DrqAw/s320/IMG_9929.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p></div>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-63533082882798640332022-11-04T10:11:00.000-07:002022-11-04T10:11:25.942-07:00The Garden of American History: Things Are Bad Now -- They May Have Been Worse 100 Years Ago <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGOnZJx8nw2zmnheY3h2zCJGqxJA9eM9fy5OaailkZMPryR-TelvPxIT5Vz6jCtvhCVMxQPmRgXwm4hQR_tdp2qQWuaoEGs24fo8HgBKI1lxDuDZSvHTBQcgEEKV-sZBS3wKe4hw1uparT8gF_NplI3tBqpi-n6rDFU5UYOkXBROmYJ5vpK1Wrbgl8w/s484/15SLcover-final.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="360" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGOnZJx8nw2zmnheY3h2zCJGqxJA9eM9fy5OaailkZMPryR-TelvPxIT5Vz6jCtvhCVMxQPmRgXwm4hQR_tdp2qQWuaoEGs24fo8HgBKI1lxDuDZSvHTBQcgEEKV-sZBS3wKe4hw1uparT8gF_NplI3tBqpi-n6rDFU5UYOkXBROmYJ5vpK1Wrbgl8w/w298-h400/15SLcover-final.png" width="298" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: white; color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: white; color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: white; color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="background: white; color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">A new book by Adam Hochschild, reviewed in the New York Times this month by </span><span style="background: white; color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Thomas Meaney, offers an early 20<sup>th</sup>
century context for America’s current political crisis. Titled “American
Midnight,” the book reminds us “</span><span style="background: white; color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">that there are
other contenders than the period beginning in 2016 for the distinction of
Darkest Years of the Republic. By some measures — and certainly in many
quarters of the American left — the years 1917-21 have a special place in
infamy. The United Sta</span><span style="background: white; color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">tes during that time saw a swell of patriotic frenzy and
political repression rarely rivaled in its history. [The government’s] terror
campaign against American radicals, dissidents, immigrants and workers makes
the McCarthyism of the 1950s look almost subtle by comparison.”</span></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinoRN42geprEmzf3ZcD_YH-DiQ35F5s-36MPL1x0CVUcC8TCgBI1zoIjB_hUSPHG6dqSWTkwtx7VECFG7X4o_G8YYGUVxhtheXhDF4h42HyW5nbh7Re4Pz2eQn9CeXMgAUgSzHhkYuzwJU4F-tg-3aKQcDtAdtZIkR2fyYvg6rPnDDnry3LqemzWawVg/s500/22american%20midnight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinoRN42geprEmzf3ZcD_YH-DiQ35F5s-36MPL1x0CVUcC8TCgBI1zoIjB_hUSPHG6dqSWTkwtx7VECFG7X4o_G8YYGUVxhtheXhDF4h42HyW5nbh7Re4Pz2eQn9CeXMgAUgSzHhkYuzwJU4F-tg-3aKQcDtAdtZIkR2fyYvg6rPnDDnry3LqemzWawVg/s320/22american%20midnight.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Here's a link to the book review </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/books/review/american-midnight-adam-hochschild.html" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">American Midnight</a><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="background: white; color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="background: white; color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> The
period that Hochschild writes about is traditionally known as The Red Scare,
and it’s the era when two immigrants were framed in Massachusetts for robbery
and murders they did not commit that became an international cause known as the
Sacco and Vanzetti case. </span></span></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="background: white; color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That cause celebre was the starting point for my novel,
“Suosso’s Lane,” which focuses on the Plymouth origins of the case. Bartolomeo
Vanzetti was an Italian immigrant who settled in Plymouth’s immigrant
neighborhood – North Plymouth, regarded then as a separate enclave – in 1915.
He boarded with an immigrant family who lived on a street called “Suosso’s Lane,”
hence my book’s title.</span></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="background: white; color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Millions of people around the world attended demonstrations or otherwise protested America's racist scapegoating of two Italian immigrants because of their political beliefs. And because of widespread prejudice against the flow of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, including Italians, but also Poles, Russians, Greeks, Jews, Hungarians, Serbs and other Slavs. </span></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">"Suosso's Lane" </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">was based on research I initially undertook for the Plymouth, Mass. newspaper I was then working for ("The Old Colony Memorial"). The novel also includes a fictional story about late 20th century history buffs seeking new evidence relevant to the 100-year-old case. </span></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">"Suosso's Lane" was published by Web-e-Books in 2016. I still have copies of the 570-page paperback available for purchase. If you're interested in the book, or in the Sacco-Vanzetti case, you are welcome to email me at rc.knox2@gmail.com. </span></span></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="color: #363636; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">You can also find more info about "Suosso's Lane" at my website <a href="http://robertcknox.com/">robertcknox</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><br /></p><br /><p></p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-87020631944206341072022-11-03T16:40:00.000-07:002022-11-03T16:40:54.290-07:00The Garden of Verse: A Salute to Autumn Skies, A Fond Farewell to the Growing Season, and a Fortunately Minor Fall from Grace<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheuS45e4Jrb9yqxfyuLfNVUbWYg5bKR_5Ow1_L1Tm9EzH2FWIYLtbBID4zpQlpfQ5royvbpu7kg44LqH6CECYHYsmPuRWGzjWSoyudY5kjW1KTvJdf82tjx7TmSfzcm49xxhwuASrJm6bzZLafMTDN-V08qnP6PsER_ID8tXf_xNPIB8lPWavibqqveQ/s4160/20221007_225732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheuS45e4Jrb9yqxfyuLfNVUbWYg5bKR_5Ow1_L1Tm9EzH2FWIYLtbBID4zpQlpfQ5royvbpu7kg44LqH6CECYHYsmPuRWGzjWSoyudY5kjW1KTvJdf82tjx7TmSfzcm49xxhwuASrJm6bzZLafMTDN-V08qnP6PsER_ID8tXf_xNPIB8lPWavibqqveQ/w480-h640/20221007_225732.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">My poems often have seasonal cues. This month I offer a love letter to autumn skies, a fond farewell to another growing season -- despite a less than generous helping of that essential ingredient, rain -- and an account </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">on a near-disaster that has nothing to do with seasons but something to do with me.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;">Maybe a near-disaster for my body can a be a wake-up call to my brain. Here's my poem about a fall from a piece of exercise equipment caused by simply not paying enough attention to the here and now. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">After A Fall on the Treadmill at the YMCA</b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre;">
Is someone trying to tell me something?
Someone (or thing) is taking my measure,
picking its spots,
as I fall flat on my face on that moving staircase
People line up for their turn, the Asian mother
and her very sensible little boy
as I step onto the treadmill
I had moments before paused (</span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre;">hadn’t I?</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre;">),
from the side,
thoughts (apparently) elsewhere,
and am sent flying, face-first and two
bounces through the infield.
Keep away from machines, a voice whispers,
They’re always planning something.
Someone is taking my measure.
Not, I hope, for a winding suit.
The numbers are in, I’m sure,
the gang standing at the corner
watching the traffic
as the rain begins to fall,
the final scene sketched on the storyboard.
Take your time, boys.
No need to hurry the job. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre;">Here's the beginning of my poem about discovering, </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre;">much to </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre;">my displeasure, that I'm out of touch with the phases of the </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre;">moon. It's a little like forgetting that the Earth is still </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre;">turning. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>A Note to Autumn Skies</b></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;" /></p><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
Don’t think
you can get away with keeping it all to yourself!
So tonight, well after dark, I catch a glimpse
through a living room window of the sky </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> above the neighbor's house
when I’m reaching out to lower a blind,
the only gesture that would put me at the proper angle to see –
Whoa! Is that the moon? Where has it been?
Where have we been?
Lost in a weeks-long clouded dominion,
the misrule of the heavens?</span></pre><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre;">...</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre;">Here's a link to see the rest of the poem </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; white-space: pre;"><a href="https://verse-virtual.org/2022/November/knox-robert-2022-november.html">November 2022 Verse-Virtual </a><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And here's an excerpt from my poem bidding farewell </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">to the home gardening seasons</span></p><p><br /></p><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Time swims like the big fish
that got away to swim again
Swiftly!
Swiftly!
Suddenly too chilly this morning to water the plants
Verfallen? Then winter on the lip
of tomorrow</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Again, a link: <a href="https://verse-virtual.org/2022/November/knox-robert-2022-november.html">November 2022 V-V </a></span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally be sure to check out the "Poetic License" column by my fellow fiction writer </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">and poet Robert Wexelblatt on "Thoughts About Writing."</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can find that here <a href="https://verse-virtual.org/2022/November/poetic-license-2022-November.html">Poetic License </a></span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></pre>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-84082152687534408882022-10-20T15:56:00.001-07:002022-10-20T15:59:52.380-07:00The Garden of Verse: Bio notes and Poems of Growing up <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIQ3an3MRkhvKD52UDN8DsmmHMktwhRK_HGhZgKr2LZNxU8BuzFOPGass-l7T_7S8VXI1Z6xX72qv3Dj3vM45CZJb0aTo_qv5IRio_mzmD5S_rI7RcgZk_vgybpRdX99B79H0LXEriR-Vp1dX4v7IxOjAb8t_M1Reg2PQ1F_rsJ7Qx29yCRMVHPsVOQ/s912/16bob-Greece.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="912" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIQ3an3MRkhvKD52UDN8DsmmHMktwhRK_HGhZgKr2LZNxU8BuzFOPGass-l7T_7S8VXI1Z6xX72qv3Dj3vM45CZJb0aTo_qv5IRio_mzmD5S_rI7RcgZk_vgybpRdX99B79H0LXEriR-Vp1dX4v7IxOjAb8t_M1Reg2PQ1F_rsJ7Qx29yCRMVHPsVOQ/w320-h240/16bob-Greece.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Editor Jim Lewis calls October's special issue of Verse-Virtual " <span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;">a deeper look at the contributing editors and columnists who have been the quiet foundation of every month's journal, almost from its inception. I</span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"> invite you to take time to read the expanded bio notes and poems from this group of people I am pleased to call my friends.</span> <span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;">" </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505; font-size: 15px;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;">The issue features "</span>e<span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;">xpanded bio notes and poems." Here's how my bio-note began:</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505; font-size: 15px;"> "</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">I grew up in a brand-new postwar neighborhood in suburban New York, my childhood a modest example of that era’s unacknowledged white privilege. My parents had experienced Depression childhoods, my father dropping out of high school to support himself. My mother’s family twice lost their home when breadwinners died and she went to work after high school, rather than to college, to support her mother. Because my father was a war veteran, he was eligible for GI loans that enabled him to buy a house in a new neighborhood and paid for his “night school” college education. I attended a couple of newly built public local schools and, when the Ivies were seeking to broaden their student body by accepting students who graduated from a public high school and were not related to alumni, received a needs scholarship from Yale. I majored in philosophy, but realized my true love was literature.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span face="Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span face="Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505; font-size: medium;">In addition to those "expanded bio notes" on growing up in a new postwar subdivision home my parents purchased with a GI loan, my offerings included a poem about the central role "going to the beach" played in my Long Island childhood. A poem about being "Bobby." A poem about the role of "My Mother's Music" in our childhood. And a poem about raising our own children in Plymouth, MA, called "America's Hometown."</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span face="Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span face="Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">P</span><span style="font-size: medium;">lease take a look. Here's the link: <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://verse-virtual.org/2022/October/knox-robert-2022-october.html&source=gmail&ust=1666389456150000&usg=AOvVaw3K-DWfBEiJkIsIwqGhhSio" href="https://verse-virtual.org/2022/October/knox-robert-2022-october.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Bio Notes and Poems</a> </span></span></div><div><span face="Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjGIfuwJIWyHWBMQndmPzEmo0WAhYUqOUiRS_nX--FQvyZT-QUZ5Z8C5EEmFHZMloetIJAkZ7GXVtsGmoXX7dFx2eiKUGrB5JnErozkRcUpH6CfpbcFGSOu64AS-WfMcx2jXd1L6icLqTGmxTOvkpvUSV3F9NmNyQX86ajqGT309478wmUWiq8AurDXw/s720/15anne.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="540" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjGIfuwJIWyHWBMQndmPzEmo0WAhYUqOUiRS_nX--FQvyZT-QUZ5Z8C5EEmFHZMloetIJAkZ7GXVtsGmoXX7dFx2eiKUGrB5JnErozkRcUpH6CfpbcFGSOu64AS-WfMcx2jXd1L6icLqTGmxTOvkpvUSV3F9NmNyQX86ajqGT309478wmUWiq8AurDXw/w300-h400/15anne.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Anne Meyerson, my wife, posing under a statue of the goddess of female strength and wisdom in Paris. Here's a quote from my notes:</span><div><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1167" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEXW5sRb7nrHKMBlF4tag8PCvYaxFdoeUsQ1Dd74yNrG1Q_V1L5JWC0sOIu3iEiWqIUftu7ClaDek4uCyVGlJfSu9by67P6AWBhfyEGNg90KdlqfbUVtrdGGv8T06E4Afoii7aj8r4tU8D_QytfGI32jTCNI_7kG_jVWvOu1pJqF9yuT15Lf6l9UFpug/w400-h300/14sonya.JPG" width="400" /><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Sonya Meyerson-Knox, our daughter, who lived and
worked in Lebanon </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">after graduating from Mt. Holyoke College. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">From my poem "America's Hometown": At the corner of Massasoit and Mayflower,/ where Winslow relieved a sachem of a serious hurt,/ we settled in a white-wood tower/ to raise our kids on Plymouth dirt."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p></div></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">"While living in Boston I met, married, and started a family with Anne Meyerson, my personal bridge over troubled waters and </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Here's a piece from the poem "America's Hometown":</span> </div><div><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">At the corner of Massasoit and Mayflower,</span><pre style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif">where Winslow relieved a sachem of </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif">a serious hurt,
we settled in a white-wood tower
to raise our kids on Plymouth dirt... </span><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">"</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></pre><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPjskgDYpUEL7X1NXY21sTzZ0wHKfElFRE_Qe4U6iJWXxImjpU2wsC6VBwJrVK9gyPy_H34t5f2H1l59SRFPxDcwmaaRaZi-WH5RE9NaKwwIoe0Zt1UGGgNvxhTYYygfOX2xnFijYKccs8pTfk7mtaNvIbcOBmcxYWhuR3efodi4C_lgD_aeABng9Bw/s604/n55100519_30016142_2385.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="604" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPjskgDYpUEL7X1NXY21sTzZ0wHKfElFRE_Qe4U6iJWXxImjpU2wsC6VBwJrVK9gyPy_H34t5f2H1l59SRFPxDcwmaaRaZi-WH5RE9NaKwwIoe0Zt1UGGgNvxhTYYygfOX2xnFijYKccs8pTfk7mtaNvIbcOBmcxYWhuR3efodi4C_lgD_aeABng9Bw/w320-h240/n55100519_30016142_2385.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Saul Meyerson-Knox, who </span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">earned a master's degree in classical guitar performance.</span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">From that same poem:</span></div><div><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">"Our young spread their </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">wings </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">in open space.
We kept them warm with </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">history tales,
moral precepts performed </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">with passing grace:
Uplift the Fallen, </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">Save the Whales. "</span></pre></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Sonya visiting with her grandmother, my mother, </span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> Jean Doris Congreve Knox. This is from my poem</span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;">My Mother’s Music</b></div><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">
Debussy? my wife guessed.
Rachmaninoff, I suggested.
Both names sat at times on the plinth above my mother’s keys,
certain moments, themes, quick-stirring romantic throbs,
the instant cereal of childhood’s stirrings emerging, here again
all these decades after those first imprintings.
The babyduck follows ever after –
and followed whatever else she played... </span></pre><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZvAgTUIl7Na3UXSLbKI9s0b5VY2trXNaJOyotMkvMdb40JP2qnBPkyotcgDJAWTVvXyDQErpTyTCaxuosNJm2d8ImLdAqiFK5tIaNjmWxFNjqE2AuShTgamhy7kUXREqlHZnj2lkB-bLspM-7RleckGT0Wuq_pql52qlLHrXjFCwpk338hCxwR88yQ/s292/momsonya.JPG" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="292" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZvAgTUIl7Na3UXSLbKI9s0b5VY2trXNaJOyotMkvMdb40JP2qnBPkyotcgDJAWTVvXyDQErpTyTCaxuosNJm2d8ImLdAqiFK5tIaNjmWxFNjqE2AuShTgamhy7kUXREqlHZnj2lkB-bLspM-7RleckGT0Wuq_pql52qlLHrXjFCwpk338hCxwR88yQ/s1600/momsonya.JPG" width="292" /></a> </div><div><br /><p><br /></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505; font-size: 15px;">I</span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: medium;">n addition to those "expanded bio notes" on growing up in a new postwar subdivision home my parents purchased with a GI loan, my offerings included </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a poem about the central role "going to the beach" played in my Long Island childhood. A poem about being "Bobby." And, per the above, poems about </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the role of "My Mother's Music" in our childhood and a poem about raising </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: medium;">our own children in Plymouth, MA, called "America's Hometown."</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span face="Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span face="Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505; font-size: medium;">Please take a look. Here's the link: <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://verse-virtual.org/2022/October/knox-robert-2022-october.html&source=gmail&ust=1666385784233000&usg=AOvVaw2va6d_EQqhCOmEuZKvLAP4" href="https://verse-virtual.org/2022/October/knox-robert-2022-october.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Bio Notes and Poems</a> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span face="Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span face="Segoe UI Historic, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div></div>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-37105889663127914922022-09-13T09:00:00.001-07:002022-09-13T09:09:58.081-07:00September Poems: A Time to Reap, and A Time to Worry<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMsxbm1cZgY0DaOzWv7VycMYLomtGjnlOC7LlmHuna47xB7lg7pCMRt4uf9SCITVVKzp6EF3yK7yD3ufrWUblBhOh2WTpOHqM484yl80f547RzbBvm1Whyh3gkDcbfl_wK8sWj3J7HfMv9SJyx1lLH6VKw2paJz99avuz5hNwSv3epH2Ac09rgOojXg/s4160/20220906_171947.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMsxbm1cZgY0DaOzWv7VycMYLomtGjnlOC7LlmHuna47xB7lg7pCMRt4uf9SCITVVKzp6EF3yK7yD3ufrWUblBhOh2WTpOHqM484yl80f547RzbBvm1Whyh3gkDcbfl_wK8sWj3J7HfMv9SJyx1lLH6VKw2paJz99avuz5hNwSv3epH2Ac09rgOojXg/w640-h480/20220906_171947.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">September. a time to reap a time to remember, a time to celebrate, a time to refrain from celebration... and as in the photo above, to watch the rain fall on the garden.</span></p><div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have three poems in the September 2022 issue of Verse-Virtual, "Time Out," about catching Covid...</span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here's the first stanza:</span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; white-space: normal;"><b>Time Out</b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; white-space: normal;" /></span><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">
Covid, we love you
Who else would tell us to spend days in bed,
loving the things we can do
when no one is watching,
no dates on the calendar, no meetings,
when we are fools together, apart,
separate machines for living…
Reading books and napping in different rooms
yet together in all that matters
Getting one’s ass in gear, eventually
Launching sticks up our nostrils
What wicked fun!</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">...</span></pre></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My poem "Goodbye, Summer" can by a conceptual stretch be judged a response to the issue's theme "A Time to Reap"... It begins this way:</span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">Where would summer be if I didn’t pick the berries?
Why would the flowers bloom
if I didn’t venture out to their domain and stare </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"> at them each morning?
(and afternoon, and evening, and…)
</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">...</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">And concludes:</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><pre style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">It’s enough to love. It’s enough to have loved.
I do not say goodbye to summer.
It is always summer.
I do not say goodbye to summer love.</span></pre><pre style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">...
</span></pre></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></pre><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Finally, my poem "One Sky," is a tough-love response to the planet's ongoing and accelerating climate crisis. And a stark exercise in finger-pointing at those who continue to ignore the Earth's </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">existential crisis:</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">Lay down your weapons, soldiers of the night,
and embrace your doom
We bury you in slag heaps, and in Old World cities
encumbered with pyramidal monuments of discarded </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"> trumpery,
all the smog of China to feed the funeral pyres
in which your bodies of earth give back to earth that</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"> which, ions and particulates, </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">remains strong and fruitful
providing some fertilizer
for whatever may come after </span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">...</span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></pre><pre style="background-color: white; color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="verdana, sans-serif" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">To read these poems in their entirety see </span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://verse-virtual.org/2022/September/knox-robert-2022-september.html&source=gmail&ust=1663168726893000&usg=AOvVaw1cpzeXeGGeRshWXeNacP4Z" href="https://verse-virtual.org/2022/September/knox-robert-2022-september.html" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Verse-Virtual September </a></span></pre></div></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I also had a group of politically themed poems in the August issue of Verse-Virtual, titled "When in Rome" (re the history of the Roman Republic); "Social Round" (about July Fourth); and "Proscription List" (a response to America's Taliban-style Supreme Court).</span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You can find them here: <span style="background-color: white;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://verse-virtual.org/2022/august/knox-robert-2022-august.html&source=gmail&ust=1663168726893000&usg=AOvVaw3Tw0MX1rpy_171HIHNAJJB" href="https://verse-virtual.org/2022/august/knox-robert-2022-august.html" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Verse-Virtual August </a></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Verse-Virtual editor Jim Lewis was also kind enough to post one of my poems from six years ago, along with one of his wonderful nature photos on Facebook.</span></div><div style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You can find it here <a href="https://www.verse-virtual.org/2016/June/robert-c-knox-2016-june.html?fbclid=IwAR25OZ9R33gDDVg9uYzAsiRZvadBUzIdK7k8kyKHgWZiSVYXBNhxsI6Xkyw">Osprey poem, pic</a></span></div><div style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></div>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-40656993191326898642022-08-07T21:45:00.000-07:002022-08-07T21:45:43.360-07:00Growing Space for a Garden: An Origin Story in a Few Stark Images <p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Ky9wb00yGUBUn9v2K8VVCrEU2-Sf8H6L0uakOyO_NIdyqRqUti705hdfxOLWTP49QCm9HSD97vgh1SKRviWsFqwXiK4PJG0QNSrqUIcV8xf0ZhrlAu-JFW0Rl8RpmqI8H8G9T-JFv7Ht61s9EnNEE4eJVr6D3NLbI10zccbIRMRX2PP2ee4Ok1skyg/s1303/22garden1%20July17.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1303" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Ky9wb00yGUBUn9v2K8VVCrEU2-Sf8H6L0uakOyO_NIdyqRqUti705hdfxOLWTP49QCm9HSD97vgh1SKRviWsFqwXiK4PJG0QNSrqUIcV8xf0ZhrlAu-JFW0Rl8RpmqI8H8G9T-JFv7Ht61s9EnNEE4eJVr6D3NLbI10zccbIRMRX2PP2ee4Ok1skyg/w640-h424/22garden1%20July17.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />After moving to Quincy, Mass., in the fall of 2004, from Plymouth, where we had lived for twenty years, we decided to create and plant a flower garden -- from scratch -- the following summer. Anyone who has seen my recent photos knows it's a jungle -- or as I like to call it, a "rain forest" (except that we don't get any rain this summer). Very green, and everything growing on top of each other.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I recently got hold of some pictures I took in those early years, when we had a desolate semi-landfill of a failed lawn stripped off and added new soil, by the truckload, and began to lay out a semi -- or "informal" -- garden on the new, bare ground. We laid out paths, bought an ornamental cherry tree as a centerpiece and laid out some stone and brick pavers for the paths.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Lately, this odd digital service called OneDrive delivered me (unasked) some images of "the way we were" back in those early days. I was shocked. Not just by how "open" the garden space appeared, but by how much I liked it. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">So, I wrote a kind of nostalgic prose poem. A kind of hankering after lost innocence. First, some more photos, then the poem. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmT34EOhd8_vqRQy6r8xHdYF-Yb-troEG73TdyvzSwhjduVjdusPrxMF2caE7GAI6OaKygkgmXuzR-FzdQWb5lAkyTZyz0_E9eKQlPPOpgnhZsLl_s6yWtB_yPUJLdFvBfmNlZHglCchzLStPTbMY0SuSsmRTYqX2bzgHIaePvd0bYmfiIAWlGFu67Ug/s1303/22garden2%20july17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1303" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmT34EOhd8_vqRQy6r8xHdYF-Yb-troEG73TdyvzSwhjduVjdusPrxMF2caE7GAI6OaKygkgmXuzR-FzdQWb5lAkyTZyz0_E9eKQlPPOpgnhZsLl_s6yWtB_yPUJLdFvBfmNlZHglCchzLStPTbMY0SuSsmRTYqX2bzgHIaePvd0bYmfiIAWlGFu67Ug/w400-h265/22garden2%20july17.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBydTvn_a_qaF0PE7DcW2zdwc_eypLUqQWz4HT-F3Zld-wPzoUv_TC5YQufBsmEfdqU0Fpc9F8WLEN-RVJTWzBH35VdNPtU1siIw47OCWMsYRWzFz1mfaaZqNKqgSxQkLKVHcZmSIn2VRTPy6PS4XDTEnORBYl8c10bxpmfF1f4TkNE-8GleSDRZz2ZQ/s1303/22garden3%20July17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1303" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBydTvn_a_qaF0PE7DcW2zdwc_eypLUqQWz4HT-F3Zld-wPzoUv_TC5YQufBsmEfdqU0Fpc9F8WLEN-RVJTWzBH35VdNPtU1siIw47OCWMsYRWzFz1mfaaZqNKqgSxQkLKVHcZmSIn2VRTPy6PS4XDTEnORBYl8c10bxpmfF1f4TkNE-8GleSDRZz2ZQ/w640-h424/22garden3%20July17.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUA6PHB9rVjydn2gGrZCGlOL_Hr6RZQQAtschSQ77w-0TExl6ADhxBZ2z8uGBPNFg5nVfuDb8gu9DlDZ7KNIZGfX7-ZY2DEdmORWS1EGr4Q9PfPtBWr5ODAElBTmdAX3PmxQlLdhgIKR3bE5tMMfAM0fqa3NgPQD1yH_dNv1I3YG1MCPi1DUNyYV3Cw/s1303/22garden4%20july17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1303" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUA6PHB9rVjydn2gGrZCGlOL_Hr6RZQQAtschSQ77w-0TExl6ADhxBZ2z8uGBPNFg5nVfuDb8gu9DlDZ7KNIZGfX7-ZY2DEdmORWS1EGr4Q9PfPtBWr5ODAElBTmdAX3PmxQlLdhgIKR3bE5tMMfAM0fqa3NgPQD1yH_dNv1I3YG1MCPi1DUNyYV3Cw/w400-h265/22garden4%20july17.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDXSUF-eCorp6QQBHGunMeujVz9hBPRzdAY28HTHpiZzYTgSQs3vSP2Du-Jg9Z1iOIQQeexYy6mmEdgtmI5qIrKqeqz4BCOE8NsGN4On2WFjaJI3zonalPfeH-oef-2EK8dhtDVTWR1MJrrc2_-9r_sxcAWz7JxabTMLjpHfk90Ul3R-SZOnQhcvO_Ng/s864/22garden5%20julu17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="574" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDXSUF-eCorp6QQBHGunMeujVz9hBPRzdAY28HTHpiZzYTgSQs3vSP2Du-Jg9Z1iOIQQeexYy6mmEdgtmI5qIrKqeqz4BCOE8NsGN4On2WFjaJI3zonalPfeH-oef-2EK8dhtDVTWR1MJrrc2_-9r_sxcAWz7JxabTMLjpHfk90Ul3R-SZOnQhcvO_Ng/w266-h400/22garden5%20julu17.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdWCku_pQkbk3nEdz-rFgVnny_cbuhZMeBs0TBH6bCv1DwXu-Ed2y6H8G1Qh5FEZx3B7gz3lH4BMIlE-RdGzkvj2duBytSzQw2LmH1AcPQ0i-RmGWYZ5dDdj2pSSI1QT0DH53YHPY6I17p7aeO-a9K0RFCQ7rqOQfZ4Wzm2OMxMUzqZ89YU4xsotB4w/s1303/22garden6%20july17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1303" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdWCku_pQkbk3nEdz-rFgVnny_cbuhZMeBs0TBH6bCv1DwXu-Ed2y6H8G1Qh5FEZx3B7gz3lH4BMIlE-RdGzkvj2duBytSzQw2LmH1AcPQ0i-RmGWYZ5dDdj2pSSI1QT0DH53YHPY6I17p7aeO-a9K0RFCQ7rqOQfZ4Wzm2OMxMUzqZ89YU4xsotB4w/w400-h265/22garden6%20july17.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><b><span style="font-size: large;">Innocent Days in the Garden</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><span>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">The garden is so thin and spare, lovely and plain at the
start.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">I am nostalgic for beginnings. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">We bought a small ‘ornamental’ tree, planted it smack <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">in the middle of available space, of which there was much.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">Poured dirt by the purchased truckful, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">raked it flat ourselves. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">We made circles of stones, then filled between with "City Hall" red bricks, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">laying paths between the planting beds. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">Wee plantings called “Steppables” edged the planting beds,
outlined circles<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">A few large cornerstone shrubs, plus borrowed lilies, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">kidnapped from the Berkshire roadsides and kept moist in
plastic buckets, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">brought home for display in sunny segments beyond <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">the arc of the circle in the shadow of the hedges,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">provided brighter color. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">Looking back, with architect’s (or empire-builder’s) remorse<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">now that “OneDrive” has returned me to the beginning of
things <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">with a loaded deck of online snaps…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">Regard! I mean, these lovely clean Vermont-blue paving
stones <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">we treated ourselves to, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">laid along the spare foundation line of the house –<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">It’s Sherwood Forest today! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">The silvery-blue of the pavers marred by the dirt of<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a thousand footsteps, then ten thousand more<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">Debris of the greenwood-groundcover encroaching both sides, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">Dead-leaf remains from the endless grind of the seasons <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">brown-filling between the steps. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">See also the blooms of our first plantings<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">unique statements of their primal selves, all so full and
bonny<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">No crowding, or elbowing for a place in the sun<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">Admire White Shasta Daisies, tall and light-filled,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">A ranked file marching into beauty’s battle, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">Long scattered now, far fewer in flower, never so clean<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">And the low lacy Cosmos, finely woven in their own geometry<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">Extirpated from ground where raspberries have long since
taken root<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">The tree circle itself, airy and bright, speaks of rational design.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">(The French would approve.)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">Note the tree itself, a sapling growing into its birthright,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">and the broad dark red pile of Spirea blossoms,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">surge skyward, like a perfectly
measure hairdo,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">before it got away from us, so fast and tall and upward,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">consuming the circle until I was forced to pick it up by the roots:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">relocated now in a poorer neighborhood, kept alive on
foodstamps <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">And the clean look beside the old, sheet-metal shed,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">later wholly destroyed by the mythic snows of the winter of 2015,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">snow cycles in their endless, repeated iterations, crushing the roof.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">Beside it back then, more daylilies, something pink, something
red:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">Those petal days, where are they now? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">And that city-hall red brick path so shapely and
light-filled <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">And – from the look of it – so much work to lay!...<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">Year by year, I have conjured for us a rain forest, jungle thick,
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">that crowded into the imperial spaces of a primordial
imagination –<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">But at what cost? – <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;">having sacrificed something both clean and true. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">[P.S. Here's a photo I took today]</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMw3N-get_9VI3Zmz_DFygqzMpoGETgmd8rrBcwriw04wgiWyL4gEItfMQr-EqFCsXWdPNLS8qQBAe3-KxQ2Jjb8QYOGqZF6GtNSThwAaWIQhVhs7vV6gFsghl8durMXHvkDfyB3DSW8RBUh4HwzirMIJvaKCnvPZHqjOt7YkeUkqAWtbZnws1R6EBg/s4160/20220807_103655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMw3N-get_9VI3Zmz_DFygqzMpoGETgmd8rrBcwriw04wgiWyL4gEItfMQr-EqFCsXWdPNLS8qQBAe3-KxQ2Jjb8QYOGqZF6GtNSThwAaWIQhVhs7vV6gFsghl8durMXHvkDfyB3DSW8RBUh4HwzirMIJvaKCnvPZHqjOt7YkeUkqAWtbZnws1R6EBg/w640-h480/20220807_103655.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p></p><br /></span><p></p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-67712801764104918382022-07-24T16:08:00.000-07:002022-07-24T16:08:45.472-07:00The Garden of the Seasons: The Early Growing Months in a New England Perennials Garden<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GiEHwIiWEWVmvGqAeVDnUu9W4W1O5tjGlh0JHp6QMUfWcknr0Q8sHvitmRu4TWQWeTBt9RYTAWCyonGofSedK_Wleatmkdp6LEmxgxIWUIhv7cGSx359IqZKA7EruP_h90O2idYYWNgZ3MA5TN_Ym3DaF7EUEl_l-AjrndFpO0VRKBeayho49PWWTg/s4128/IMG_9773%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4128" data-original-width="3721" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GiEHwIiWEWVmvGqAeVDnUu9W4W1O5tjGlh0JHp6QMUfWcknr0Q8sHvitmRu4TWQWeTBt9RYTAWCyonGofSedK_Wleatmkdp6LEmxgxIWUIhv7cGSx359IqZKA7EruP_h90O2idYYWNgZ3MA5TN_Ym3DaF7EUEl_l-AjrndFpO0VRKBeayho49PWWTg/w576-h640/IMG_9773%20(2).JPG" width="576" /></a></div> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Old Roses, still blooming every summer in June.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0o5OKyVA6GzEZXM4yOrI3EVlAlqCyDuS4fJpOdQsdKol_n9ua_o5LlG7tPXgzmZnKMHVr47_qMN8qQBvv4wR2FjrAq5GX0xLdI0825vw4cj2LmRXqDr8QlW4nlflHC3zc2uBFMhTQtMEQOP7En-yk8ubwhSKYydSMupWuOGpcLJCoqqZesunKunxiWA/s4921/IMG_9780%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3166" data-original-width="4921" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0o5OKyVA6GzEZXM4yOrI3EVlAlqCyDuS4fJpOdQsdKol_n9ua_o5LlG7tPXgzmZnKMHVr47_qMN8qQBvv4wR2FjrAq5GX0xLdI0825vw4cj2LmRXqDr8QlW4nlflHC3zc2uBFMhTQtMEQOP7En-yk8ubwhSKYydSMupWuOGpcLJCoqqZesunKunxiWA/w400-h258/IMG_9780%20(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Below, flowers in June: Red Campion. The yellow blossom is Coreopsis Helios, or "Tickseed."<p></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSg6CLnJ2llPDbG1Hvrn1WKAR3JNhHY5ZXHxCMDpm1sQfRgn0WkBuUf-FKGLD3WnbzmX5Hz0ZXz8CQShBFyD5Hv_grwVcB21o8jwJ9PDeVCChJ462qiuKPbtBsBd1Sqop8huUMsuTev2aQ5rXYe519OGev1C67ffQxsenrSj3J-gNHcjdE0R4Eb3-Eg/s5152/IMG_9799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSg6CLnJ2llPDbG1Hvrn1WKAR3JNhHY5ZXHxCMDpm1sQfRgn0WkBuUf-FKGLD3WnbzmX5Hz0ZXz8CQShBFyD5Hv_grwVcB21o8jwJ9PDeVCChJ462qiuKPbtBsBd1Sqop8huUMsuTev2aQ5rXYe519OGev1C67ffQxsenrSj3J-gNHcjdE0R4Eb3-Eg/w400-h300/IMG_9799.JPG" width="400" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p>The slate path through the backyard garden.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oz9YHl2NmCDjx4fzvliBKR0FWmiD4PFPUFmvRhpOy_McE8EkA088UfYUpehYZyuJVfIcUiqJB40dGaLZvlhtpJuItQyDyOvoHdEMORS-Zj65cnx1zRC6QwcvVcSj01RUR6pXaZWLYkxW4cize8I9qZ_TXxRM8HDUbZpidILVHMjbJvLiT2ONze3SZg/s4715/IMG_9777%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4715" data-original-width="3767" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oz9YHl2NmCDjx4fzvliBKR0FWmiD4PFPUFmvRhpOy_McE8EkA088UfYUpehYZyuJVfIcUiqJB40dGaLZvlhtpJuItQyDyOvoHdEMORS-Zj65cnx1zRC6QwcvVcSj01RUR6pXaZWLYkxW4cize8I9qZ_TXxRM8HDUbZpidILVHMjbJvLiT2ONze3SZg/w512-h640/IMG_9777%20(2).JPG" width="512" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtq5lwLKk80XkSsjLKQJvjynjCYiIZnwdwRdS5vM_kYkRVz1iRDH4PTSpNiMW0zJuJTbnwv60RZ933esQB2vIe06LagAdHWdVF7jZDno4cPId02VplknizdQVcuZspcSrELTye9hoFo-U400k41b7ivgElxlzBzqpSGRixJIj2ypNjkmvAeRmG99Pkig/s5152/IMG_9772%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtq5lwLKk80XkSsjLKQJvjynjCYiIZnwdwRdS5vM_kYkRVz1iRDH4PTSpNiMW0zJuJTbnwv60RZ933esQB2vIe06LagAdHWdVF7jZDno4cPId02VplknizdQVcuZspcSrELTye9hoFo-U400k41b7ivgElxlzBzqpSGRixJIj2ypNjkmvAeRmG99Pkig/w640-h480/IMG_9772%20(2).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Pink rose blossoms in June. The hanging birdfeeder is well behind amid raspberry bushes.</p><p><br /></p>Against the garden's back fence -- largely erased by the tall shrub and Arbor vita evergreens -- on the left the Japanese red maple. On the right, the Korean Lilac tree in flower.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJ_em4ZrwZP4q5i7RjGlNAeOZTI0OHPTOBHYd-dsOySEDpBspPncBrs73K0o4qNOOd6b2qhNYNpmZu2hxre6elDMUzhTYzGg1CJbJpY8VwNRXr3rXDLJJAFaWi4nBr2RtHD_OkIuzVla4amVV_iH2BxsojfBzssrUYpil8Tm0LzkATMxChyBKhJZXVA/s5018/IMG_9758%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3744" data-original-width="5018" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJ_em4ZrwZP4q5i7RjGlNAeOZTI0OHPTOBHYd-dsOySEDpBspPncBrs73K0o4qNOOd6b2qhNYNpmZu2hxre6elDMUzhTYzGg1CJbJpY8VwNRXr3rXDLJJAFaWi4nBr2RtHD_OkIuzVla4amVV_iH2BxsojfBzssrUYpil8Tm0LzkATMxChyBKhJZXVA/w640-h478/IMG_9758%20(2).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKWMpOfUlxbUuhtFBGaYvZgeLGC0py7P739uA5Gm7x0jq75p_qXq6-eLlTVBmCRyHu7vJb05nrEDx3CBo0nEe1MZ9R8sBnJ9P81Kc_7vaBBmxHdEa6laWJgqLtY9NwQK1qQMgBGKPrp2eWDv0Ii2kka0kfGJLzaftEVsae9L87Z4ywqw85tEfODS9Fg/s4740/IMG_9757%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4740" data-original-width="3842" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKWMpOfUlxbUuhtFBGaYvZgeLGC0py7P739uA5Gm7x0jq75p_qXq6-eLlTVBmCRyHu7vJb05nrEDx3CBo0nEe1MZ9R8sBnJ9P81Kc_7vaBBmxHdEa6laWJgqLtY9NwQK1qQMgBGKPrp2eWDv0Ii2kka0kfGJLzaftEVsae9L87Z4ywqw85tEfODS9Fg/w324-h400/IMG_9757%20(2).JPG" width="324" /></a></div><p>The Lilacs, early June, in strong light.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioiuGVbUqeq71ir0RmJ1PrKgLbfplq0MCPDOxsPF2Veg3Sc_zgJZ3L1XHLGYTNssKbuC7nVcA5KhE3KyPCJiXit2kBNn7yvIBYDu2FqOOwjOqNUB2xzWCJtJm_p25WhQbb3Xl2OzMm6Fv_Md8VHYH3AlkaL1nl31TL29Njm-sKUdY7zUq72NHyrLubFA/s5152/IMG_9751%20(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioiuGVbUqeq71ir0RmJ1PrKgLbfplq0MCPDOxsPF2Veg3Sc_zgJZ3L1XHLGYTNssKbuC7nVcA5KhE3KyPCJiXit2kBNn7yvIBYDu2FqOOwjOqNUB2xzWCJtJm_p25WhQbb3Xl2OzMm6Fv_Md8VHYH3AlkaL1nl31TL29Njm-sKUdY7zUq72NHyrLubFA/w480-h640/IMG_9751%20(1).JPG" width="480" /></a></div>Back in May, a flowering Azalea.<p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The next four photos are of Crocuses, in April. Among the first to flower, and the first to pass.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoxF6Nt4PP3DZqGC3gEgHlUHMYjX_gxUOTN4m866NCNn1nwZ5r72C1WJnQLFRNLpfKMWcF3X1roYQmsedd2yAyKiDq2VwDlAT2QSpFklvdklYoVktTZFlikJkGvbVP27QuIY3cwdeJiVSZtTpAmObPkfWD7_hmLKJFIS9jr-xWnSZFSLJP4sDExf2CQ/s5152/IMG_9717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoxF6Nt4PP3DZqGC3gEgHlUHMYjX_gxUOTN4m866NCNn1nwZ5r72C1WJnQLFRNLpfKMWcF3X1roYQmsedd2yAyKiDq2VwDlAT2QSpFklvdklYoVktTZFlikJkGvbVP27QuIY3cwdeJiVSZtTpAmObPkfWD7_hmLKJFIS9jr-xWnSZFSLJP4sDExf2CQ/s320/IMG_9717.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Kdp0-PPd6JI5n_KP59U3ycWFqQSG-ZzKvoXwQJ3qSgW8ijo32pVSd4rECgHdE46oMh7kraTzMyBRRhvwLfA-vkWG3EtEqFnLEtHdYAWbg0dd_eEAZrznFjxd4VzttuSso-oZa6tQNA-dsFxQADQsVEyi-VXJLCKtVQ0_VQ6AcJ65I1p_D2TTc5rcwA/s5152/IMG_9715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Kdp0-PPd6JI5n_KP59U3ycWFqQSG-ZzKvoXwQJ3qSgW8ijo32pVSd4rECgHdE46oMh7kraTzMyBRRhvwLfA-vkWG3EtEqFnLEtHdYAWbg0dd_eEAZrznFjxd4VzttuSso-oZa6tQNA-dsFxQADQsVEyi-VXJLCKtVQ0_VQ6AcJ65I1p_D2TTc5rcwA/s320/IMG_9715.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3AbWKmO1f4Qa_dGOa4OheAzBB1lxhTTeFS7BBkiFmMCBgahoSxxDH10zuMRE9u07r20rCXk9fgtfQ1-C5vHuEwXqeDUhVSR5rwgr_sxBOFsxs4gzlXDerLjex9UmnPWjtC72LnWMjsQDEsgexe7DdzYWAwSbILK4ZNC6rYQSNvYCto0nAifUCMN0YA/s5152/IMG_9713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3AbWKmO1f4Qa_dGOa4OheAzBB1lxhTTeFS7BBkiFmMCBgahoSxxDH10zuMRE9u07r20rCXk9fgtfQ1-C5vHuEwXqeDUhVSR5rwgr_sxBOFsxs4gzlXDerLjex9UmnPWjtC72LnWMjsQDEsgexe7DdzYWAwSbILK4ZNC6rYQSNvYCto0nAifUCMN0YA/s320/IMG_9713.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLc4bn0eEyRIHqHTf8CsGywON12BkrC-Kq5pVAtUaQPYfVqoTq5fRL44n7_0DMH-d6aPwrq0uiZL3pwPK1pTd_qs0yB8tGmR1tji67xUOUcec5gq4K-4njB1agY14Rk6aPljAYkxdGo-cHlZMq91pD6HjzDCvKNLEwFb7r3B0YqD8UeeO0dKg3CWLC0Q/s5152/IMG_9712%20(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLc4bn0eEyRIHqHTf8CsGywON12BkrC-Kq5pVAtUaQPYfVqoTq5fRL44n7_0DMH-d6aPwrq0uiZL3pwPK1pTd_qs0yB8tGmR1tji67xUOUcec5gq4K-4njB1agY14Rk6aPljAYkxdGo-cHlZMq91pD6HjzDCvKNLEwFb7r3B0YqD8UeeO0dKg3CWLC0Q/s320/IMG_9712%20(1).JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYqmVCApPaV89we9GWe9esTlq_wNWBWgrXVQMyLv9d4b08O58MG2YGNYurpv0HfBGGCsSUA45N-QtnoVkKc3KsK2Koxy0slqQ_DcCCbraJRWBpdh_OXe2VKfeLPR7FSMi0VObSFAinlM7p_saLyrH7kkiDiO1SIyHQ2nZ90nSQisBS23Gj5Q5CQhz8VA/s5152/IMG_9281%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYqmVCApPaV89we9GWe9esTlq_wNWBWgrXVQMyLv9d4b08O58MG2YGNYurpv0HfBGGCsSUA45N-QtnoVkKc3KsK2Koxy0slqQ_DcCCbraJRWBpdh_OXe2VKfeLPR7FSMi0VObSFAinlM7p_saLyrH7kkiDiO1SIyHQ2nZ90nSQisBS23Gj5Q5CQhz8VA/w480-h640/IMG_9281%20(2).JPG" width="480" /></a></div>With yellow blossoms and violet-tinged leaves that look army-brown in dull light, these are Lysimachia vulgaris. They bloom in late June, many of the blossoms still hanging on in late July. The plant is a spreader, and will take its neighbor's space and sunlight. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPIwGP88ZuuXRMg_mGbnlGtX7OdMwRlwTjob-xrZHT-dzvqyAQhCOP-Yyz5fe7FZeSyfFkoqA0eRTHgy0yrqv9U06ZEk5c4mqKz5i3PiiEkpwEch-CBTs-TQ9boTXftMYqsWgI7rIEijzhow9igFgllItLxVGAJOZZkjqub7QJu7x2lj6w1AlErT2UA/s5152/IMG_9247%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPIwGP88ZuuXRMg_mGbnlGtX7OdMwRlwTjob-xrZHT-dzvqyAQhCOP-Yyz5fe7FZeSyfFkoqA0eRTHgy0yrqv9U06ZEk5c4mqKz5i3PiiEkpwEch-CBTs-TQ9boTXftMYqsWgI7rIEijzhow9igFgllItLxVGAJOZZkjqub7QJu7x2lj6w1AlErT2UA/s320/IMG_9247%20(2).JPG" width="240" /></a></div>An Asiatic Lilly blossoming in our part- to largely shaded front yard.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">These are the last of our white Peonies, blooming close to the ground.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3bGl4U_5CEOelSaKaEopGWTD6bnpsmOFPc3ywbMgtI1LFY0exkWuEGfoikcsYoQ5X-cARBbL_VeTgEr6d6M_vzOb0iaJsEjIJQC-xTLX4HPPDfF0McxawWWsuxHNUMeT6OjtXMveNFaJ-xPaCk5OBd7N1c7Wttt_S6pnNlmdiAQh82a_c3uvm25Gtg/s4956/IMG_9195%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2276" data-original-width="4956" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3bGl4U_5CEOelSaKaEopGWTD6bnpsmOFPc3ywbMgtI1LFY0exkWuEGfoikcsYoQ5X-cARBbL_VeTgEr6d6M_vzOb0iaJsEjIJQC-xTLX4HPPDfF0McxawWWsuxHNUMeT6OjtXMveNFaJ-xPaCk5OBd7N1c7Wttt_S6pnNlmdiAQh82a_c3uvm25Gtg/s320/IMG_9195%20(2).JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkJLQyGQNghkrzAY1SKTER5Sww8DfjHEh32XhsRXcwQYLuEgz7eIaxc39ZN1JSN0fYOztvVdlOxEJqOkIpKScCoLM7OCFfmI_2rpk2rlaJs5Urpea3pY1K-kF5QWhiRVVWYDdFYiQfuteDZv4hsZlGli1LHj_6kMu6rK0oaMsUcs3ZXNTDh8MRA5Gkw/s5152/IMG_9189%20(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkJLQyGQNghkrzAY1SKTER5Sww8DfjHEh32XhsRXcwQYLuEgz7eIaxc39ZN1JSN0fYOztvVdlOxEJqOkIpKScCoLM7OCFfmI_2rpk2rlaJs5Urpea3pY1K-kF5QWhiRVVWYDdFYiQfuteDZv4hsZlGli1LHj_6kMu6rK0oaMsUcs3ZXNTDh8MRA5Gkw/w640-h480/IMG_9189%20(2).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Another moment in June. The purple flowers are Spiderwort. Behind them, the white blossoms of Rosa Multiflora.</p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-76766616478773743092022-07-24T09:50:00.000-07:002022-07-24T09:50:52.711-07:00The Garden of Verse: Poetry in Plymouth's First Parish Church <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmLSgYi3In0xd2IEQJj1NvGhAxxlwBsvjleLDmVMniWNg1yr9ULaSIAU_Xw7_C4GJaC0VkmS7-LoL7S_ZWl0-l3Ig5J8EMcb6bUrrtmqPz4FO2pPj3I7GQsilqIvEqoxEgI8C1KYm00mB23MQFrJOpIqpmgdkg8ifsWozsuoqTIsjteZsom7hmVY8dQ/s1200/22first%20parish%20plyouth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmLSgYi3In0xd2IEQJj1NvGhAxxlwBsvjleLDmVMniWNg1yr9ULaSIAU_Xw7_C4GJaC0VkmS7-LoL7S_ZWl0-l3Ig5J8EMcb6bUrrtmqPz4FO2pPj3I7GQsilqIvEqoxEgI8C1KYm00mB23MQFrJOpIqpmgdkg8ifsWozsuoqTIsjteZsom7hmVY8dQ/w640-h640/22first%20parish%20plyouth.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>First Parish Church, a Unitarian-Universalist parish traces its roots back to the Pilgrim colony, invited me to read some poems on political and social question themes last week. </p><p>I was happy to oblige. The parish holds its summer morning services in the parish house chapel, a modest airy room with its own chasm, rather than in the famous stone church. </p><p>The relaxed and intimate setting proved a perfect room to read in, and the attentive congregation proved to be an ideal audience. Connecting with a room is a wonderful experience for a poet. </p><p>My political poems tend to be angry and sometimes complicated. A few are droll and satirical or, I dare say, funny -- at least in part. </p><p>Some of the members of summer crowd waited after the service to thank me. I had to ask myself, 'are we all too old for a big group hug?' Anyway, I'm imagining a verbal hug. </p><p>For anyone who wishes to sample the poems I read -- some of them written recently in response to the evil events of the last few months; some of them written during the Evil Days of Trumpery, which I continue to believe must remain in the past -- I'm posting these poems below. It was about a 20-minute reading. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sunflower People<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You hide in the subway tunnels<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of life’s unending nightmares<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You walk, or ride, or hire cabs for thousand-dollar journeys<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> to a border crossing<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">that is no longer open<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You struggle down roads of vulnerability and fear, carrying
your baggage,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">your children,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">who belong not only to you,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">but to your country,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and to us all<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You shelter in rubbled cities,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">holes blown in once-solid blocks<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of home and hearth,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">sacred refuges that once housed human bodies and souls<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by the hundreds,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">people no more, nor less breakable than any of us,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">left abandoned and vulnerable,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">now that death has come to a land<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> where sunflowers bloomed<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You, who flee<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and carry one another’s burdens<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">along pitted roads to the hope of a tomorrow<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">somewhere safer than today,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">that haven<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">we have all promised ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That earthly haven<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in which we may celebrate another spring,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">another birthday of the earth<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You carry our lives in your journey<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">as well as your own,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and those of your loved ones, your ancestors,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and the memory of ours as well,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is room enough, I know, in your souls,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> to carry all these<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">as there is world enough for you<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in ours<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Come, walk in our shoes as well:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">there is world enough for all. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Texas in Hell</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The eyes of the others,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">les autres*</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hate mongering<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Closed doors of the mind in self-panic<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Race-pandering Congressional creeps<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">stalk the Halls of Hades<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When?</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in God’s name?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A universal set of trigger-fingers<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in circular execution<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A lake of burning fire<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Armed to the teeth = utterly unprotected<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gehenna on the dusty plain<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Looking into the eyes<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of the lost<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No consolation in the knowing<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Self-slaying America<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Compelled to repeat the same self-torture<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">endlessly: forever<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Infinite self-slaughter<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An underworld of hate,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">unholy perdition<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">*”The others,” a reference to Sartre’s play about hell,
titled (in English) “No Exit.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Slaughter of the Innocents</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They are burying children<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the first days of June<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The world is a beautiful place<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That we have turned into a slaughterhouse<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I ask the Roses to forgive me<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I beg the Irises to stay a while longer<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And help us become as they are, keepers of
beauty<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Teach us to walk in the natural light of
compassion<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And avoid the thorny dells of the heart<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">from which only blood flows<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Peonies soon will arrive, but will they
remain?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Are they not our children too<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and so acquainted with the brevity of our
compassion?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The slimness of our restraint, our capacity
not only<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">for the severing of living beings,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But for wielding the stubborn serpent’s tongue
that sloganeers<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">over slaughter?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ah, you wildflowers of the vernal wild<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When we clip you by the necks<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And proclaim to the skies that these
sacrificial blooms<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stand for the memory children of Uvalde, the
children of Newtown,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of Parkland,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For the cruelly extinguished lives of
bullet-flowering Columbine…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And when the Peony blossoms, and the Rose in
their hundreds and hundreds<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of tiny white blossoms, their eyes on forever,
scent the air,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shall I hasten to the sacramental taking<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of a few dozen here, a few dozen there?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No one will miss them and soon, of course,
they will be gone,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">returned to the shadows, as will we all,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">even those who enable the taking of children
from the gardens of humanity<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You will recognize these disturbances of the
airwaves, sniff their memes,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Inhale the self-satisfied atmosphere of the
servants of the Moloch AR-15<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Give us Barabbas! they cry<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of which state, we inquire, is Pilate the
Senator?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of which charnel house the Governor?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then, perhaps, my fellow takers of the fruits
of the Earth,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Who live and love by the bounty of Earth<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In regions both warm as love and cool as
reason,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You will join me when we declare a final and
concluding bounty<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On those who insist upon placing the law’s
protective armor<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">on the wasters of the gardens of childhood and
love.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">B i p o l a r A m e r i c a <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My America (Part I)</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<br />
<br />
Looking at you these fallen days (or me in the mirror) <br />
I join the ranks of your disappointed admirers<br />
We are no longer saving the world<br />
we are saving our jobs<br />
Frankly, I am sick of the whole 'greatest country in the world' </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">chest-thumpery</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
and if there were somewhere else to go I would go there<br />
but (still true) if you are not part of the solution<br />
you are part of the problem <br />
and I know which part I wish to be <br />
<br />
America, my transcendental gender-free inamorata, you are </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">my sole support</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
I am one of your pensioned ex-lovers, as <br />
glimpsed in the film version of ‘what-we-now-really-are,’<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">walking the boardwalk somewhere desolate, like Atlantic
City, <br />
the New Jersey Crimea, sucking up air like one of Chekov's washed-up emigres,<br />
after the rodeo, after the gold rush, after the film festival, <br />
after the failed uprising, after the media has packed up and gone home<br />
to spend a quiet evening in the hotel with their phones,<br />
<br />
one of your disappointed vampires in need of a bloody fix, <br />
scanning the pre-dawn streets for Ginsberg set-piece atrocities,<br />
the best minefields of America, dodging gunned-up, hyped-up, trumped-up <br />
scaredy-cops shooting black men because we are afraid of black men<br />
(understandably, perhaps, given all we have done to them?)<br />
and are of course still doing with fanny-pats of approval </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">from race-card
Republican judges<br />
<br />
America, ghoulish dreamboat, ancient lover gone in the teeth,<br />
eager for wounds to lick cuz you like the taste,<br />
you grow comfortable with the deaths of others<br />
They are dying in Aleppo<br />
Other countries (nursing their own broken mirrors) ask, <br />
"What are they are thinking in America?"<br />
They are not thinking in America<br />
Thinking is not done in America,<br />
some calculation of course, some texting, some advertising,<br />
some truly boorish emoting<br />
It's always about us, isn't it?<br />
‘If not, then why are you bothering me?’<br />
<br />
My America! after the big affair, after the ball is over, <br />
your kick-line of sulky dwarfs cleaning up behind the parade<br />
You were young once<br />
We were all young once<br />
Your bright young men wore wigs and tight pants, showed a leg<br />
Ladies learned to smoke, swear, dance and dip to apocalyp-stick swingtime <br />
America, your century is over<br />
You open your faded arms to tinpot dictators, <br />
make eyes at banana republics, don the latest looks from funhouse mirrors,<br />
worship pigs who despise everything you ever stood for <br />
<br />
... all for a botched democracy, a menopausal male <br />
gone grouchy in the knees, stiff in the frontal lobe <br />
You have no use for carping critics <br />
who spend time spooning with their buddy Google, <br />
the single pop culture lightweight who can stand their company<br />
Write me a check and I'll get out of town<br />
</span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My America (2)</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<br />
My America, however, is a guy with a distinctly 'different' name <br />
that is to say clearly not Anglo-Saxon (a tongue with more than </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">enough funny
names<br />
of its own), for example banjo player 'Bela Fleck'<br />
combining Hungarian roots with the Appalachian mountain music that now </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">defines
his instrument,<br />
itself a melding of deep-flowing currents, Celtic, English, African-American<br />
Who travels to Africa to trace the banjo's genealogy <br />
in hide-covered stringed instruments brought here by slaves <br />
In the film* you can see the respect in his eyes as his fingers work to
copy <br />
a finger-picking rhythm pecked at hummingbird speed by a Malian guitar player<br />
and the respect in the eyes of the African players of the akonting <br />
(a three-stringed, long-necked banjo antecedent)<br />
as they see what Fleck can do with the modern version <br />
<br />
<br />
The country, that is, of Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang, my Quincy neighbors <br />
whose grandfathers visit to play backyard basketball with preschool grandsons,<br />
the lady who shouts with the half-dozen words we share that I have <br />
planted my garden in the wrong place. 'What are these?' she points. 'Nothing to
eat?' <br />
The country of my wife's grandfather Meier who escaped the czar's army <br />
to carry a sewing machine to work in Brooklyn<br />
My close-mouthed father, born here in unlucky times, <br />
who never once in our hearing spoke a word of his Depression childhood, <br />
but survived to give us what he lacked and carried his secrets to the grave<br />
The Nisei soldiers who stormed up mountains in Italy to take Nazi forts<br />
while their parents were interned somewhere in the ambivalently 'Great' Plains,<br />
and those with names like DiMaggio whose mothers were forced to register each
year<br />
as enemy aliens and whose travel-restricted fathers could no longer visit their
sons' restaurants<br />
while they fought in Europe and the Pacific <br />
Of citizen Khizr Khan, whose officer son died protecting those who served under
him <br />
in Afghanistan,<br />
a country much like this one in having too many wars. (My America can be
improved.)<br />
And Zarif Khan, who founded an Afghani community in of all places
Wyoming, <br />
by taking advantage of a collection of opportunities such as the ranch-hands'
pent-up demand <br />
for fresh tamales, the stock market, freedom of travel, the right to
vote, <br />
found perhaps nowhere else but in these United States <br />
<br />
Of Darlene Love who went from house cleaner, to backup singer, to
contributing <br />
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," to the nation's permanent
holiday playlist <br />
The country where an author (Barbara Ehrenreich) <br />
could write a book titled "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in
America"<br />
and not be hounded by Putin's police <br />
Of Cesar Chavez, Joan Baez, Sonia Sotomayor, Roberto Clemente, Rita Moreno<br />
<br />
A country of 'climbing-up' ordinary heroes, open minds, thinkers and doers,
money makers and music makers<br />
with names our own Moms and Dads never heard of,<br />
but learned to play nice with for the good of the whole, <i>e pluribus unum</i> <br />
transcending the clans and tribalisms that set other worlds on fire<br />
because <i>we</i> were the others, the strangers, the newcomers <i>once</i>,
the genuine alien nation<br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">*"Throw Down Your Heart," 2008</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‘I Have Lost a Country'<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> "What signifies the beauty of nature when
men are base?" – Henry David Thoreau <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He was thinking about the Fugitive Slave Act, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">speaking at an anti-slavery rally along with Sojourner Truth
in 1854<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">after Anthony Burns, who had escaped from bondage, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">was arrested in Boston, where he was "working quietly <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in a clothing shop" on Beacon Hill. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It's just one more thing. It happens everywhere. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It's a tipping point. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Someone tips off a slave-catcher, they're hunting up North
now <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">empowered by federal law. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Burns is hauled before a special judge, in a special court,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">created by the Fugitive Slave Act to facilitate claims
against persons of color –<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"persons"! that Constitutional euphemism – by any
white person. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Boston rallies and 'mobs' of protestors war with police, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">seeking to free Burns, who is dragged through the streets <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by federal marshals with guns drawn, guarded by an artillery
regiment <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and three platoons of marines, while thousands of angry
locals<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">watch helplessly, cowed by force of arms.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Burns is returned to Virginia, shackled, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and flogged. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At the rally held in Framingham, Mass. on July 4, 1854,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thoreau confided that he had suffered "a vast and
indefinite loss" –<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">but, he asked himself, what was it? "At last it
occurred to me <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">that what I had lost was a country."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And so, reading in yesterday's newspaper, and again today,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">that armed thugs, "federal officers" culled from
border police and ICE, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">were firing weapons, hurling flash bombs,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and kidnapping protestors from the streets of Portland,
Oregon, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">where they had no lawful business to be <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and where no assistance from the federal government <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">had been sought by local authorities –<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">but simply performing in the absence of all legal warrant<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">as Trump's chosen "Brown Shirts," <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I find myself thrown once again into days of rage, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">unsettled in my mind, as I too often have been <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in these dark days: <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">feeling deprived of something valuable, if imperceptible, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">dear to me and to many:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">discovering that I too have 'lost my country,'<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and that finding it again is no sure thing. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The American Gulag: An Elegy <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Weep not for the family of Márcio Goulart do Nascimiento*<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">who crossed the river for fear of being murdered by the
neighborhood drug lords <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in Brazil, where police told him, 'if you complain<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">you will be killed.'<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For now they are safely jailed in Texas, Marcio and his wife
in one place,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">his two children somewhere else in the American gulag,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">convicted of infringing on the peace and security <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of the great Land of Liberty <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">because, as he himself confessed, "I did not wish us to
be killed."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Weep not for Juan Francisco Fuentes Castro, fleeing the
violent streets of El Salvador, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">who sought only, he pled ("may it please the
Court") to bring his children to safety,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">for surely they are safe now behind bars. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Some day, perhaps, he will see them again.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nor weep for poor José de Jesús Días of Mexico,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">who fails to understand why the court cannot tell him <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">where his daughter is. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And so he alone will not accommodate the Court with the
obligatory guilty plea <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">until someone can tell him where in this land of freedom<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">they have placed her, safe behind bars.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For it is a simple thing, is it not, to declare one's guilt<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">for wetting one's feet in the sacred waters of Destiny's
Dividing Line <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in order to preserve the lives of one's own family members?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Madonna would understand. The Savior would understand. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The judge too sympathizes, but his hands are tied by the
bonds of Liberty. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Weep not for José de Jesús Días, for he is patently 'illegal.'<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">His daughter too is illegal,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">but now no doubt safe in a place made of bars and uniforms,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">among the tribes of lost children.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nor let us shed our tears for the sufferings of Elizabeth
González Juárez, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">who alone among so many, knows where her daughter is. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She crossed the River of Tears from Guanajuato, Mexico, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">to protect from harm a three-year-old child, abused by
her <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">drug-dealing father,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and sought the healing Balm of Gilead in the home <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of her own mother who dwells among the kind and peace-loving
souls <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of Fort Worth, Texas.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alas, the Land of Liberty could spare no refuge for a single
infant more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">upon a camel's back of three hundred million souls, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and so delivered the child straight into the hands<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of her rightful, family-abusing, drug-dealing father.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is the American Way. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Weep not, I say, for the 17 defendants dispatched by the
Court in <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">an hour-plus session, finishing in time for lunch.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All are guilty. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But, in the quiet watches of the night, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">lend a thought for a thousand children, and yet a thousand
more <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(by unofficial count at best)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">young minds and hearts below the age of legal consent<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ripped from the arms of their parents in a few weeks' time <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">on the strength of a Liberty-abusing Demonic Decree.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How many more victims, both old and young, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">lie in separate hells <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">among the thousands denied refuge in the Home of the (no
longer) Free?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now is the time for your tears. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">*Names
and other details taken from The Guardian newspaper: see
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/18/us-immigration-court-parents-separated-children-families<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They Came <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First they came for the immigrant children <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And we looked away<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Because the Leader's toady told us, "Those are not<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">our children"<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And we looked at our own children,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and were reassured<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then they came for the people who cover their heads <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">or pray too much<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And again we looked away<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Because we were not Iranians, or Iraqis, or Gazans, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">or children of the West Bank detained indefinitely without
charges<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And, as the man said, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">those are not our children<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then they came for the abused, and those who accused their
abusers,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and for the accusers' advocates,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and for those who fought against their abusers,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But we looked away, and jested at the comedie humaine, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">because we were not ourselves the victims of abuse<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">or the advocates for the abused,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and, after all, we were "not his type"<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then they came for the ones who would never <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">play ball with Der Leader<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The ones who would always be trouble <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">because they were cheated out of their land<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">or, perchance, had been enslaved<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">or who had once owned a country that the slave-owners wished
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> to possess
for themselves<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">or who, we feared, were willing to work <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> for too
little money<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">or who loved the wrong people<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And then because no one else remained standing <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in our
diminished patria, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">neither advocates, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">nor scribblers with their pencil over the ear, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">nor Enemies of the People with their hand-held devices,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">nor workers’ parties,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">nor defenders of the beaten, humiliated and disappeared <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">nor anyone able to kick the ball from their feet,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">nothing was left for us to do<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">but to lay our own bodies before his feet<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">as the painted, spiked, and horny-headed demons of
extinction <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">cheered, and drank, and laughed, and danced upon the bodies <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of their victims <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and ran up history's score <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Slaughter of the Innocents<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They are burying children<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the first days of June<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The world is a beautiful place<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That we have turned into a slaughterhouse<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I ask the Roses to forgive me<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I beg the Irises to stay a while longer<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And help us become as they are, keepers of beauty<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Teach us to walk in the natural light of compassion<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And avoid the thorny dells of the heart<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">from which only blood flows<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Peonies soon will arrive, but will they remain?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Are they not our children too<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and so acquainted with the brevity of our compassion?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The slimness of our restraint, our capacity not only<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">for the severing of living beings,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">but for wielding the stubborn serpent’s tongue that
sloganeers<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">over slaughter?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ah, you flowers of the vernal wild<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When we clip you by the necks<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And proclaim to the skies that these sacrificial blooms<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stand for the memory children of Uvalde, the children of
Newtown, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of Parkland,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For the cruelly extinguished lives of bullet-flowering Columbine…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And when the Peony blossoms, and the Rose in their hundreds
and hundreds<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of tiny white blossoms, their eyes on forever, scent the
air, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shall I hasten to the sacramental taking<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of a few dozen here, a few dozen there?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No one will miss them and soon, of course, they will be
gone, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">returned to the shadows, as will we all,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">even those who enable the taking of children from the
gardens of humanity<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You will recognize these disturbances of the airwaves, sniff
their memes,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Inhale the self-satisfied atmosphere of the servants of the
Moloch AR-15<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Give us Barabbas! they cry<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of which state, we inquire, is Pilate the Senator?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of which charnel house the Governor?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then, perhaps, my fellow takers of the fruits of the Earth,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Who live and love by the bounty of Earth<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In regions both warm as love and cool as reason,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You will join me when we declare a final and concluding
bounty<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On those who insist upon placing the law’s protective armor <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">on the wasters of the gardens of childhood and love.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Proscription List <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh, it would be so
long.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s start at the
top.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What kind of
country, in this day and age, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">permits itself to
be ruled by the sclerotic opinions <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">of nasty old men
and a conniving Cruella? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m not talking
about the Taliban<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">or the hall of
shame panel of contemporary monsters <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">in charge of
realms in Syria, Turkey, India, Brazil, you name it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(Why does the shit
rise to the top in both the autocratic<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">and so-called
‘democratic’ traditions of governance?)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">That witty
Victorian duo wrote a charmingly apt ditty:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">‘I have a little
list’ – paired by a perfect rhyming mate:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">‘They never will
be missed’<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh, what a list we
have to choose from in these demented days?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The bouncy
billionaire, the one with all the hair.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And in the event
of one’s fondest wish fulfillment,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">the demise of the
lately implicated ex-President:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s add him to
the list<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Remove him like a
cyst<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(You’ll probably
find him pissed)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">On this name we
must insist<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Add Mc-CoalMan to
the list, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He never will be
missed<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(And perhaps a
fibbing phony now ex-prime<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">who’s outlived by
centuries his time?) <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For in the present
climate, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">when we’re
shadowed by a primate,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">whose deadbeat
board of phonies <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">extinguish all the
good,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">the deeds we say
we should do –<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">If only that we
could!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But mostly it’s
that killing bench,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">who themselves
deserve a little wrench,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">destroyers of
what’s fair and good –<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">They invite a
little twist<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Add them to the
list!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh, weep, beloved
republic! What profoundly rotten luck!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">To be force-fed a
collation of rancid lame duck!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-11477022963737909022022-06-20T22:27:00.001-07:002022-06-22T21:43:26.563-07:00The Garden of the Seasons: Let's All Worship the Sun in June! The Plants Are Showing Us How<p>Spring has proved a very strong season for flowering plants this year. The flowers that grow in the spring, of course, do just that. But this year they have done it extremely well. </p><p>Here's an album of growing days this spring, now that the sun has reached its zenith for another year, 2022. We can't say that much has gone well for human beings in this country, or many of the others, this year. But those purveyors of beauty, spring flowers, have held up their end. </p><p>We have, in our midst, the "plant kingdom." It's an old term, but maybe we should take it seriously and recognize the prior rights of green creatures to flourish and grow. Where in the scheme of thing do we humans belong? We don't live in a forest any more. But many of us do live amid the urban forest. And many of us possess little patches of green we can all our own and cause (or try to cause) them to flourish.</p><p>My wife, Anne, and I live in a piece of Earth called Quincy, Mass. Here's some of what's been growing there this spring. In June </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLGAuD_U5wIhzy5AnTApGyXVQB_ruxf8H1C2RAyqRwMEIrRMcdQ8RWmj8_sTUwK7bS5gWmMfsXLUgYPFzZHhJ9obGJMmpccQFcCAAQyhjlq-78eQerhCkkPLsJfHP-zq6ieQre15d45baaWWY_rmgpnB-V7svRni-XKgd7Eyk_aUVVDZSDF5TxzGg2A/s4160/20220615_175248.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLGAuD_U5wIhzy5AnTApGyXVQB_ruxf8H1C2RAyqRwMEIrRMcdQ8RWmj8_sTUwK7bS5gWmMfsXLUgYPFzZHhJ9obGJMmpccQFcCAAQyhjlq-78eQerhCkkPLsJfHP-zq6ieQre15d45baaWWY_rmgpnB-V7svRni-XKgd7Eyk_aUVVDZSDF5TxzGg2A/w300-h400/20220615_175248.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Achillea, or Yarrow, gives us big yellow flowers.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftdJpzhEWCWZ5kzFuE8c43SK7bfMN7iuyq5L-fbNxjWtijL5LqzTQr-DVSSp8w_OOgLW5tC9yxeGgob6BEA2gv6jS6B3zsozE2KjrCeUMGfWG3wijGbABZkzm1foaKZ8ck9X_OfQUhR7COhEatwIvw64TCM3raq1khyGjjS2AlMjZWeiT1OOXxOpkgQ/s4160/20220612_103400.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftdJpzhEWCWZ5kzFuE8c43SK7bfMN7iuyq5L-fbNxjWtijL5LqzTQr-DVSSp8w_OOgLW5tC9yxeGgob6BEA2gv6jS6B3zsozE2KjrCeUMGfWG3wijGbABZkzm1foaKZ8ck9X_OfQUhR7COhEatwIvw64TCM3raq1khyGjjS2AlMjZWeiT1OOXxOpkgQ/w320-h240/20220612_103400.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Lady's Mantle, delicate flowers in early June.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFZyh0gJeJWiXW-M3MDNWoKnSWIhkqfzMpoTh69cb-hC1AUEuDZrDGZqYFZDdV8G_qh-B3liQS2ubPQLzc7AnD4LIdoRtMjARxFF5ZbL_4_BnEFhYklyXwjYkNrOB3fXFbXR-ya0FdyMpO6j4VLeBGz1edZygN4JPM3CTF_QWxDU3fdwNs4bBdGRnyQ/s4160/20220608_160844.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFZyh0gJeJWiXW-M3MDNWoKnSWIhkqfzMpoTh69cb-hC1AUEuDZrDGZqYFZDdV8G_qh-B3liQS2ubPQLzc7AnD4LIdoRtMjARxFF5ZbL_4_BnEFhYklyXwjYkNrOB3fXFbXR-ya0FdyMpO6j4VLeBGz1edZygN4JPM3CTF_QWxDU3fdwNs4bBdGRnyQ/w300-h400/20220608_160844.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>White Peony blossoms in June, even in this sheltered and too shady spot.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgI9cPpC6v3sysr39odUSQC7v66uR1n0OfldPNJS6M6_kJJ2vgNZ6zV6qCCD3MD49uoI-H4bzqJMog9iQ11chi6PF9JvZcAEUfvSUjPWQxvLz9NE62zDds9BPJRujF5r_u030qhqN3eFZNUXkyZadmGrVbiEjJ0EjdNtQ5zYvPfnhAq5RKwgEbDST4QQ/s4160/20220608_123457.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgI9cPpC6v3sysr39odUSQC7v66uR1n0OfldPNJS6M6_kJJ2vgNZ6zV6qCCD3MD49uoI-H4bzqJMog9iQ11chi6PF9JvZcAEUfvSUjPWQxvLz9NE62zDds9BPJRujF5r_u030qhqN3eFZNUXkyZadmGrVbiEjJ0EjdNtQ5zYvPfnhAq5RKwgEbDST4QQ/w640-h480/20220608_123457.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FMS6umI8p2xfIKcV0YfB504EIQ5GoyQ7-7kvQAJXClNzFRjx4vvn_wyrgkpVATe1KpDRjZkOKSBqRyaSmaJpzpFm5hxISFRy0p_ARRcrnE84CmtN-oaLCXz9XF7N44cVVlPNYb93xUs8afof7EGCY_xqRYGo6Aijk_P0H8dPQFuIugMq2VMRT4IARw/s4160/20220606_114441.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FMS6umI8p2xfIKcV0YfB504EIQ5GoyQ7-7kvQAJXClNzFRjx4vvn_wyrgkpVATe1KpDRjZkOKSBqRyaSmaJpzpFm5hxISFRy0p_ARRcrnE84CmtN-oaLCXz9XF7N44cVVlPNYb93xUs8afof7EGCY_xqRYGo6Aijk_P0H8dPQFuIugMq2VMRT4IARw/s320/20220606_114441.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>These red roses blossom on a very old vine. It was here when we arrived almost 20 years ago, but barely bloomed. It needs fertilizing and repeated pruning to keep it going strong. <p></p><p><br /></p><p>Lamium, or "Spotted Dead Nettle" is low, delicate groundcover, lovely when in flower.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_T6J1GHLsvSBuMxVx5ElQh-tDKCN2jeN9Uz755FaACp2F2Ej8hLBQQEd47F19cjOLghSmXos8n3aLvGIPj0MQlnrNGDC0uEbC3WI6VibwTHZf2MU14ubFRyrwMsom1b3L9ajLhwtaZnnCv498xkXpczSp2Da3DX2XE3YUgKvHs5Ql7U_X1FY383bDQ/s4160/20220527_174626.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_T6J1GHLsvSBuMxVx5ElQh-tDKCN2jeN9Uz755FaACp2F2Ej8hLBQQEd47F19cjOLghSmXos8n3aLvGIPj0MQlnrNGDC0uEbC3WI6VibwTHZf2MU14ubFRyrwMsom1b3L9ajLhwtaZnnCv498xkXpczSp2Da3DX2XE3YUgKvHs5Ql7U_X1FY383bDQ/s320/20220527_174626.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>The flag Iris need attention too. When their rhizomes feel crowded they stop flowering. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lm51-Zy40Q-uwQfp5fT1e2xE3dRPB1tJ-dK9pcA15Pe2gdQPxMatHj-pxAdmEFDuF2Ineo05F8YV-WJISuO6IJqhFH_LtfHLFEtUX8wFC_3tl2tylf_WvUgwkts43CQcU_e4npx-I8q4v2TXDWlDxcVOqwjZnr1N_3Dx1Br71owGWUssrblPjba1uA/s4160/20220526_155331.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7lm51-Zy40Q-uwQfp5fT1e2xE3dRPB1tJ-dK9pcA15Pe2gdQPxMatHj-pxAdmEFDuF2Ineo05F8YV-WJISuO6IJqhFH_LtfHLFEtUX8wFC_3tl2tylf_WvUgwkts43CQcU_e4npx-I8q4v2TXDWlDxcVOqwjZnr1N_3Dx1Br71owGWUssrblPjba1uA/s320/20220526_155331.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Icelandic Poppies, a fleeting pleasure.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFpAMsUVNbIDGvlfrQfC84wbS7RyLZmDAUkYHcDf_LcP6eld4ESdq88u-AAEkYL3gdM8AafrgRfpWnP_xxRWuEzQWNEL1vh5DEtb7s0UFSal6oFjedRTE3laQF5nihljjl7rzHzk_UB5RoO8sKPo8A6lG6tqFLgXsmDVeHcxdKWwdDiZtTyWtyy5okbQ/s4160/20220523_194630.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFpAMsUVNbIDGvlfrQfC84wbS7RyLZmDAUkYHcDf_LcP6eld4ESdq88u-AAEkYL3gdM8AafrgRfpWnP_xxRWuEzQWNEL1vh5DEtb7s0UFSal6oFjedRTE3laQF5nihljjl7rzHzk_UB5RoO8sKPo8A6lG6tqFLgXsmDVeHcxdKWwdDiZtTyWtyy5okbQ/w320-h240/20220523_194630.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This Wigelia blooms strongly though it's getting crowded by a neighboring Japanese red maple.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ7F38kjor9wbDre428n9Yy5g0G_B1lM_COVHe3CtmP5i5Hbfk9SlqCmqHM_883DMb6CUX8XlXWgQgURzaXPEtJfQMmJ6UrKRakF0aL2Nn6blrEnLbf2FaikHR3k8FI1kGQQVNv0P6MkjS224u6wDqFIjWBLNAp9blP3DXhb9klxJzq00cSGx_7eyW-A/s4160/20220523_194547.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ7F38kjor9wbDre428n9Yy5g0G_B1lM_COVHe3CtmP5i5Hbfk9SlqCmqHM_883DMb6CUX8XlXWgQgURzaXPEtJfQMmJ6UrKRakF0aL2Nn6blrEnLbf2FaikHR3k8FI1kGQQVNv0P6MkjS224u6wDqFIjWBLNAp9blP3DXhb9klxJzq00cSGx_7eyW-A/w640-h480/20220523_194547.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uI9i9OJUEA5XzmuhsJpiutmMgIlpjC5RmD234XqcemT0FwpQE0bFIpx2rx4mT6efOS8zNwviqHaLY9npEIUigetTQJJjNc8MFJt2_-ih2JNUU1GWnxPejvC4KMbz1zElyNq-1uqr6o3_B8NMnEBcbPaHkyrVz3d8NF6mY90qWkvSZPuHkbMwY3Rcrw/s4160/20220523_182109.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uI9i9OJUEA5XzmuhsJpiutmMgIlpjC5RmD234XqcemT0FwpQE0bFIpx2rx4mT6efOS8zNwviqHaLY9npEIUigetTQJJjNc8MFJt2_-ih2JNUU1GWnxPejvC4KMbz1zElyNq-1uqr6o3_B8NMnEBcbPaHkyrVz3d8NF6mY90qWkvSZPuHkbMwY3Rcrw/s4160/20220523_182109.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uI9i9OJUEA5XzmuhsJpiutmMgIlpjC5RmD234XqcemT0FwpQE0bFIpx2rx4mT6efOS8zNwviqHaLY9npEIUigetTQJJjNc8MFJt2_-ih2JNUU1GWnxPejvC4KMbz1zElyNq-1uqr6o3_B8NMnEBcbPaHkyrVz3d8NF6mY90qWkvSZPuHkbMwY3Rcrw/s4160/20220523_182109.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uI9i9OJUEA5XzmuhsJpiutmMgIlpjC5RmD234XqcemT0FwpQE0bFIpx2rx4mT6efOS8zNwviqHaLY9npEIUigetTQJJjNc8MFJt2_-ih2JNUU1GWnxPejvC4KMbz1zElyNq-1uqr6o3_B8NMnEBcbPaHkyrVz3d8NF6mY90qWkvSZPuHkbMwY3Rcrw/w320-h240/20220523_182109.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>This Korean Lilac blooms copiously in May. </p><p></p><p> The Siberian Iris makes a lovely blossom, again in May.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpVn0bWc9EqauDbh-gzDNLU-8104u2co1DaIVlw8M_D3y-YmmuI9528HYPFxKh_Xf5rWT5eVkntkkzfqTLI2A02LYUcaBHCh-Vk7IvqlOiY-vYXW9HZ3Ph475LJtzm_HGKMdxjCHUmzFptdVeivLp6kEOH3pVvlbzEWmzX6PRYSOWTfcJdyxCHRHaGg/s4160/20220519_184439.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpVn0bWc9EqauDbh-gzDNLU-8104u2co1DaIVlw8M_D3y-YmmuI9528HYPFxKh_Xf5rWT5eVkntkkzfqTLI2A02LYUcaBHCh-Vk7IvqlOiY-vYXW9HZ3Ph475LJtzm_HGKMdxjCHUmzFptdVeivLp6kEOH3pVvlbzEWmzX6PRYSOWTfcJdyxCHRHaGg/s320/20220519_184439.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Before opening fully, these shapely Lilac blossoms have a strong color. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrCqVpBgxIaI2k5soo_unxoREFcM1AZtWEWNiEKRhtkbXTmWnJCC6HzG5g395u_wMLyNjGLbj2tqmckrbquau0Eo8f_ufJ8W3wxwtvP4RK5m7NxICbzG86VT1E7J8NLmsvj3SYDon-y_PB56qSbvNXygRHpKk6XFDI9ICwS-O-knk1E4q9LkGt5qEKg/s4160/20220519_184410.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrCqVpBgxIaI2k5soo_unxoREFcM1AZtWEWNiEKRhtkbXTmWnJCC6HzG5g395u_wMLyNjGLbj2tqmckrbquau0Eo8f_ufJ8W3wxwtvP4RK5m7NxICbzG86VT1E7J8NLmsvj3SYDon-y_PB56qSbvNXygRHpKk6XFDI9ICwS-O-knk1E4q9LkGt5qEKg/w300-h400/20220519_184410.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Columbine, an early May bloomer. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkkHz1JoqA4DjMMAC3jkufhHaYo1t6G4B9456i57-0_-Z1LgX7cZA5xNC7PyBaON_QMJCxZkL1dRUsN7pDeS3Pp78n17uhjCZtvApnvTaUa5BjA2hIxAwdauhHay9hsK09Ka9rhumCyqI1IAyCbYory6xZYkppoY-1Mw4s7eh-isbsfZcq5NDOnRDlA/s4160/20220519_184319.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkkHz1JoqA4DjMMAC3jkufhHaYo1t6G4B9456i57-0_-Z1LgX7cZA5xNC7PyBaON_QMJCxZkL1dRUsN7pDeS3Pp78n17uhjCZtvApnvTaUa5BjA2hIxAwdauhHay9hsK09Ka9rhumCyqI1IAyCbYory6xZYkppoY-1Mw4s7eh-isbsfZcq5NDOnRDlA/w300-h400/20220519_184319.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>This small tree, a Viburnum, is called "Summer Snowflake." It bloomed in May,<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeonhiL_7bHnfVP0zlMdzxAJMHX3yjVebJSoNAhMpO-LlFRK2kP3khIjslPrDnHoidOksnrqXYpVkzxXo3B0W_jMw93uQH7nkI8IxV1kbfT0nqHd7V34ALWG_wJFape0ajac2DgSjj8hzUnag3Qy955XRd5r74UD-RlhF6Go57jTbf13GTM7n-nR06g/s4160/20220510_174745.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeonhiL_7bHnfVP0zlMdzxAJMHX3yjVebJSoNAhMpO-LlFRK2kP3khIjslPrDnHoidOksnrqXYpVkzxXo3B0W_jMw93uQH7nkI8IxV1kbfT0nqHd7V34ALWG_wJFape0ajac2DgSjj8hzUnag3Qy955XRd5r74UD-RlhF6Go57jTbf13GTM7n-nR06g/w640-h480/20220510_174745.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzko97-C9VEw2aC0vVEIxRiHbiaAwMvZK63BZfGuVG45M-rQWI8VtVlbNURY5-SguTagzZl8B5oJM45-0-OJUnf6eVZBF1LDQfk-kEPLIMsn6mb5OpaKExvdcd35fWfQP8TiYsdnPhA1Ob8HBtdO602m2PaEQeAxMYJSjnvqgKVh4B1CT4Kks60W4PQ/s4160/20220420_165636.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzko97-C9VEw2aC0vVEIxRiHbiaAwMvZK63BZfGuVG45M-rQWI8VtVlbNURY5-SguTagzZl8B5oJM45-0-OJUnf6eVZBF1LDQfk-kEPLIMsn6mb5OpaKExvdcd35fWfQP8TiYsdnPhA1Ob8HBtdO602m2PaEQeAxMYJSjnvqgKVh4B1CT4Kks60W4PQ/s320/20220420_165636.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>The low Phlox, above, required getting close to, to appreciate. It starts blooming in April. <p></p><p><br /></p><p>These Hyacinth bloomed under the Boxwood hedge in April. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33P-YWz9YUfHO9uUDL4-dhcXGJMfb_Okv8Dk87bc9nGGkrlwoqNpVRWakL0N-55AuOI_j8mlIXnjaXCIX943uL63-kUypcFS4Pii6HEuYUzZto5S4BLMPH2MeMKG_EryYDuvUx_SXgenTuih5BgXSPmfRLb0XZHCww89CTXNWfQdUfOBIQ1aGQdy-tw/s4160/20220416_160857.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33P-YWz9YUfHO9uUDL4-dhcXGJMfb_Okv8Dk87bc9nGGkrlwoqNpVRWakL0N-55AuOI_j8mlIXnjaXCIX943uL63-kUypcFS4Pii6HEuYUzZto5S4BLMPH2MeMKG_EryYDuvUx_SXgenTuih5BgXSPmfRLb0XZHCww89CTXNWfQdUfOBIQ1aGQdy-tw/w300-h400/20220416_160857.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Before most garden plants had made presence known, these Daffodils were up and blooming. Some of the earliest flowered in March. </p>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-29453336180415797012022-06-20T20:46:00.002-07:002022-06-20T20:46:32.872-07:00Poems of the Season: Lyrics on the Subjects of Spring, Trees, and Summer -- Wow, Three of My Favorite Things!<p>I've been busy in June. Our son Saul got married on June 4, to Emma Siegel, perfect ceremony </p><p>in a perfect place, the Tanglewood Music Center, in Lenox, Mass. </p><p>Then I got Covid, and took about a week of sleeping a lot and otherwise taking it easy to </p><p>make sure I was well and posed no danger to anybody else. </p><p>Then we went to another wedding. (So far OK.)</p><p>So I've been slow to post notice of my poems in the June edition of Verse-Virtual, the monthly </p><p>journal of the poetry community I am happily part of. </p><p>My poems this month address subjects that mean a lot to me and, one hopes, to everyone </p><p>else: spring, trees, and summer.</p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The Thing About Spring</b> begins this way:</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once more the world, the landscape,</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">the place, the thing – everything that we are not</span></p><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><pre style="color: black; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">greens up, like a laugh in the heart of a
creature in love
Something is loving the world</span></pre></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><pre style="color: black; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Once again people do not entirely matter
The slaughter of the innocents enacted in this or that
corner of the world
is not, to all appearances, the only story
Once more, before our eyes the face of The Other </span></pre><pre style="color: black; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> changes, the object of perception
What do the philosophers make of this?
Do they say – like us? – the eyes of my eyes
may now be freshly engaged, transfixed,
that the miracle has shaken the grip
of our disbelieving heart?</span></pre></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">...</div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">To read the remainder of this poem, and my other poems, "Heroes of the Arboretum" and</div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">"The Truth About Summer," and find your way to the rest of this issue, </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">here's the link <a href="https://verse-virtual.org/2022/June/knox-robert-2022-june.html">June 2022</a></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjh6PSY1PHFjfScoDaFEQBOIOIlO4_qr1WEsCKu8CfPMRKgKfNaiUUgAaK7jFuLNLZTRFLYPCvxO8Lsu_NygmKrpLkpSxy637tDOiTwuemABciZIJWRx1oTtINln5pyhj8G5oHCKi-HJeaKaQ-_El2gmo3eBc33qaL4yK4VkUmZH8yl8Xca8glL996rw/s4160/20220608_123457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjh6PSY1PHFjfScoDaFEQBOIOIlO4_qr1WEsCKu8CfPMRKgKfNaiUUgAaK7jFuLNLZTRFLYPCvxO8Lsu_NygmKrpLkpSxy637tDOiTwuemABciZIJWRx1oTtINln5pyhj8G5oHCKi-HJeaKaQ-_El2gmo3eBc33qaL4yK4VkUmZH8yl8Xca8glL996rw/w640-h480/20220608_123457.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-50408744148517983042022-05-17T11:17:00.000-07:002022-05-17T11:17:45.677-07:00'The Garden in the Woods': Spring Flowers in a Curated New England Woodland <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAO5L3qjwqYYpyFnPclWKMjDZo_u4zAnGkLotCQbC3NlgpU75BHtAN5vuFeiLPohGx8YDX0NtldPUrTa29R2TaToWWLd2sSA8-ZeM2BCZ-yrmIXh9Q4fODZUk89FC3m9of2ECnXdjoX31umNsHhyV23LwFzXsWOquqGB-dwp3kktJ9SDml2YWeMg4LOw/s4160/20220516_142136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAO5L3qjwqYYpyFnPclWKMjDZo_u4zAnGkLotCQbC3NlgpU75BHtAN5vuFeiLPohGx8YDX0NtldPUrTa29R2TaToWWLd2sSA8-ZeM2BCZ-yrmIXh9Q4fODZUk89FC3m9of2ECnXdjoX31umNsHhyV23LwFzXsWOquqGB-dwp3kktJ9SDml2YWeMg4LOw/w640-h480/20220516_142136.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Three leaves on a stem, and three petals on the flower. This is a Trillium, one of the many varieties of the wildflower blooming now in "The Garden in the Woods" in Framingham, Mass. The second week of May is often peak season for the native wildflower Trillium,</p><p>I tried to catch a few of these beauties' names. Otherwise, they'll have to get along on looks alone. the plant below, with white blossoms, is "Trillium simile."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCIP4Ejj_PPD3Y8O1Tahm9rMXLYeZVnePxlgr9CcvymfNHubN2a2u7AJi4MQLFnnM_S1JOnV-BHXCfEd78z0tFP-c9v4nSRUAuYouvin0Zty3GH_IpQxMKSMVDhqsZLnp5dhit5Ig1CHVXO-S5ncBVMzisRbBCRTWn2m72NWofOJlCXN-d48mli1p2Cg/s4160/20220516_142208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCIP4Ejj_PPD3Y8O1Tahm9rMXLYeZVnePxlgr9CcvymfNHubN2a2u7AJi4MQLFnnM_S1JOnV-BHXCfEd78z0tFP-c9v4nSRUAuYouvin0Zty3GH_IpQxMKSMVDhqsZLnp5dhit5Ig1CHVXO-S5ncBVMzisRbBCRTWn2m72NWofOJlCXN-d48mli1p2Cg/w640-h480/20220516_142208.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTx5nDLAAqUW3XMrN2KRJkRK4OZ7lwYFBDp4ht2cvdjF-NuJFOFvx5eDR98xOso0p6vD89XJRndZFWlN2lzI7gymVs4wiwV00-5BN7rs5aZM4zM5sl277lp1ViMr9rri98o_xm1fc-RHiXyNwVheSijQ5RQw8uqx8-zX7XIrjTAwwPXHqrlkHbe1A8g/s4160/20220516_142448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTx5nDLAAqUW3XMrN2KRJkRK4OZ7lwYFBDp4ht2cvdjF-NuJFOFvx5eDR98xOso0p6vD89XJRndZFWlN2lzI7gymVs4wiwV00-5BN7rs5aZM4zM5sl277lp1ViMr9rri98o_xm1fc-RHiXyNwVheSijQ5RQw8uqx8-zX7XIrjTAwwPXHqrlkHbe1A8g/w480-h640/20220516_142448.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The plant below is Blue Moss Phlox. I think the photo above may show another low Phlox.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuUdU9KBsqR2C-WHdmPFXGAt6kqwSy7w5UBvPoC4E9AXyTL_ALvAR2TXUx4y6rDBpSe_nFy_dGjzvnYwNV2sC6l-OQxslOavQFYTB3WSFqCfN6johxn0iB_vovsp77WbVxgfc61KE1CLZd9HWUIwKIQCmRVHMZFPT_y2CN6AqvYiuSUxrgWP0WspKhQ/s4160/20220516_142712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuUdU9KBsqR2C-WHdmPFXGAt6kqwSy7w5UBvPoC4E9AXyTL_ALvAR2TXUx4y6rDBpSe_nFy_dGjzvnYwNV2sC6l-OQxslOavQFYTB3WSFqCfN6johxn0iB_vovsp77WbVxgfc61KE1CLZd9HWUIwKIQCmRVHMZFPT_y2CN6AqvYiuSUxrgWP0WspKhQ/w480-h640/20220516_142712.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggEnE-FVlu5LmCkRs4fVwgpJr-B1wxwlEFEsUAB8k2G-v_axVFfaCbYsAfWkdl2lJI4lQA8WX7EJna7EzdM-icxVo3CXB_Ug7q7kC6_cy1gnDNrJZRoeyXOpYfGgm5oxfKv0r2qwI7acGysoFwtH1vpAFecRl0Nqkm0vo8qvKMAomnR8vl1tRNVaFDow/s4160/20220516_141508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggEnE-FVlu5LmCkRs4fVwgpJr-B1wxwlEFEsUAB8k2G-v_axVFfaCbYsAfWkdl2lJI4lQA8WX7EJna7EzdM-icxVo3CXB_Ug7q7kC6_cy1gnDNrJZRoeyXOpYfGgm5oxfKv0r2qwI7acGysoFwtH1vpAFecRl0Nqkm0vo8qvKMAomnR8vl1tRNVaFDow/w480-h640/20220516_141508.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">Wood Poppy</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGi0l4XtETngWLWFju1aHmtRi0Cg6DdtwrikOjwqzxN0IIs9oBBpsrw_8tCaKjP9vkG_QICW_8JQ1raCv-eIQqWVf7uRu_MqQUYiX65ztQBMzQKjL-sGgK_D85Qmnj7y5G74l2oELm2oIjOHuW5RRjG8u9ImPXdZQfy8cFx78UzOJUv4miYT5KSflDw/s4160/20220516_141658.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGi0l4XtETngWLWFju1aHmtRi0Cg6DdtwrikOjwqzxN0IIs9oBBpsrw_8tCaKjP9vkG_QICW_8JQ1raCv-eIQqWVf7uRu_MqQUYiX65ztQBMzQKjL-sGgK_D85Qmnj7y5G74l2oELm2oIjOHuW5RRjG8u9ImPXdZQfy8cFx78UzOJUv4miYT5KSflDw/w640-h480/20220516_141658.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"Home Fries" Creeping Phlox</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiioo_U9jZXipVpHMTeStsWT3dVMWkt4UQ5Ijccc2iKqR7fs2_nCSw9Ww1uQG04-4OUeLyfhnLVghkAOqulpRB2fkTxzOAILWlCB77sRBm8fqkWoJwUHO7BFi4h1CtCJTaWyuVFDB-NvizAFsbM-4Uv80Qh3asgUt_lGTPhhKiMFf__VTdU8DTRGZZdRQ/s4160/20220516_141825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiioo_U9jZXipVpHMTeStsWT3dVMWkt4UQ5Ijccc2iKqR7fs2_nCSw9Ww1uQG04-4OUeLyfhnLVghkAOqulpRB2fkTxzOAILWlCB77sRBm8fqkWoJwUHO7BFi4h1CtCJTaWyuVFDB-NvizAFsbM-4Uv80Qh3asgUt_lGTPhhKiMFf__VTdU8DTRGZZdRQ/w640-h480/20220516_141825.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;">"Yellow Celebration" Trillium</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvseWIwdOGMJJfJZA52dYU3dn_-hMlN0cOIqSW27bGEQanHVDctpCzmCtNXwWk2IW2J2wC2sz44ek7FY9ErefLpTI3Ms1c3NWIAKTTaX3vf3u4r6tmWzbgyZHyuncWj5rFMIhT9MXXY-vzwoTo5mVj77coFdBVQVdbINWWy8NNz-LPZFp7N6dX8PHlg/s4160/20220516_142116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvseWIwdOGMJJfJZA52dYU3dn_-hMlN0cOIqSW27bGEQanHVDctpCzmCtNXwWk2IW2J2wC2sz44ek7FY9ErefLpTI3Ms1c3NWIAKTTaX3vf3u4r6tmWzbgyZHyuncWj5rFMIhT9MXXY-vzwoTo5mVj77coFdBVQVdbINWWy8NNz-LPZFp7N6dX8PHlg/w640-h480/20220516_142116.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>"Large Toadstool" Trillium</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;">"Mount Airy" Witch Alder</span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ91mLe6rQNlXJuxTDKFyeaufYPadh6eXVjkiWn4m7aW1mMdvZv7KQdTYFNYtKFQr4kr6YAa51-1cr_0cyb5vG0ngin269DDl-YROrLhOTjdcOaa1YG1g3Kb629OSEoeVeQqdi7JTwsZ6wtsLRDlnUp0TOfPYfQpLlv_EAG_AYGHgp5iy9vjjzNVbtwA/s4160/20220516_142846.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ91mLe6rQNlXJuxTDKFyeaufYPadh6eXVjkiWn4m7aW1mMdvZv7KQdTYFNYtKFQr4kr6YAa51-1cr_0cyb5vG0ngin269DDl-YROrLhOTjdcOaa1YG1g3Kb629OSEoeVeQqdi7JTwsZ6wtsLRDlnUp0TOfPYfQpLlv_EAG_AYGHgp5iy9vjjzNVbtwA/w640-h480/20220516_142846.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxnQhPlZig888-URlZHUmUjESBymJClqUbWKp2WbYE5h1-0YL34g2HKoBDoyObyoAWW9UaDgRyVBrCScc_6FQNAWynWQPoqDea2cC0Lg7cof1khF4y8PpcgS3PriwFWBWpSZmqPDBwQRMKYC3U-anMoTFnBpcEqQCTE_1jPnp1TF028o4oFawMMgSJQ/s4160/20220516_142927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxnQhPlZig888-URlZHUmUjESBymJClqUbWKp2WbYE5h1-0YL34g2HKoBDoyObyoAWW9UaDgRyVBrCScc_6FQNAWynWQPoqDea2cC0Lg7cof1khF4y8PpcgS3PriwFWBWpSZmqPDBwQRMKYC3U-anMoTFnBpcEqQCTE_1jPnp1TF028o4oFawMMgSJQ/w640-h480/20220516_142927.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;">Bluebells</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfCrQdkK7Qg9UKBVXSa2yrbgVrDUzXlSDvo5tVH03DJjkaA2aa7oWzjbItvG574Mk_VQTdNKWlBev7V_FcBXFwjCOnIAqbvUdgyjrLTdxQhDvOb_zvd80XeVQUDmXmahWG2iTgWBa25eWfRDI0gX6i26M9Hq0xN5NxOioKhrh6NSHStZblCzb9d9stA/s4160/20220516_143029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfCrQdkK7Qg9UKBVXSa2yrbgVrDUzXlSDvo5tVH03DJjkaA2aa7oWzjbItvG574Mk_VQTdNKWlBev7V_FcBXFwjCOnIAqbvUdgyjrLTdxQhDvOb_zvd80XeVQUDmXmahWG2iTgWBa25eWfRDI0gX6i26M9Hq0xN5NxOioKhrh6NSHStZblCzb9d9stA/w640-h480/20220516_143029.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;">Marsh Marigold</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijoVG4leFQVpyB4wDvCgVq2wv0CRpCPI793dgEMb2kwqmhLCannfe7EEAuWnDW0RkLAvHxGmSvJXJaI1JgIgJmuIHciFoeYRSTCIoYKfK0rUl-ZVw_HqweZAdhq50VZeQhT342GSUuD9JMGWWNegL8cRyHfpaEG0tYBkwgim8k8z1tWiXrqWQz4nhgw/s4160/20220516_143508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijoVG4leFQVpyB4wDvCgVq2wv0CRpCPI793dgEMb2kwqmhLCannfe7EEAuWnDW0RkLAvHxGmSvJXJaI1JgIgJmuIHciFoeYRSTCIoYKfK0rUl-ZVw_HqweZAdhq50VZeQhT342GSUuD9JMGWWNegL8cRyHfpaEG0tYBkwgim8k8z1tWiXrqWQz4nhgw/w640-h480/20220516_143508.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stiff Bluestar</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRC5uCFfivjOoZAMWrNJwMiMLF7_z_Y_m8EQGy4OhAwAm5kFaZtymh60QGGMPQO2-45iiQDxJTy6sRWT3JZjMWm_y7BJRv04ziRMNPzuu2piPvTe6L-UtOYgeHE9M9huT_jDMhHIk3vpd7muGaNmpQTan8qFnMRd6oH0c5aMVdiUPFNJH7EkaHPZTGw/s4160/20220516_143823.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRC5uCFfivjOoZAMWrNJwMiMLF7_z_Y_m8EQGy4OhAwAm5kFaZtymh60QGGMPQO2-45iiQDxJTy6sRWT3JZjMWm_y7BJRv04ziRMNPzuu2piPvTe6L-UtOYgeHE9M9huT_jDMhHIk3vpd7muGaNmpQTan8qFnMRd6oH0c5aMVdiUPFNJH7EkaHPZTGw/w640-h480/20220516_143823.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Spreading Jacob's-ladder</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_Wslmm6Tx1SiRQYhss6YcS0ZITB9Y91l6zcZt2seDyboNENRs-5waA_upNHjWcGTssyHPQwaqCjGAU2Zy06LEYgy8mOOyFiPsBEvWwnonrOC0Fh33yqBdGm4xPwvjGWdtxy2qvBE4XQ1ATKnHfkF8LzN7B7YFrVoJvwAc9C3YntBoKzg5U9dtbDEFQ/s4160/20220516_144149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_Wslmm6Tx1SiRQYhss6YcS0ZITB9Y91l6zcZt2seDyboNENRs-5waA_upNHjWcGTssyHPQwaqCjGAU2Zy06LEYgy8mOOyFiPsBEvWwnonrOC0Fh33yqBdGm4xPwvjGWdtxy2qvBE4XQ1ATKnHfkF8LzN7B7YFrVoJvwAc9C3YntBoKzg5U9dtbDEFQ/w480-h640/20220516_144149.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;">Box Huckleberry</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lXfp6Bc1mErzRo9tqEoTdECVd4EkTYznCl0o3b1wIwXGp0_Z0nYo9mOFwc0hVzi2mVWeFUQ_cgW4Km65UJbOSXKAeDNx_-PvQn5Ol89YZKJkUF2nImBeP3rL4fb7xWA1-aoJ_112RyBabh2gPGzGJ94AoQlOBXTeJevIpcO_Y71wviJNg5tSeYolHA/s4160/20220516_144607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8lXfp6Bc1mErzRo9tqEoTdECVd4EkTYznCl0o3b1wIwXGp0_Z0nYo9mOFwc0hVzi2mVWeFUQ_cgW4Km65UJbOSXKAeDNx_-PvQn5Ol89YZKJkUF2nImBeP3rL4fb7xWA1-aoJ_112RyBabh2gPGzGJ94AoQlOBXTeJevIpcO_Y71wviJNg5tSeYolHA/w480-h640/20220516_144607.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The tall white flowers are "Shooting Star"</span></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB2umKZKD0FxWF6ib1sQYv8L-lrWYtcSNM7_CMV56iNlaTjzzLEDR3Dqy07inbDJ1F20MS6UiORAle-9MQG7FkxdwUvSXS3E0-0nDsEfZMxvAbQ9HVB4IPT91bU1JNaWea3haj4SPorsse7FhYxQfhER8a-O20QnjUyC-kdtaNcnWIEe3PQNha39x71g/s4160/20220516_144724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB2umKZKD0FxWF6ib1sQYv8L-lrWYtcSNM7_CMV56iNlaTjzzLEDR3Dqy07inbDJ1F20MS6UiORAle-9MQG7FkxdwUvSXS3E0-0nDsEfZMxvAbQ9HVB4IPT91bU1JNaWea3haj4SPorsse7FhYxQfhER8a-O20QnjUyC-kdtaNcnWIEe3PQNha39x71g/w480-h640/20220516_144724.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;">A more isolated shot of "Shooting Star"</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7qsPt-13SoguvEw2-a48A8CK6FC8-XdutEdrugaK4T8UXSwMhOgkv9hO3eVS1VI7JBP3krq3ka5DXoGBm4ATtQYannOezcQnmgKfECPpIOfTGd1u5CcYcj9VAiliLDEUNKjNXzl7up4FLniHC7bz_OW9iIVTx91eVVzqH6xjxcVJ9_f_IBet6BkjT7A/s4160/20220516_150944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7qsPt-13SoguvEw2-a48A8CK6FC8-XdutEdrugaK4T8UXSwMhOgkv9hO3eVS1VI7JBP3krq3ka5DXoGBm4ATtQYannOezcQnmgKfECPpIOfTGd1u5CcYcj9VAiliLDEUNKjNXzl7up4FLniHC7bz_OW9iIVTx91eVVzqH6xjxcVJ9_f_IBet6BkjT7A/w640-h480/20220516_150944.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Anemone Meadow-rue</span> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And so many other spring wildflowers in this woodland paradise I did not manage to get a photo of.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We'll just have to go back. </span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div></div>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753490855929805662.post-4110446364392062252022-05-01T22:57:00.000-07:002022-05-01T22:57:23.519-07:00The Garden of Poetry and Prose: New Poems and a Story About Long Ago <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP7iVx4m4vsADs7u-nz1LJE0-T78cbAPt4kedVsCPin1g4VIKJtI5CeD8wAhcR4LCSsXGIf5LZNi984i9kNIbp8SoTdNvJihBJBSNj4f5GGzcJ7gN_e0UxqGb4YzcUrfRFouZYG6xvq-cqv2ftnDSTxeBGh1yHfbij57Zgk42ca7dAK6hmHe5Z_nFWBw/s4160/20220501_155718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP7iVx4m4vsADs7u-nz1LJE0-T78cbAPt4kedVsCPin1g4VIKJtI5CeD8wAhcR4LCSsXGIf5LZNi984i9kNIbp8SoTdNvJihBJBSNj4f5GGzcJ7gN_e0UxqGb4YzcUrfRFouZYG6xvq-cqv2ftnDSTxeBGh1yHfbij57Zgk42ca7dAK6hmHe5Z_nFWBw/w640-h480/20220501_155718.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">My thanks to the editors of "Terror House Magazine" for publishing two of my poems on their site. Both poems, "No Country For White Men" and "At the Burial" are a little edgy, though my 'terror' in the first poem is largely tongue in cheek. </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The journal does have an attitude. These sentences come from its "About Us" statement: "We stand against both the stultifying Beigeism of major New York publishing houses and the hysterical cliquishness of the “alt-lit” community... Terror House Magazine seeks to cultivate the Charles Bukowskis, Louis-Ferdinand Célines, and Philip K. Dicks of the 21st century: bold, audacious writers who depict human life in all its ugliness and comedy."</div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here's the link</div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 py34i1dx" href="https://terrorhousemag.com/country/" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">Terror House </a></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The May 2022 issue of Verse-Virtual offered an optional theme of the personal "impact of war." In response, I offered a poem about the impact of the Vietnam War and the draft on some long </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">ago years when I was of draft age and the war in Southeast Asia dragged on. </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here's the poem</div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;"><b>Civil Wars</b></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;" /><pre style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
What war meant to me:
staying in school
keeping your deferment,
my father and I, who never
talked to one another about our lives,
staring at the screen when an image appeared from
“The March on the Pentagon,”
shots of protestors, a gesturing spokesman,
a “We Won’t Go” sign –
Dad said, <i>“Oh, that’s last weekend…”
“I was there.”
“I thought you might be.”</i>
No further exchange of views
followed
Dad never spoke of his war
until his final decade
Even when my older cousins marveled
over the souvenir German rifle in the basement
the story
was like pulling the dragon’s teeth
I had secrets of my own
When the Selective Service mailed my punitive
reclassification notice to the parental home address,
Dad threw me an anxious glance
“Don’t tell me you’ve gotten yourself
in trouble with those people!”
I denied it, like the cowardly apostle
at the crucifixion
The truth was,
both like and unlike Dad, I would never share
my story with my family:
</span></pre><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had.</span> </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I have two more poems in the May Verse-Virtual:</span><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> </span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-large; white-space: normal;">Today Is Beautiful, We Have Things To Do*</b></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-large; white-space: normal;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">and</div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-large; white-space: normal;">Everybody Wants to Rule the World</b></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-large; white-space: normal;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-large; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: times;">To check out these poem, here's the link:</span></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-large; white-space: normal;"><a href="https://verse-virtual.org/2022/May/knox-robert-2022-may.html">Verse-Virtual</a><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally, here's my story about growing up in the late 60s, published by an online journal </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">called "Jerry Jazz Musician." Music is a theme in my story, titled "Thunder." But so is adolescence, </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">youth, the 60s, and falling in love. </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here's the link <a href="https://jerryjazzmusician.com/thunder-a-short-story-by-robert-knox/">Thunder </a></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today was a beautiful day in the neighborhood of Planet Earth. Happy Spring! to all. </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-large; white-space: normal;"><br /></b></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div>Robert Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05684237577302422669noreply@blogger.com0