A Past Worth Telling

My father's father was killed felling trees when our father was only ten and the eldest of six children. They survived hard times and the Depression. One of his younger brothers who never married took care of the rest of the family whenever he could financially. He also had an apple orchard and an abundant garden from which he sold produce. Uncle Joe was a modest, hard working, devout man who had a heart of gold. I will forever remember him with fondness.

 

Homage to Uncle Joe

 

My father's brother

An amazing man

Had apple orchards,

Abundant gardens

 

Fruit trees and

Was a thrifty man

Who never spent on

Himself. He gave

 

Much of it away to

All his nieces and nephews

To help us with

Education.

 

He never married

But we were all his

Children. Devout

Catholic, compassionate man.

 

When we first moved west from Massachusetts, there were frequent dust storms. And even though windows and storm windows were shut, the dirt found its way inside the house. In the fall, the wind whipped up the tumbleweeds which bounced everywhere.

 

Tumbleweeds

Bouncing, tumbling,

Whirling, zigzagging,

Across the windswept,

Arid earth.

 

These weeds

Protruding through

Cracked, parched

Hard ground with

 

Roots searching

For moisture.

And despairing

When rains

 

Remain scarce,

The loosened weeds

Now rampantly roar

Across the prairie.

 

Engulfed in anger,

These tumbleweeds

Rage and

Wander aimlessly.

 

Beauty and Warmth

 

All the stress

Leaves my body

As I gaze around

Awestruck.

 

The red rock

Formations loom

All around.

Beauty pervades

 

My eyes.

My soul is calm.

Such a wondrous

Landscape

 

This Sedona.

Hot sun, blue skies

Radiate warmth

Inside and out.

 

Our children became fluent in German during my Fulbright year near Stuttgart. Upon returning to the US, however, and at a subsequent eye exam, the nurse was concerned about my daughter's vision. She was told to identify the pictures on the chart which she did correctly and in German. So I had to go in to interpret for her.

Eye Chart

 

Our three year old

Had difficulty

Identifying the

Pictures on the

 

Eye chart

To check her vision.

The nurse took her

In alone and

 

Returned to tell

Me there was a

Problem with saying

Correct object names.

 

Puzzled, I went in

To help. Emily

Identified everything

Perfectly.

 

In German.

I interpreted. You see

We had just come

Back from one year in Germany.

I often composed poetry in my head as I walked the high school track. The action of walking triggered memories in my brain. My father's birthday was in November so in the fall, I often thought of him as I walked.

Frozen Silence

 

Frost this morning

On the track.

Hides my tears.

 

Remembering him

This November morning.

Gone some time now.

 

Miss him in this

Stillness.

Frozen Silence.