tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36711567281374890082024-03-17T16:50:10.218-04:00Lost in New JerseyFinding myself through my family, my work (PR), and words... thousands and thousands of words.Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.comBlogger399125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-27852044883229134482024-02-21T14:49:00.000-05:002024-02-21T14:49:17.388-05:00Ruthlessly Pruning My First Sonnet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvWrIOu3agsOH8x34HS_I7VGU8dN_rl_r__PbgUT6TyBCa62q5JKUZOl9l1V3wk-irvXJ8zxkkSl8Flo9OTC7sQaebxPQnft2PPbXeNnGmOByCafQ_QQTBooPjx-RPg7PyWmqjxTzbBM5GcPLYTN78L1eD1gfiUJCIL_tNs0rDuZJvHY4E0vTXK3v2cE/s1284/IMG_8664.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="1284" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvWrIOu3agsOH8x34HS_I7VGU8dN_rl_r__PbgUT6TyBCa62q5JKUZOl9l1V3wk-irvXJ8zxkkSl8Flo9OTC7sQaebxPQnft2PPbXeNnGmOByCafQ_QQTBooPjx-RPg7PyWmqjxTzbBM5GcPLYTN78L1eD1gfiUJCIL_tNs0rDuZJvHY4E0vTXK3v2cE/w400-h300/IMG_8664.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">One interesting assignment in a recent poetry class was to take a poem I've written before and pare it down by focusing on the economy of language.</span><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I'm all for economy of language. As a journalist and editor in my past life, I let hardly any adjective or adverb survive.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">But life has changed. At recent readings, I've been captivated by the performance aspect of poetry, less so with classical poetic form.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I took this opportunity to take the first sonnet I ever wrote... for a girl... in college... when I thought I was so smart... and ruthlessly prune it to </span>reflect<span style="font-family: inherit;"> my current life... for anyone who might care... right here... when I simply crave relevance and connection.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This is..</span>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sonnet 1</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{241}" paraid="645189859" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">There's</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> something in the air, or so they say.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{247}" paraid="1786670535" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It's</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> certainly not magic or the heat.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{253}" paraid="256268523" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It's</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> just the moon, white-full and young -- the way,</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{cca49fad-b0df-4991-805e-293e1ab66e42}{4}" paraid="416143586" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">like water, people splash and spill beneath.</span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{cca49fad-b0df-4991-805e-293e1ab66e42}{10}" paraid="738599349" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{cca49fad-b0df-4991-805e-293e1ab66e42}{14}" paraid="38263500" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">And you and I remind me of the tides.</span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{cca49fad-b0df-4991-805e-293e1ab66e42}{20}" paraid="430016224" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">We hate and love; we rise and fall. It </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">scares</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{cca49fad-b0df-4991-805e-293e1ab66e42}{28}" paraid="1690299592" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">me that I </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">don't</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> know why or that I </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">find</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{cca49fad-b0df-4991-805e-293e1ab66e42}{36}" paraid="837527641" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">no fault in us, just something in the air.</span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{cca49fad-b0df-4991-805e-293e1ab66e42}{42}" paraid="950412081" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{cca49fad-b0df-4991-805e-293e1ab66e42}{46}" paraid="1486939614" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">So still above us rests the moon, </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">content</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{cca49fad-b0df-4991-805e-293e1ab66e42}{54}" paraid="798970377" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">and </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">seemingly unmoved</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">. It </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">doesn't</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">hate</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{cca49fad-b0df-4991-805e-293e1ab66e42}{62}" paraid="236649392" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">or love; it </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">doesn't</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> care -- without relent,</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{cca49fad-b0df-4991-805e-293e1ab66e42}{68}" paraid="1010192205" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">without a passing judgment of our fate.</span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{cca49fad-b0df-4991-805e-293e1ab66e42}{74}" paraid="177018864" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{cca49fad-b0df-4991-805e-293e1ab66e42}{78}" paraid="1641814347" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">The moonlight falls like smoke between the mist.</span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76535138 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW76535138 BCX4" paraeid="{cca49fad-b0df-4991-805e-293e1ab66e42}{84}" paraid="1405303436" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">What fools </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2, url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">we are</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> compared to such as </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">this.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW76535138 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">---------</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">And this is...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sonnet Unbound</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{15}" paraid="267133178" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You and I are </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">tides</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{23}" paraid="1891226383" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">under a faithless light.</span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{29}" paraid="602073127" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{33}" paraid="1391518676" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">We rise and fall,</span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{39}" paraid="2120292013" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">splash and spill.</span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{45}" paraid="1840243406" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{49}" paraid="261943731" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Helpless,</span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{55}" paraid="317788942" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">in the mist.</span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{61}" paraid="1165282896" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{65}" paraid="756784849" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Reckless,</span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{71}" paraid="396919784" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">in our love and hate.</span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{77}" paraid="920196557" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{81}" paraid="1093021182" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">The moon,</span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{87}" paraid="1891581674" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">relentless and immutable,</span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{93}" paraid="1943898226" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{97}" paraid="348683717" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">casts </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">indifferent</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> shadows</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{107}" paraid="1787668450" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">on our foolish fate.</span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW104234155 BCX4" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW104234155 BCX4" paraeid="{705b0cdd-270e-44fe-9a51-91c21484888c}{113}" paraid="1466861460" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; border-color: currentcolor currentcolor rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; margin: 0px 0px 2.333333px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 0px 1.333333px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="TextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW104234155 BCX4" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335572079":6,"335572080":1,"335572081":4278190080,"469789806":"single"}" style="-webkit-nbsp-mode: normal !important; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-user-select: text; color: #222222; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></span></p></div></div><div> </div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-88058186908423769782024-02-20T14:58:00.000-05:002024-02-20T14:58:56.466-05:00Poem: 'Ja Cie Kocham'<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVrOUTN7PAgQUk9l85JAau205ZGoXLme01BSjYKTqlSusvELXxTY-jrBYgwmFTlYyjDJS-MxHdm-rX0Z39BJRmHbZiIShmPXywIuYSFN5FdmGTgCJrUsYo341NI4zmXBfanpueBPHixCUYKUmHdo1mVVHpjLhVgMEjRVU30IW0oIsLeA0o4ve-eMvYc4/s2035/JPEG%20image-B0672A5E24F2-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2035" data-original-width="1332" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVrOUTN7PAgQUk9l85JAau205ZGoXLme01BSjYKTqlSusvELXxTY-jrBYgwmFTlYyjDJS-MxHdm-rX0Z39BJRmHbZiIShmPXywIuYSFN5FdmGTgCJrUsYo341NI4zmXBfanpueBPHixCUYKUmHdo1mVVHpjLhVgMEjRVU30IW0oIsLeA0o4ve-eMvYc4/w261-h400/JPEG%20image-B0672A5E24F2-1.jpeg" width="261" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Baron, 1897-1974</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Ja Cie Kocham</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">When I was a boy,<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">JFK was president in Washington, DC,<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">And all the words were Polish in Garfield, New Jersey.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">All the words were Polish<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">As I held my grandmother’s sandpaper hand,<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">And we walked to Sunday Mass at St. Stan’s.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">All the prayers were Polish.<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">All greetings were Polish on the east side of Lanza Avenue.<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Everyone around us, an immigrant.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Returning from church with Babci,<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">We stop to pick a chicken to slaughter.<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">She haggles with the butcher in Polish.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">At dinner, I devour tender slivers of the chosen chicken,<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Mixed in a soup with chunks of rice,<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">As pots of boiled cabbage simmer on her oven top.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I catch her eye in the changing colors of the kitchen window:<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">A flickering glow from the outline of a neon bottle<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Above the door of the neighborhood liquor store.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Babci knows me, although we don’t speak the same language.<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">She knows I hate the smell of cabbage.<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">She knows I won’t, I can’t, complain.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">English words were never spoken in Babci’s house.<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">English words were elitist and foreign.<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">They confused and intimidated her.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Her child, my mother, spoke English rebelliously when she was young,<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Loving all the English words she needed for survival,<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Instilling that love in me.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Now I am my mother’s keeeper.<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">We have both grown old.<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">My grandmother died long ago.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I sometimes catch Babci’s daughter<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">staring at ghosts outside her kitchen window.<br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">So I whisper in her ear, although I know she can’t hear me.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I whisper the only three words I remember in Polish.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-27135410926188339072024-02-09T14:35:00.006-05:002024-02-09T14:40:39.139-05:00Thank Yous From Newlyweds to My Grandmother (an unrhymed sonnet)<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUnbo42pGtIJMgxHfsJ_SVtwfQhFN8bg2NIBt1tPmUVwdKslJW2XvIEz8OXiycMrw_VCsKJfgPCpusrdUHuM68KsMeFPVNUf_l36ccJq2zO-H47gWFokVI6WVq4dIHPXgGCs9aqFHdZDz0guqco7xflhDPJdFAcLaJs_WdNSk1_LMLIVYoexLpVzvL72I" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="288" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUnbo42pGtIJMgxHfsJ_SVtwfQhFN8bg2NIBt1tPmUVwdKslJW2XvIEz8OXiycMrw_VCsKJfgPCpusrdUHuM68KsMeFPVNUf_l36ccJq2zO-H47gWFokVI6WVq4dIHPXgGCs9aqFHdZDz0guqco7xflhDPJdFAcLaJs_WdNSk1_LMLIVYoexLpVzvL72I" width="240" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Mary and Jimmy, wearing a white tux.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He has giant hands; she, a slender waist.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Pat and Bill sincerely appreciate</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">their world in color, freed from black and white.</span></span></p><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgr-GfCpHFtBpHTA2cfti95JjPMFowiDxLYecJfUUMgVQD42bituQiOTjN9JHSExjfPw-ilnAsCuWcxWwddUH0IJJ47KRS2I2javZqfi7Kj7pRrEIrhlip8ESug8FWClD9IuDyHm-kML7M9KwVfWw5NZfqVLG2zwNaX4mmZ8LH_dqTTNUyTs8FpwGvBYD8" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="288" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgr-GfCpHFtBpHTA2cfti95JjPMFowiDxLYecJfUUMgVQD42bituQiOTjN9JHSExjfPw-ilnAsCuWcxWwddUH0IJJ47KRS2I2javZqfi7Kj7pRrEIrhlip8ESug8FWClD9IuDyHm-kML7M9KwVfWw5NZfqVLG2zwNaX4mmZ8LH_dqTTNUyTs8FpwGvBYD8" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Rosalie and Rudy peek playfully,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">retreating to their honeymoon cabin.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Mary and Hugo, dancing center stage,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">hands tightly clasped, casting nervous smiles.</span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiA0gZpiMoHHl-d97S0_AnvFmb-mk8NFPHbRyWBEzq-5xcCWDTN0kbybQYkHiF2edz4htPxSaGEpvKJf7i7lo1EQhOEXFzK7EGltt36L0XAmC-b9K4UvnCMIrx1JkF7A6f5OFIgH9lUbhA6e_wIUsIfW13BIbb6NBL4HN7pSgl41a1LGKkLEDXVMnx4vYI" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="288" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiA0gZpiMoHHl-d97S0_AnvFmb-mk8NFPHbRyWBEzq-5xcCWDTN0kbybQYkHiF2edz4htPxSaGEpvKJf7i7lo1EQhOEXFzK7EGltt36L0XAmC-b9K4UvnCMIrx1JkF7A6f5OFIgH9lUbhA6e_wIUsIfW13BIbb6NBL4HN7pSgl41a1LGKkLEDXVMnx4vYI" width="240" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Norma and Emil, wearing Clark Kent glasses.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">She has dangerous beauty, kryptonite.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />Dolores and Libbie’s getaway car.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">She stole his heart; he has a dark secret</span>.</p><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/AVvXsEgVzIO9DnOnh2K2cyhmZdtgcmsXDNqi2L0I9P1nzis0m4hPGP3l39ZHX-YJKG9OTE46ci65PwnzHuxLnMN7DPXzghNneja77FEdnI8QEBDhG-5WVgUgVdVHVInL392wpgRyRcxOAoCl83DOfujWD_yPwgUoSSYOcjfNeamTWgjGrfi0YawpPXN9AxjJBqg/s3956/IMG_0183%202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2967" data-original-width="3956" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVzIO9DnOnh2K2cyhmZdtgcmsXDNqi2L0I9P1nzis0m4hPGP3l39ZHX-YJKG9OTE46ci65PwnzHuxLnMN7DPXzghNneja77FEdnI8QEBDhG-5WVgUgVdVHVInL392wpgRyRcxOAoCl83DOfujWD_yPwgUoSSYOcjfNeamTWgjGrfi0YawpPXN9AxjJBqg/s320/IMG_0183%202.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Florence and Uncle Charlie, now both dead.<br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When my aunt smiled, she made the bright world dim.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p></div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-61704485666197952442024-01-28T09:43:00.007-05:002024-02-20T15:00:12.111-05:00Poem: '11 Roses'<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGgJdCirzkMOMYHUxh3DTfsyPsM6r1rQCTU1_M8Ck3kaDh_O0aewhBZcdS1En3V1YMKhWOLkZgQppUWLEXowBUMVKxA4OMixFff31q5gw9FT2EoowSBQFY6tmiVyyyHmIJDyQZu38yfsqBvngXw1r7EwnLo-kO2Rbln12WFgXALgv9n_OIFcDh3mtMqE/s2381/B2380173-624D-47DD-9E07-161A174B1EC2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2381" data-original-width="2381" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSGgJdCirzkMOMYHUxh3DTfsyPsM6r1rQCTU1_M8Ck3kaDh_O0aewhBZcdS1En3V1YMKhWOLkZgQppUWLEXowBUMVKxA4OMixFff31q5gw9FT2EoowSBQFY6tmiVyyyHmIJDyQZu38yfsqBvngXw1r7EwnLo-kO2Rbln12WFgXALgv9n_OIFcDh3mtMqE/w400-h400/B2380173-624D-47DD-9E07-161A174B1EC2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The streetlights of my hometown</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://projectwritenow.org/" target="_blank">Project Write Now</a> is a wonderful arts organization based in Red Bank, NJ. If you are interested in writing, or in supporting young writers, check it out.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm currently enrolled in an adult intensive poetry course, and below is my first poem from that class. I want to share it here, just because.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"11 Roses" is based on three prompts inspired by lines from the poetry of Eduardo C. Corral, and a discussion of his work, including <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/153801/autobiography-of-my-hungers" target="_blank">"The Autobiography of My Hungers"</a> (accounting for "my" poetic phrase in one of the couplets below)...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">---------</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">11 Roses</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I stared at the deer</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Because it stared back at me.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I walked my hometown streets at dusk,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Invisible to schoolboys on careless bicycles,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The women in the nail salon, and the families outside the Dairy Queen.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">My reflection in store windows, the only evidence of me.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I held my breath as I passed the cemetery at the edge of town.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Where my father lies.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On the recent anniversary of his death,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I had placed a rock on his gravestone.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It wasn’t there.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I walked further, into the woods,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hiding an autobiography of my secrets.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How my heart is easily broken.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How I never stopped loving you.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How I am a glint of light now.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Not even a ghost.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the aurora of distant streetlights,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I blend into the ramble and the thorns.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So I stared at the deer</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Because it stared back at me.</span></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div><p></p>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-71382901230065442172024-01-08T16:01:00.003-05:002024-01-08T16:21:04.555-05:00What Songs Make You Happy?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fvHPw1hVZWTK3G_DpFABjDJfS7HJxbj661amViZxEEj6SdKdIddQTCGjhG1pdyGk8EFvOg74LOCn3Ljrilqr0hGY7skFi6N9nSqlPGxsUNrBhMSSxbyjB8Jz2QXBK2lDfgQPlLlHJM5LmQ7IR356qEhCDia_BpI7l_42VeWtKmmLki7iJQqUqrHqrO0/s1674/siri.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1674" data-original-width="1254" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fvHPw1hVZWTK3G_DpFABjDJfS7HJxbj661amViZxEEj6SdKdIddQTCGjhG1pdyGk8EFvOg74LOCn3Ljrilqr0hGY7skFi6N9nSqlPGxsUNrBhMSSxbyjB8Jz2QXBK2lDfgQPlLlHJM5LmQ7IR356qEhCDia_BpI7l_42VeWtKmmLki7iJQqUqrHqrO0/s320/siri.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">As a Notre Dame alum, I don't have a rooting interest in tonight's college football championship... except for one thing:</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I hope all the Michigan fans are happy at the end of the third quarter.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I hope they all sing "Mr. Brightside." Because, inexplicably, this song makes me irrationally happy.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This past Saturday, my wife Nancy and I were at Jersey Girl Brewing in Mount Olive, NJ, where a local cover band, <a href="https://www.notenoughjeffs.com" target="_blank">Not Enough Jeffs</a>, was doing a great job playing popular party songs. People were dancing; everyone was happy. But Nancy was mortified when they started to play "Mr. Brightside."</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">She threatened to take a video of my reaction, but didn't... because she loves me. But if she had, there might now exist a forever-embarrassing clip that would look a lot like this notable scene from "The Holiday":</span></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pCtzXy6UeEs?si=T0glDi4k5HmJftod" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Two other songs that my family knows make me irrationally happy are "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen and "River Deep Mountain High" by Tina Turner.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span><span>I've previously written about <a href="https://varettoni.blogspot.com/2022/08/braided-essay-thunder-road-in-6-scenes.html" target="_blank">"Thunder Road" here</a>, and "River Deep Mountain High" crept up on me recently (thanks to the Celine Dion cover version) when I attended the musical "Titanique" with my daughter.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><div><span style="font-size: medium;">My wife and I recently attended a fun and tasteful wedding reception where the couple employed a live fiddle player and a Scottish line dancing instructor. We tried our best to dance, and laughingly failed... but at the end of the evening, I had the urge to ask the otherwise unoccupied DJ if he might play "Mr. Brightside" to end the evening.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span>Nancy convinced me it wasn't the right setting, so I didn't. In retrospect, of course she was right.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span>Do I love her? My, oh my.</span></div></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikB5psFnFOdw2BwrzPmj6g5_ZhCujWwh9Bzu_k0Em37E9xvsta7UEyZpndTXVy34KbofKm-vPP32nWW3MjUjUjOquhcW6_F34GtOPr1jY_9hJT2C1cdAYN8RnEC4chIiy48mPvCqyCP1cqrVyhwEq_DcQtDlWGpz4ccj6HwfYdnE30Oex3zeDFVlIeCMM/s1714/IMG_9791.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1181" data-original-width="1714" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikB5psFnFOdw2BwrzPmj6g5_ZhCujWwh9Bzu_k0Em37E9xvsta7UEyZpndTXVy34KbofKm-vPP32nWW3MjUjUjOquhcW6_F34GtOPr1jY_9hJT2C1cdAYN8RnEC4chIiy48mPvCqyCP1cqrVyhwEq_DcQtDlWGpz4ccj6HwfYdnE30Oex3zeDFVlIeCMM/w400-h275/IMG_9791.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not Enough Jeffs performing on a Saturday night in New Jersey</td></tr></tbody></table><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Still, I'm conflicted about these guilty pleasures. Not Enough Jeffs's playlist includes songs like "Flagpole Sitta," "What I Like About You" and "Sweet Caroline" (the "anthem" Trevor Noah cleverly sends up in his latest Netflix comedy special). So I'm thinking that perhaps I'm a cliche of a certain age.</span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Should I care, though? Isn't it wonderful some songs simply make people inordinately happy, for no rational reason?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">What are some of your favorites?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm sure there are a few I should check out, to expand my horizons... and maybe learn how to dance.</span></p>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-64004084062843230442023-12-21T16:42:00.004-05:002023-12-22T08:40:56.859-05:00A Toast to Frank O'Hara<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnXSY1uEVwRqQtcM4attTUPuFLysGGdpG5CAqXmCoSV25W1t3C2KBwjlMAtas5N_ZqzmgckTfNT496U9yMK7i3ZXJI0sbnLPuL5NoWCfzEQ8xjwS3DtJk5BrnWhsjsEIdf_nAhUCKYebKNvNRwqrbNaxvCp7rqDsRF5F7KWRVFNaZewJVRfopuTekFbLA" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="986" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnXSY1uEVwRqQtcM4attTUPuFLysGGdpG5CAqXmCoSV25W1t3C2KBwjlMAtas5N_ZqzmgckTfNT496U9yMK7i3ZXJI0sbnLPuL5NoWCfzEQ8xjwS3DtJk5BrnWhsjsEIdf_nAhUCKYebKNvNRwqrbNaxvCp7rqDsRF5F7KWRVFNaZewJVRfopuTekFbLA" width="237" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lately, I've been haunted by the ghost of Frank O'Hara.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I found many references to the poet on the website and recent event invites from <a href="https://poetrysocietyny.org" target="_blank">The Poetry Society of New York</a>. They even sell a Frank O'Hara t-shirt.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Then, last night, I participated in an online workshop, led by New Jersey poet <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelpthomas/" target="_blank">Michael Paul Thomas</a> (you can find information about his future workshops... highly recommended... at his LinkedIn or by <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/o/michael-paul-thomas-46117426943" target="_blank">following him on Eventbrite</a>).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Out of nowhere, Frank appeared.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Michael read from O'Hara's New York City "Lunch Poems," as he led us through writing and revision exercises. He based the discussion around how we develop a consistent practice in creative work.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">"Do we always have to wait for lightning to bolt down our arm to the pen?" he asked, then answered with a description of O'Hara's practice of writing a poem a day during his lunch hours in the city. He simply described the world around him, then leveled it up with a poetic twist.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Michael urged us to write what we saw around us last night. So I did, and I've revised it a bit today.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I offer this poem to you, Frank, in Blogger's best typewriter font. I beg you to accept it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Now, please stop haunting me.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">---------</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><b><span>A Toast to Frank O'Hara o</span></b><b><span>n This Winter’s Solstice</span></b> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I’m sitting in a house that would otherwise be abandoned.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">It’s my grandparents’ old home,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Which is still oddly filled with warmth<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">On this cold night in western New Jersey.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">When I was a boy I would walk to the open field in the side yard<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">And gaze at the stars: the only source of light,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Save for the glow of the house and the headlights<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Of a lone, lost, angry traveler bound for Pennsylvania.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Tonight, that sleepy country road is a four-lane highway.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">From the upstairs bedroom window, I see spotlit car dealerships<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Displaying comically large American flags across what is now Route 46.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">The back road used to border acres of farmland.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Now, it provides access to the busy warehouses that replaced the farms,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">And to the back entrance of TD Bank, whose garish green signage glows<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Past the bones of the barn where Nonno used to keep chickens and a cow.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">In the backyard, a cell tower looms over the ghost of a small orchard,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Which Nonna used to tend to make homemade wine.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Now, there’s a holiday-lit brewery among the back-road warehouses.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">The hour is too late to talk to the Sun. When I look to the heavens,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Now, I am surrounded by ever-changing, earthbound constellations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">The stars have fallen from the sky,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">And darkness envelops me from above.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-36500867467861822482023-11-15T09:16:00.004-05:002024-01-04T22:51:30.066-05:00The Legend of Peter Thonis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBkZ1LBYttPpHMx_bMm0mf4hbj8zwsQwP8J2xrQfsZod0Irf3aoRABDRq1bJ1awKJ7AIzhS3u3g0idEPak9yAX68ckyepJBvA5KFo6v9lijvhwa7UbTJlwj9bokykakYb-Ij7zs3va4PVcuDu1x7Z-1Ur-fxhcJdqxCcjKeOnyFfvuHsW81sFbuu1gM0/s1332/Peter-Thonis.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="1332" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBkZ1LBYttPpHMx_bMm0mf4hbj8zwsQwP8J2xrQfsZod0Irf3aoRABDRq1bJ1awKJ7AIzhS3u3g0idEPak9yAX68ckyepJBvA5KFo6v9lijvhwa7UbTJlwj9bokykakYb-Ij7zs3va4PVcuDu1x7Z-1Ur-fxhcJdqxCcjKeOnyFfvuHsW81sFbuu1gM0/w400-h264/Peter-Thonis.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Peter Thonis was my boss for 12 years, retiring 10 years ago. Late last week, a family friend called with the news that Peter had died.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As his son Chris posted on Facebook, Peter’s doctors told him he had 3 months to live, given his Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Peter’s reaction? “You can’t base this stuff off of years-old data. And, as you know, I’m not the norm.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That was 17 months ago. Peter was not the norm; he was transcendent.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">---------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Here are 3 scenes of what it was like to work with Peter Thonis:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Scene 1<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I try to call Peter on an important matter, and he answers with a whisper. “I can’t talk now,” he says. “I'm in a doctor's office.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I say, “OK, I understand…”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He doesn’t seem to hear me, though, because he goes on to explain that he was about to undergo walk-in surgery to repair a stomach scar covering stitches that had never healed properly.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“But it's something I'd rather not talk about,” he says.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“OK,” I repeat. “I get it. We’ll talk some other time.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Instead of silence, I hear Peter’s dramatic whisper on the other end of the line.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“It was a knife wound,” he says conspiratorially. “It was from a fight when I was young.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Scene 2<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I walk into Peter’s office and say, “I need to leave work early today. My mother-in-law is coming for dinner.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Peter: “I know what that’s like. Go! GO NOW!”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I head toward the door.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Wait!” he calls out, “Unless you want me to think of something for you to do right now, so you have to work late tonight.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Scene 3<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Peter arrives at my office door at 8 a.m. to say good morning. We were working in an office tower at 1095 Ave. of the Americas, the same building where my Dad used to work. He’s completely out of breath.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“I’m going hiking with my brother this week in the White Mountains. I’m walking up the 32 flights in the morning to get used to climbing again.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Peter spies an unopened bottle on my desk. “Could I trouble you for some soda?” he asks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Of course,” I quickly untwist the top and hand it to him.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“I really hate to do this,” he says, taking a swig and immediately regaining his wind.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Wait!” He waves the plastic bottle in front of him. “Is this <i>diet</i> Coke?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“G<i>ood!</i>” he exclaims, hurrying off.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">30 minutes later, I get a phone call from Peter.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Was there an 8:30 meeting?” he asks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“No, you canceled that last week.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Good, because I was on the 8:30 call, and no one was there.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">---------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">These scenes do not portray Peter’s excellence in actually doing his job.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgspQWDShUehZGcmOfRizILG59jidmrNMY46y-V36a_KkCL1rNXPcZ7x5t5-MgjS658P3_IT0aF4g-aMFRYtOp6z_uBUQ-5xmcZPEy2X0rD4xyE1nTrntSrGWetIXyVcT4q1kNmi-WWY_BcCFUFFRMUz1Py4sAsReX0gtSrErhVji4N4TluHW7mBkXv32U/s440/IMG_0683_Original%20copy.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="358" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgspQWDShUehZGcmOfRizILG59jidmrNMY46y-V36a_KkCL1rNXPcZ7x5t5-MgjS658P3_IT0aF4g-aMFRYtOp6z_uBUQ-5xmcZPEy2X0rD4xyE1nTrntSrGWetIXyVcT4q1kNmi-WWY_BcCFUFFRMUz1Py4sAsReX0gtSrErhVji4N4TluHW7mBkXv32U/s320/IMG_0683_Original%20copy.jpg" width="260" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This is a photo of him with our friend and co-worker Valerie Vedda. The occasion was when Peter received the Communicator of the Year Award from IABC-NJ (International Association of Business Communicators) in 2006. <a href="https://www.joycefuneralhome.com/obituaries/peter-thonis" target="_blank">Peter’s formal obituary</a> outlines his many other career accomplishments, but here’s one real-life example of his work ethic:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On Veterans’ Day weekend 22 years ago, I was mildly annoyed during a day off to interrupt my leaf raking at my suburban home to return a message from Christine Nuzum of Dow Jones. It was about possible phone service problems. I logged in to work and discovered it was in light of the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Queens. In the short time it took me to get back to Christine, I also discovered that she had reached out to Peter simultaneously, and he had already responded.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Peter had been hiking on a mountaintop in southern New Hampshire. The wind-chill factor approached minus 20 degrees, but he had stripped away three layers of protective clothing to get to his pager, find his cell phone, and dial her back without his gloves on.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When it came to Public Relations, he single-handedly prevented multiple media disasters over the years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Here are 5 representative, if unorthodox, PR lessons I learned from Peter Thonis:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Regarding crisis communications, the most effective operating philosophy can be summarized in one phrase: “Go ugly early.”</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Regarding leaks to the media, the advice is this: “A leak isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If it isn’t material, it may be just interesting.”</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">“There’s a thin line between being a ‘thought leader’ and becoming a ‘poster boy.’”</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">“You can’t say the word ‘jerk’ to the Daily News and not expect to be quoted.”</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Regarding a fallback PR position on just about anything… When in doubt, your standby sound bite should always be, “Bring it on.”</span></span></li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Peter was also able to make tough decisions with ridiculous ease. He once described this side of his management style. He said, “You know, Bob, you only have to shoot one person, and it will never happen again.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By far, his best quote about PR came in the middle of an otherwise meandering, boring meeting. Out of nowhere, he suddenly said this:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Our goal shouldn't be to find a better way to tell the same story. Our goal should be to find a better story to tell.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">---------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNx4eEgTnBa7b-SgYmHtqy9UbW_FZyLURevIP-1vWX3QsWfPapCb-ee1I5CKYnzRWWbBUeP0KK-DBrFtREJjtBTzab0xjqdg9MKjbNNNxb0P1MrTZ-oU6gbv-BWOt-ohPPkVaEEwgF9AzIxJdT5qWaTYpJYf1umBPzt5T-KAP2Wa198d1jDGTgnpBNo6Y/s1600/515.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNx4eEgTnBa7b-SgYmHtqy9UbW_FZyLURevIP-1vWX3QsWfPapCb-ee1I5CKYnzRWWbBUeP0KK-DBrFtREJjtBTzab0xjqdg9MKjbNNNxb0P1MrTZ-oU6gbv-BWOt-ohPPkVaEEwgF9AzIxJdT5qWaTYpJYf1umBPzt5T-KAP2Wa198d1jDGTgnpBNo6Y/w400-h299/515.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">As for the person, here are 10 facts about Peter (never call him “Pete”) Thonis:</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">He couldn’t say the word “surreptitious”</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">His favorite finger food at a reception was pigs in a blanket</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">At one time in his life, he was recruited by the CIA</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">He allegedly had the ability to stuff an entire orange in his mouth</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">He once sat at the bar at Kennedy’s (now closed) on West 57th Street and watched an entire baseball game (Peter was a huge sports fan) with Bill Murray -- but only because he was clever enough not to acknowledge who Bill Murray was</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">He had a pathological hatred for the New England clam chowder as served in the Verizon Center cafeteria, fondly recalling how his Mom </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">made chowder from fresh ingredients</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">He once made a map for my family to follow that highlighted a week’s worth of activities on Cape Cod, adding the warning: “Avoid Hyannis”</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">He could, and would, show you how to use a wristwatch as a compass</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">He was an expert limerick writer</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Peter and I both, unbeknownst to each other at the time, took violin lessons in late middle age</span></span></li></ul><!--[if !supportLists]--><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In truth, that last point is one of the only things we had in common.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I could never match Peter’s strength or confidence… or empathy. I recall his big heart. I recall his comforting embrace of a tearful co-worker as we all stood in stunned silence from our panoramic 32nd-floor view of the burning World Trade Center towers on 9/11.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I recall his support at the funeral home in Totowa, NJ, and his patience and kindness to my family after my Dad died. Peter revealed that he was filled with anger that his own father had passed away in his 50s.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I also recall only one day in our 12 years together that he did not show up where I expected him. When I asked Valerie about it that day, thinking he was perhaps unreachable because he had lost his 7th… or 8th… or 9th Blackberry device, she confided that Peter had taken off in his car for New Hampshire in the pre-dawn hours to attend to a health emergency involving his best friend.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">---------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By coincidence, I had lunch with Valerie and her husband earlier this month in New York City. She spoke fondly of visiting post-retirement Peter at his mountainside home (that, when described, seemed akin to the setting of “The Shining”).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Excuse all the movie references, but Peter was a bit of a film buff. I’ve had other bosses who loved movies… notably, earlier in my career, Tony Pappas.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I began writing this on November 10th, the 5th anniversary of Tony’s death. He was another larger-than-life boss who led media relations for New York Telephone (later NYNEX). <a href="https://varettoni.blogspot.com/2019/06/goodbye-verizon-remember-our-names.html" target="_blank">I’ve likened Tony</a> to Peter O’Toole’s swashbuckling character in the 1982 movie “My Favorite Year.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I never thought I’d work for anyone like Tony again. Until I met Peter Thonis.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Both, foremost, shared a love of exquisite writing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Both had great, though differing, tastes in movies. Tony liked foreign films and “The Godfather” franchise. Peter was more of a fan of “Igby Goes Down”-type films and had an irrational love of Godzilla movies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">One of Peter’s favorite movie scenes was from 1997’s “As Good As It Gets.” It’s when Jack Nicholson compliments Helen Hunt by saying, “You make me want to be a better man.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That statement, that scene, resonated with Peter, who always strove to be better.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I’ve thought of this often these past few days. It’s inspiring.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I’ve also thought of a post-credit scene to give these words a fitting ending:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In 2012, Peter sent everyone on his Christmas list, including his Mom, packages from Wine Country with a note, “Enjoy every moment of the holidays.” But someone hacked into the order and changed the message to “Enjoy every f**k’n moment!”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Such simple, profound advice, no matter how it’s phrased. Who knows what the future holds for any of us?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I only know what Peter Thonis, the legend, would have to say about that:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Bring it on.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cG02oIexjIvg5k9q_tF_EhufDkHNraLJJkTfUlnQfBNU_y3f-tC4QRwhlyC9E2KMQH3wUcZw-JT7X1WP67lrJrOC2FB5zlSr-xo1jv9ycs_nei11NtRZjUVvvTBScQbn9T6Cc6b1-Acx8CNlCO4K0Xpi_XL5fjkTEmIUKVgUhKAtBsoJMdHL7YxY5NA/s1284/IMG_8664.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="1284" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cG02oIexjIvg5k9q_tF_EhufDkHNraLJJkTfUlnQfBNU_y3f-tC4QRwhlyC9E2KMQH3wUcZw-JT7X1WP67lrJrOC2FB5zlSr-xo1jv9ycs_nei11NtRZjUVvvTBScQbn9T6Cc6b1-Acx8CNlCO4K0Xpi_XL5fjkTEmIUKVgUhKAtBsoJMdHL7YxY5NA/w400-h300/IMG_8664.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moonlight in Chatham during a family visit inspired by Peter</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
<!--
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
mso-themecolor:hyperlink;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
color:#954F72;
mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:1420445416;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:147105472 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l0:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l0:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l0:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1
{mso-list-id:1443961154;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:1454775906 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l1:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l1:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l1:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l1:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l1:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l1:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l1:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
-->
</style>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-29930314910823392822023-10-30T18:20:00.009-04:002023-11-02T18:13:28.661-04:00Middletown NJ Photography Exhibit: My Reflections<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwyWskUd29WeLTev88jSxJ_Oi93NSCU1IsePHDioxCqMvfhMtYSXvnWZPeHHf3fvd7k4DU2zthUQPmU2nG7cG-IgXnFHweU5UIYdvp1_T66SNWfPo638CgT1jBJ4NIBDPWqmShVnFS79yEzJpgHyXIwYvmOtWnnhaGXnt8Vove0wP1kJw2_aAxQT4B_o/s1080/384570072_10224283941428132_2314586554729509497_n-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwyWskUd29WeLTev88jSxJ_Oi93NSCU1IsePHDioxCqMvfhMtYSXvnWZPeHHf3fvd7k4DU2zthUQPmU2nG7cG-IgXnFHweU5UIYdvp1_T66SNWfPo638CgT1jBJ4NIBDPWqmShVnFS79yEzJpgHyXIwYvmOtWnnhaGXnt8Vove0wP1kJw2_aAxQT4B_o/w400-h400/384570072_10224283941428132_2314586554729509497_n-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Below are my four contributions to the photography exhibit hosted by the mighty <a href="https://www.facebook.com/blackglassgallery/" target="_blank">Black Glass Gallery</a> on the theme of "reflections." The opening reception (which is always fun) is Friday, Nov. 3, from 6-9 p.m. at the Middletown Arts Center, and the exhibit will be on display until after Thanksgiving. Hope to see you there! (I'll be arriving a little later, because "traffic to the shore on Friday night" is always traffic to the shore on Friday night... even in November.)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Captions in haiku.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsMlyDBQQYkFjwkSo51RQUE-_v2UQCl2LbqzIO_OUaMZPsgQJjmG7Y4DGrvCXpyx4PivP-0VnQB-FvdfWrg_dFPOQZpJ_nZr4sV2SupCejDX4aNRbkK_Ousehyphenhyphen2Syu5WXGveDbmSobTE9oMnNS6hHrMLRuwU91mKNBP6mkG-dmb8o2L30wr1u6uGzyto/s482/One%20Vanderbilt.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="482" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsMlyDBQQYkFjwkSo51RQUE-_v2UQCl2LbqzIO_OUaMZPsgQJjmG7Y4DGrvCXpyx4PivP-0VnQB-FvdfWrg_dFPOQZpJ_nZr4sV2SupCejDX4aNRbkK_Ousehyphenhyphen2Syu5WXGveDbmSobTE9oMnNS6hHrMLRuwU91mKNBP6mkG-dmb8o2L30wr1u6uGzyto/w400-h399/One%20Vanderbilt.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;"><b style="outline: currentcolor;">One Vanderbilt</b></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;">Mirrors in the sky.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;">Crowds multiplied, divided,</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;">rarified, alone.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LOqyIYAd0oNtpRj3AmDwlQRQVmvogo3vIOT1oA5C9qJEeZorwgh75GDqStp5_siGgHxA51umeGCgKT60mRnHnfW63AaffjoM7dVR7FXnwXWcBasIbciE1-29HV1CEmfw50azyL24xNdPwGEp9bnVmW5YzB8h28_w_okbAOF4Xj8c_n-EQZPNS6Rjv54/s482/Trump%20World%20Tower.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="482" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LOqyIYAd0oNtpRj3AmDwlQRQVmvogo3vIOT1oA5C9qJEeZorwgh75GDqStp5_siGgHxA51umeGCgKT60mRnHnfW63AaffjoM7dVR7FXnwXWcBasIbciE1-29HV1CEmfw50azyL24xNdPwGEp9bnVmW5YzB8h28_w_okbAOF4Xj8c_n-EQZPNS6Rjv54/w400-h399/Trump%20World%20Tower.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;"><b style="outline: currentcolor;">Trump World Tower</b></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;">Vanishing fortress,</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;">haunted by neighboring clouds,</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;">surrounded by ghosts.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-yH-EX0ky_ttgpoDc7YRfkICcZkpfa8GoIn5mpdDJagGL6VkvLVH_rFOT6FJ93Dfoi5wnWMR8YVl1jixV9pwZ7h0M-yK6o5wMx2qdhowCqNo1xQzS2zQGwxzD9GQESlyMI-fuoILQP9uJ4tUJaMsMohoy-zjzSgsFkR4xRlXNYwL7f1j6wBkR76RAmI/s484/MOMA.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="484" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-yH-EX0ky_ttgpoDc7YRfkICcZkpfa8GoIn5mpdDJagGL6VkvLVH_rFOT6FJ93Dfoi5wnWMR8YVl1jixV9pwZ7h0M-yK6o5wMx2qdhowCqNo1xQzS2zQGwxzD9GQESlyMI-fuoILQP9uJ4tUJaMsMohoy-zjzSgsFkR4xRlXNYwL7f1j6wBkR76RAmI/w400-h398/MOMA.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;"><b style="outline: currentcolor;">Museum of Modern Art</b></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;">Visiting MOMA,</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;">two lovers reimagine</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;">Rene Magritte’s kiss.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XJr7KkbQAQfD3VppRDHB9Tlb60CmO7ARlNP0hHzMPExEHgIru-X23r_WGjfWmCs0EN0UKKrRKbJ9ZHfsevB4-e1dTnGkkqEiJhdUncWnMgpAyqH3LQ0_YFgdnwlfwcQ6Z6I1tRJ-JZ4Mye1XHcAYGjyRME0OsEbR90yuN7_5qTcpVrQdXuGeeDFc2rY/s486/Jersey%20City.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="486" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XJr7KkbQAQfD3VppRDHB9Tlb60CmO7ARlNP0hHzMPExEHgIru-X23r_WGjfWmCs0EN0UKKrRKbJ9ZHfsevB4-e1dTnGkkqEiJhdUncWnMgpAyqH3LQ0_YFgdnwlfwcQ6Z6I1tRJ-JZ4Mye1XHcAYGjyRME0OsEbR90yuN7_5qTcpVrQdXuGeeDFc2rY/w400-h395/Jersey%20City.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;"><b style="outline: currentcolor;">Jersey City</b></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;">I’m head over heels.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;">You turn my world upside down.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: left;">I never forget.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Here are four others on the same theme, not on display in Middletown but (of course) on my Instagram accounts: <a href="http://www.instagram.com/bvarphotos" target="_blank">@bvarphotos</a> and <a href="http://www.instagram.com/foundinnj" target="_blank">@foundinnj</a> 🙂</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1PMWH5Yj2x1IXepaPEdJrbjEiuBKz73QGMwGveCCmfhJqdBntBQkkEg-Vv3bywKhyphenhyphen9KIaCskkPH3rcd228oTW0Rq1mcK5d2oKubq56DrHBjUO_i40FrGHho82bMIozZxqp2XZhRF6jWMHHv7CM1rxNFx-tl2ha0TeAl3_NoGsvk3QBQMkbvaH7TfYYU/s2087/4notused.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2087" data-original-width="2087" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1PMWH5Yj2x1IXepaPEdJrbjEiuBKz73QGMwGveCCmfhJqdBntBQkkEg-Vv3bywKhyphenhyphen9KIaCskkPH3rcd228oTW0Rq1mcK5d2oKubq56DrHBjUO_i40FrGHho82bMIozZxqp2XZhRF6jWMHHv7CM1rxNFx-tl2ha0TeAl3_NoGsvk3QBQMkbvaH7TfYYU/w400-h400/4notused.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-55916187610073249042023-10-18T17:16:00.003-04:002023-10-20T16:14:31.679-04:00Rain Won't Stop Saturday's Paterson Poetry Festival; See You There?<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXtHn9pqsnCfLcVz-cj3z86QvtbDxMt3alMi9uijbcJQq9XJ-PHXimL1NjfOC-wTTllqu_jGkCuGmo6U-n-eWTcXazlHpCr-54Zn0_2RXjtuZqDB0TAE8S5tU3gXdQ_SdUjnnhgzbpygWUguaFHJ_GTC3_MgrnxzwmnJ6viO16M3a-3rhchlGjOCJwTk/s1580/Screenshot%202023-10-20%20at%204.04.46%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1580" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXtHn9pqsnCfLcVz-cj3z86QvtbDxMt3alMi9uijbcJQq9XJ-PHXimL1NjfOC-wTTllqu_jGkCuGmo6U-n-eWTcXazlHpCr-54Zn0_2RXjtuZqDB0TAE8S5tU3gXdQ_SdUjnnhgzbpygWUguaFHJ_GTC3_MgrnxzwmnJ6viO16M3a-3rhchlGjOCJwTk/w304-h400/Screenshot%202023-10-20%20at%204.04.46%20PM.png" width="304" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Rain won't dampen the conclusion of the annual Paterson Poetry Festival, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 21.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I just heard that due to the inclement weather, the venue has been moved from the steps of Court House Plaza to International High School, at 200 Grand St. in Paterson... where there will still be vendors and food trucks and poetry from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It's a resilient bunch, and Allen Ginsberg would be proud.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">You can read more about the festival by following <a href="https://www.wordseedinc.org" target="_blank">Word Seed Inc</a>. on social media. It's a great organization, led by <a href="https://www.talenalachellequeen.com" target="_blank">Talena Lachelle Queen</a>, Paterson's Poet Laureate since 2018.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At last year's event, I met some wonderful people, including poet <a href="https://www.dimitrireyespoet.com" target="_blank">Dimitri Reyes</a>, representing CavanKerry Press. Since January, I've been trying -- "trying" being the operative word -- to write poems following weekly prompts from him.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Dimitri is encouraging and supportive. I love the music in his poetry and his readings, and I look forward to hearing and meeting more poets on Saturday.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The past two prompts from Dimitri this October have been:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>1. "</span><span face=""ABC Oracle Plus Variable", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-line;">Spend some time thinking about 2 poems and 1 song that you really enjoy. Read the three of them together and see what conversation they're creating. Try your hand and putting these different lines together into one poem."</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face=""ABC Oracle Plus Variable", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-line;">2. "</span><span face=""ABC Oracle Plus Variable", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-line;">Read <a href="https://www.bohiomarket.com/post/life-is-a-conversation-the-art-and-poetry-of-sami-miranda" target="_blank">this wonderful essay</a> by Franchesca Melendez about Sami Miranda. Listen to his poem as well. Write a poem about any of the faces illustrated by Miranda."</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face=""ABC Oracle Plus Variable", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; white-space: pre-line;">See my attempts below. Anyone can be a poet!</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><span face=""ABC Oracle Plus Variable", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-line;">Kinda. </span></span>🙂</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face=""ABC Oracle Plus Variable", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; white-space: pre-line;">See you in Paterson on Saturday?</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">---------</span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Annabel Brightside Alone</span></b></h2>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From childhood’s hour,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have never been as others were.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I never, I never</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">understood the destiny</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">calling me.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This mystery that binds me still.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The sick lullabies</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I intoned, reciting the poetry of Poe</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">to our children.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As if I were a child too.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My all-consuming jealousy,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">this demon in my view,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">has taken control.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Even now, as I approach my tomb.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Eyes open, seeing the price I paid,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I covet the angels.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">They remind me of you.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My darling, my life, my bride.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It started out as a kiss.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How did it end up like this?</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">---------</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 13px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgn9b9Q3oAFYhS6PIIbCeWhWD7IUsp77iQ1-80BtcmknA3tYnBBfinXyUABunn8A04v6yY2-3VJqzV1BghlnTJLLI_Qh9fNpwHOPH_QLyaBtbYh73K8YNHkPCQkxpn1lFa6R2dEr0GJOmsFU-Y8etYqdYlojt_SWXFQbsAuylmEfgKbGhFogvtSjp27Q/s484/Image%2010-18-23%20at%205.03%E2%80%AFPM.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="482" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgn9b9Q3oAFYhS6PIIbCeWhWD7IUsp77iQ1-80BtcmknA3tYnBBfinXyUABunn8A04v6yY2-3VJqzV1BghlnTJLLI_Qh9fNpwHOPH_QLyaBtbYh73K8YNHkPCQkxpn1lFa6R2dEr0GJOmsFU-Y8etYqdYlojt_SWXFQbsAuylmEfgKbGhFogvtSjp27Q/w399-h400/Image%2010-18-23%20at%205.03%E2%80%AFPM.JPG" width="399" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span face=""ABC Oracle Plus Variable", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; text-align: left; white-space: pre-line;"><span style="font-size: small;">Illustration by Sami Miranda</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><b><br /></b><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Greetings From Budd Lake</span></b></h2>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s Taco Tuesday at Buccaboo’s Burritos,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">where poetry isn’t for sale.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It must be prompted,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">summoned from the ordinary.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It must be earned.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So I consider your face:</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Your eyes closed,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">allowing me to see your pain.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The fluorescent highlights in your golden hair</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">mocking this red October.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Your exasperated expression</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">trivializing my attempt at transcendence.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Forgive me, Senora.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Forgive these lunatic scribblings,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">freezing time on the margins of this receipt,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">conjuring your apotheosis. </span></p>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-55794293674066062032023-07-10T15:25:00.001-04:002023-07-10T16:09:02.974-04:00Things to Do When You're Invisible<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjkv2EKvm8Pn1NNmvWlcYrTJkqnWfazQaS7RwYGvHVQfzdtgAGrbPoODdDOIKe0PZ3WWKuwXtHsKgVK9O7FI7o03Au-wW-2binB5s1xrOCuJQli0OvS8W6OsdYom43zC9ejXIDmnyl5WlJaL89Gq8lR3AG5idXHaiLGFqI12awsk-j7StryqkAENtCaAc/s3024/IMG_5510.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3023" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjkv2EKvm8Pn1NNmvWlcYrTJkqnWfazQaS7RwYGvHVQfzdtgAGrbPoODdDOIKe0PZ3WWKuwXtHsKgVK9O7FI7o03Au-wW-2binB5s1xrOCuJQli0OvS8W6OsdYom43zC9ejXIDmnyl5WlJaL89Gq8lR3AG5idXHaiLGFqI12awsk-j7StryqkAENtCaAc/w400-h400/IMG_5510.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coney Island boardwalk; I was one of the NPCs</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I have reached the age where I am invisible to most people.</p><p>I recently roamed the Coney Island boardwalk, after struggling to wash up in a Maimonides Park restroom because my hands could not activate any of its motion-sensitive faucets, happily taking cell phone photos without anyone seeming to notice, or care.</p><p>I felt like an NPC, a non-player character in a video game. Everyone else was a participant; I was an observer.</p><p>The funny thing is, when I was a boy, I thought invisibility was the world's greatest superpower. It would allow me complete freedom. I could do whatever I wished without consequence.</p><p>I realize now, after all these years, how mistaken that is. Invisibility can be fun sometimes, but on the whole, it is the curse of the marginalized.</p><p>The one true superpower is the ability to stop time.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1gjRgu35rZ8uNQvCz8oTOzgo3c9uxVSaA4giYezXC7wWcjRRNUB57qh0PYF_uXZNViA55ySEQ9BM3uFzovqD31ZKKrpdIQHSq06lH4q2zLcFyOIzqNiCy2jjEOjSSBSF-cuneQK1Nxqx4ZPVjPcB4_YazNRtSaDuLNtoHNSP0pzoRjx7P33upuBcEQs/s4032/IMG_5719.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1gjRgu35rZ8uNQvCz8oTOzgo3c9uxVSaA4giYezXC7wWcjRRNUB57qh0PYF_uXZNViA55ySEQ9BM3uFzovqD31ZKKrpdIQHSq06lH4q2zLcFyOIzqNiCy2jjEOjSSBSF-cuneQK1Nxqx4ZPVjPcB4_YazNRtSaDuLNtoHNSP0pzoRjx7P33upuBcEQs/w400-h300/IMG_5719.heic" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiny statues in a prayer garden near home</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Last week in my hometown in suburban New Jersey, I nursed a serving of shaved ice at a new shop in one of the borough's strip malls. Of course, none of the young attendants or patrons were paying attention to me.</p><p>So I watched, unnoticed, as one of the employees adjusted the satellite radio providing the background music. She stopped at a station playing the opening bars of "Your Song."</p><p>I do not believe, from her reaction, that she had ever heard this song before. Not the original, anyway. It's more than 50 years old, from another generation and culture. Even the seemingly inimitable voice of Elton John, who just this weekend concluded his farewell tour in real life, was almost unrecognizable in its clarity and immediacy.</p><p>The young woman was mesmerized. After another minute, she said aloud to no one: "Wow! This is really good!"</p><p>And just like that, Elton John's song had suspended time.</p><p>That's what excellence does. The creators who conjure these moments possess Superman's power to pause and even reverse the earth's spin on its axis, keeping us all a little further from death.</p><p>That's the superpower I long to possess.</p><p>Walking home that evening, I wandered through the church grounds where our family has its name inscribed on a brick in the pavement by its front entrance -- as if that were permanent. The pastor was walking his dog. I waved to him, but he evidently didn't see me... or he ignored me, assuming I was (as I am in the confessional) just a random trespasser.</p><p>I continued through the neighborhood, wondering how it stays so light out so late these days, when I was startled by rustling branches in the tall, landscaped bushes at my back. Something hit the ground with a thud that was substantial enough to feel under my feet.</p><p>I turned and saw a deer. It stopped and stared at me. Or through me. It didn't run away.</p><p>I took its photo and turned for home. I knew that at least I could write about it all.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUC-C0l1diw7T6kVGkGp5DLP7c0dgDCfx2iodIER0idO_Xs11yYmgs3HKOp-LcFnXRX4qHf1VknvNq3FdeFr1e0nGUMdyRG1p92OARq-njjwj-2tDhAb4SAE0Ik0NjYdaG9NIKu7FOWo0D0flwd1BTmy3Sod-wJYydlE9e6Zmd1bS_n_wEghBT4w7KgvM/s2995/IMG_5798.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2995" data-original-width="2995" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUC-C0l1diw7T6kVGkGp5DLP7c0dgDCfx2iodIER0idO_Xs11yYmgs3HKOp-LcFnXRX4qHf1VknvNq3FdeFr1e0nGUMdyRG1p92OARq-njjwj-2tDhAb4SAE0Ik0NjYdaG9NIKu7FOWo0D0flwd1BTmy3Sod-wJYydlE9e6Zmd1bS_n_wEghBT4w7KgvM/w400-h400/IMG_5798.heic" width="400" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">---------</p><h1 style="break-after: avoid; color: #2f5496; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; font-weight: normal; margin: 12pt 0in 0in;"><a name="_Toc138954522"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">How to Write the Great New Milford Poem</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></h1><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #282828; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #282828; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Before you start,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">You must accept you are invisible.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">You live in the suburbs.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">People walk dogs past your house,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">In front of your white picket fence.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Sometimes they stop and peer<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Into your dining room window,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Pointing in your direction,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">As if they’ve seen a ghost.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">They don’t know you can see them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">You do not participate in Little League baseball,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Or Junior League football.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Your children left home long ago.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">The town pool has closed without warning.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Its parking lot, empty; its grounds, overgrown.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Your family used to swim there.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">The Burger King is still open.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Decades ago, the borough attorney<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Protested the “Home of the Whopper” sign<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Because he said it insulted Italian Americans.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Your children used to eat there.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Begin now by offering a prayer to <a href="https://varettoni.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-mystery-of-bertha-reetz.html" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration: none;">Bertha Reetz</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">At her abandoned stone in the French Burial Ground.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Remain calm when you hear gunshots<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">From the range behind the Recycling Center.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">The police are shooting blanks, scattering the deer<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">In your town’s only remaining sliver of woods<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Along the Hackensack River.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Gather the scraps of your neighbors’ families:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Sticky, dirt-crusted Dairy Queen napkins and cups<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Littering the curbside along River Road.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Cross the street to the garbage can<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">At the bus stop outside Canterbury Village.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Use extreme caution. You are invisible to traffic.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">You return home alone.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">You start to write a poem.<o:p></o:p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-3688881754393419022023-07-05T15:06:00.010-04:002023-07-23T19:02:52.945-04:00Reviews of My Past 10 Books, With Thanks to Mother Cabrini<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKe1Pgkq6ZU3HRCWSJwsLujIhJjAjt8YY8g4Sl4wSSpzjeasicSiSaxeoyToQTlpOSGiovOKgJwxYmJeG5_gu0z8xf2AHSFpzUhHVbtoAsr5H3QGoJgiOh-VYnBbo9I_zHYNQ4VP4agzo9odF7esV4ZvBvbkEwxSM3uLamt55rf_rLSC3q7_iYGHqcstw/s2752/IMG_4970.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="2060" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKe1Pgkq6ZU3HRCWSJwsLujIhJjAjt8YY8g4Sl4wSSpzjeasicSiSaxeoyToQTlpOSGiovOKgJwxYmJeG5_gu0z8xf2AHSFpzUhHVbtoAsr5H3QGoJgiOh-VYnBbo9I_zHYNQ4VP4agzo9odF7esV4ZvBvbkEwxSM3uLamt55rf_rLSC3q7_iYGHqcstw/w300-h400/IMG_4970.heic" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is me with Ana Almanzar, founder of the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation Book Club. Ana recently left our foundation to become Deputy Mayor of New York City. Lately, my colleague Clare Meehan has led the club, and I bet she will one day become U.S. President.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 2023, I haven't been as active reading books or posting Goodreads reviews. Since the pandemic, my reading has taken a back seat to doom-scrolling the news, streaming videos (highly recommended: "Only Murders in the Building"), and getting my heart broken by the New York Mets.</p><p>I wouldn't even have read the books I'm posting about here, save for the intervention of Mother Cabrini -- or, I should say, my colleagues at the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation who have been participating in a book club for the past year.</p><p>It's been a lot of fun... mostly because my younger, extremely smart, and very well-read colleagues are always choosing books that I would never have picked on my own. This has led to some exciting discoveries. Such as Exhibit 1:</p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58784475-tomorrow-and-tomorrow-and-tomorrow" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636978687l/58784475._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58784475-tomorrow-and-tomorrow-and-tomorrow">Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/40593.Gabrielle_Zevin">Gabrielle Zevin</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5663188888">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
We have a book club at work, so I needed to read it and thought I wouldn't like it... not being a gamer, or even having an interest in gaming, and having never read anything by this author. I only knew it as "Bill Gates' favorite recent book." It turns out it's now my favorite recent book too. I was surprised and delighted. It was well-written, lyrical, and profoundly moving. I was underlining passages and often reacting out loud as I read. This is a wonderful book, in real life. Thank you, Ana, and thank you, Clare. Best book club pick. Ever. <div><br /></div><div>Many of the book club's other selections were just about as good, worthwhile, and revelatory. Exhibit 2:</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55650158-take-my-hand" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Take My Hand" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1626449299l/55650158._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55650158-take-my-hand">Take My Hand</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3037436.Dolen_Perkins_Valdez">Dolen Perkins-Valdez</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5664911941">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Nicely done. The story kept me interested, and the book inspired me to research the historical issues. This was a book club selection during Black History Month, and it has encouraged me to expand the range of what I read. This one reminded me somewhat of one of my all-time favorites, "To Kill a Mockingbird."
<br /><br />I could say just about the same for these four books:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHJvVpZsZQK_d-I8wdaK7GHHr2okZnbLJ6jRiIvwaE9YFnQVfr0lIK7o9bfpNPiZ4bVCW7fqM9J7mzit4r5Zi1oHTYHo3qYjk_YZjT1e5qu6DT3katYwugAfaNCVlMthvGedfnYNwp9TcTzCIeGk4N9sKvJRAScu3Pjxhw0ABRwMSFS2w7u1vwMBFxF8/s1395/4%20books.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1395" data-original-width="930" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHJvVpZsZQK_d-I8wdaK7GHHr2okZnbLJ6jRiIvwaE9YFnQVfr0lIK7o9bfpNPiZ4bVCW7fqM9J7mzit4r5Zi1oHTYHo3qYjk_YZjT1e5qu6DT3katYwugAfaNCVlMthvGedfnYNwp9TcTzCIeGk4N9sKvJRAScu3Pjxhw0ABRwMSFS2w7u1vwMBFxF8/w266-h400/4%20books.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><div>All were rewarding and thought-provoking -- although, honestly, I only voted to read "The Happiest Man on Earth" because I thought it would be a short, happy book. SPOILER ALERT: Eddie may indeed be happy, but even after reading his relatively short book, I can't imagine why.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm leaving out "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" because I had already read and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2074636438" target="_blank">reviewed it</a> more than five years earlier (on advice from another work colleague at a former job), and "The Givers" by David Callahan, which we at the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation all collectively gave up on during the past holiday season, probably because it reminded us all too much of work.</div><div><br /></div><div>The only two books our club read that I didn't like were Exhibits 3 and 4:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23168277-the-sympathizer" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Sympathizer" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1423543886l/23168277._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23168277-the-sympathizer">The Sympathizer</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/282390.Viet_Thanh_Nguyen">Viet Thanh Nguyen</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5663279740">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I honestly couldn't finish this book. I found the writing pretentious and dense, and I kept thinking, "This writer needs an editor." Then I got to the scene with the squid, and I gave up.<br /><br />And then, silly me, I read that this is the author's debut novel, and it won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.<br /><br />I put this in the category of the Oscar-winning movie, "Everything Everywhere All at Once," which I also disliked. It's obvious I just don't get it, but it's also just as obvious I'll never win a Pulitzer or an Oscar. So I can't give this less than three stars on the basis of subjectivity.<br /><br />Still, I won't be finishing this book. Life is too short. On a related note, here's The Onion weighing in this week about people who don't read the books they review on Goodreads 🙂 --> <a href="https://www.theonion.com/goodreads-now-only-permitting-reviews-from-people-who-h-1850596767" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.theonion.com/goodreads-no...</a> </div><div><br /></div><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57511240-the-long-game" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1616554055l/57511240._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57511240-the-long-game">The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6467972.Dorie_Clark">Dorie Clark</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4707202463">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I really only learned one thing from this book: I had no idea there were that many consultants in the world. <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">---------</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>On my own, I've found I tend to read books with practical applications or offering advice. I need all the help I can get. Here are two recent reads I found useful:</div><div><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58438500-conversations-with-people-who-hate-me" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Conversations with People Who Hate Me: 12 Things I Learned from Talking to Internet Strangers" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1646255871l/58438500._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58438500-conversations-with-people-who-hate-me">Conversations with People Who Hate Me: 12 Things I Learned from Talking to Internet Strangers</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13586226.Dylan_Marron">Dylan Marron</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4550672528">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I admire Dylan Marron and his approach to humanizing social interactions on the Internet. Hate should not be a game. The perspective offered in this book is more life-affirming, and I now constantly think of Dylan's mantra that "empathy is not endorsement." I can only hope it makes me a more empathetic person in this new, odd, gamified world. A good, fast, uplifting read.</div><div>
<br /><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57818790-how-magicians-think" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="How Magicians Think: Misdirection, Deception, and Why Magic Matters" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1635645971l/57818790._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57818790-how-magicians-think">How Magicians Think: Misdirection, Deception, and Why Magic Matters</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1073740.Joshua_Jay">Joshua Jay</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5664983942">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Trusting our inner child is a central lesson in this collection of anecdotes. The author adds insights that unveil the magician's mindset while encouraging self-reflection. After reading this book, I more deeply admire the dedication and professionalism of magicians, their tireless work behind the scenes, and their profound impact on our sense of wonder. Magic DOES matter. </div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">---------</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm currently reading "The Creative Act" by Rick Rubin -- which I had suggested to our club in favor of "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow." Silly me. I'm still searching for that elusive "short, happy book." I told Clare I may have to write one, and she told me she would read it. So now the pressure is on, and I'll be relying on Rick to guide me. I also look forward to Viet Thanh Nguyen's review of my writing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, I need to read "A Swim in a Pond in the Rain" by George Saunders, a copy of which my best friend gave me some time ago.</div><div><br /></div><div>I really need to learn to be a better friend. I wonder if there's a book offering advice about that.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">---------</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>PS- Let's turn this up to 11! Here's my review of "The Creative Act," which I finished in mid-July:</i></div><div><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/99367738-the-creative-act" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Creative Act: A Way of Being" border="0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675533394l/99367738._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/99367738-the-creative-act">The Creative Act: A Way of Being</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/427020.Rick_Rubin">Rick Rubin</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5714676854">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I found this book full of encouragement and insight... however, I do not recommend listening to the Audible version, as I tried to. I'd give the Audible version only 3 stars. I did not think Rick Ruben was an effective narrator, but what he has to say is genuinely worthwhile. As an audiobook, it's seemingly an endless parade of aphorisms (i.e., "even spontaneity can improve with practice") that fly by too quickly to consider the proper context. If you read this book -- and if you are interested in the creative process, I DO highly recommend it -- consider purchasing a physical copy... and a companion workbook.
<br /></div><div><br /></div></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/11800247-bob-varettoni">View all my Goodreads reviews</a></div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-52255344889117580822023-06-04T12:02:00.008-04:002023-06-04T15:34:29.684-04:00The Evolution of a Saturday<span style="font-size: medium;">Posting here about an ordinary Saturday, which began when I noticed a Rambler Rose blooming on a vine that my wife and I feared had died over the past winter.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhGTlg1PeDcoPv9WFjt7e60DvOrrHRt2Zpbw53q_3GzyYcQDt1AEteUNX5-JPw-r3RqSBPM7rr7S5CTr2Dzp1Q_v5FQFWDMfnVGmmYPKbygdjmz4lQOzUaFikXmiBHe-X_h5SnVyD3k81CVI3AmyQEvPdmkcLkX17zaAlwxVDCst-GBo7sCN1Ldoh/s4032/IMG_4886.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhGTlg1PeDcoPv9WFjt7e60DvOrrHRt2Zpbw53q_3GzyYcQDt1AEteUNX5-JPw-r3RqSBPM7rr7S5CTr2Dzp1Q_v5FQFWDMfnVGmmYPKbygdjmz4lQOzUaFikXmiBHe-X_h5SnVyD3k81CVI3AmyQEvPdmkcLkX17zaAlwxVDCst-GBo7sCN1Ldoh/s320/IMG_4886.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Later, we traveled to Queens to see the New York Mets -- who lost. It was cold and windy where we sat. The day before, the temperature had reached 90. The scoreboard said the temperature was 63 at game time, and it never changed, but it seemed much colder in the wind. <br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxL1uHUYKns4NQ0JvV-xSu4MiUpVsJFPI7Mj2gtRDc5iev-WGlhZseiyrA78P6e19vuUPXccBU9xC07U6g_cY9q6Sfm4kQZ8nkAFa4D67wq0deilSsFhogGaf2Ucc8zk-WaM0W3em452B4hBEychfDBZ6kZou1GI0A9IKTzr1gYoc762752PO2wHW2/s4032/IMG_4891.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxL1uHUYKns4NQ0JvV-xSu4MiUpVsJFPI7Mj2gtRDc5iev-WGlhZseiyrA78P6e19vuUPXccBU9xC07U6g_cY9q6Sfm4kQZ8nkAFa4D67wq0deilSsFhogGaf2Ucc8zk-WaM0W3em452B4hBEychfDBZ6kZou1GI0A9IKTzr1gYoc762752PO2wHW2/s400/IMG_4891.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">At the end of our row of seats sat a couple with a baby. A man sitting next to me with his son returned from a food run in the early innings with a wool Mets hat he had purchased for the couple's baby. They were strangers when the game began; they left as friends.<br /><br />At the end of the game, Mets relief pitcher Adam Ottavino (an excellent photographer who, like me, grew up a Yankees fan) talked to the New York Post about his time with the Mets and Yankees. He said the modern Yankees fan has "a little bit more of an expectation of perfect play and an All-Star at every position. Whereas I think the Mets fan, the expectation isn't quite as high. It's more of a level of hope."<br /><br />Hope is a journey where great things are possible but not expected. I prefer this approach to life: the unexpected act of kindness, the unexpected rose.<br /><br />While we were at the game, my daughter stopped by our house to feed the cats. She texted photos of post-prandial Batman, illustrating an essential lesson in portrait photography: the angles make all the difference. 🙂</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmIa0wAigdMdtqOPXZV8KhKOD4CYSqL6BePwCjLHmLlamZrdwM9p82Yf1nzfcoDJmP-vxGrHugguu4GiV6KgsTYLavZgMDn91Tdyg-VYDiVGYvjvx3ckvPBBz6q-Bbil9UJ2o0Vva8usEpreGEStAdckF1GBzkZBKm1e7_5EMb_qsdmHx8CQ9vhviG/s1024/batmantwice.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmIa0wAigdMdtqOPXZV8KhKOD4CYSqL6BePwCjLHmLlamZrdwM9p82Yf1nzfcoDJmP-vxGrHugguu4GiV6KgsTYLavZgMDn91Tdyg-VYDiVGYvjvx3ckvPBBz6q-Bbil9UJ2o0Vva8usEpreGEStAdckF1GBzkZBKm1e7_5EMb_qsdmHx8CQ9vhviG/s400/batmantwice.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Before returning home, we stopped for a Guinness and a Harp at a favorite Irish bar -- The Cottage in Teaneck, NJ. The bartender there reminded my wife of <a href="https://varettoni.blogspot.com/2016/10/heres-to-uncle-pat-all-you-need-is-love.html" target="_blank">her late brother</a>, who lived a kind, too-short life. We toasted him.<br /><br />The place was filled with laughter. Small groups of friends were competing in a trivia contest, and one woman wore a black sweatshirt proclaiming, "Pigeons Are Liars." On one of the TV screens above the bar, I watched Aaron Judge -- my favorite baseball player even though he's a Yankee -- crash through the rightfield bullpen gate at Dodger Stadium to rob J.D. Martinez of at least a double.<br /><br />On the journey home, I stopped to take a photo of St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Every Sunday, I post images of churches in New Jersey on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/foundinnj">one of my Instagram accounts</a>.<br /><br />It's an odd hobby, but it often fills me with hope.<br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQNfJWu1fxTYeL9c_iJ1Uoj3CMOSxZ13K4DLzgLnv87hFeqv4J7isflC0Rdul0HYejxWIRXF8aAwfnzPD8NVntHRuqZTGFuaImL4pi7DaERWB-MUm3l9kSllK_HHMORIv5-3djbHQbLgHab3yg9G97tPNdFCOMTiY7qbm_It_cfwIHlNg_jycwkdkl/s4032/4BB468B9-CD4A-4B60-B0AD-659DCE0FF434.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQNfJWu1fxTYeL9c_iJ1Uoj3CMOSxZ13K4DLzgLnv87hFeqv4J7isflC0Rdul0HYejxWIRXF8aAwfnzPD8NVntHRuqZTGFuaImL4pi7DaERWB-MUm3l9kSllK_HHMORIv5-3djbHQbLgHab3yg9G97tPNdFCOMTiY7qbm_It_cfwIHlNg_jycwkdkl/s400/4BB468B9-CD4A-4B60-B0AD-659DCE0FF434.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-88887316328479141622023-05-14T17:43:00.003-04:002023-05-14T19:06:35.148-04:00Haiku at Sandy Hook<p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKT8Zb8LOV5bgqbrLt2g5nOaddVn5mqsUsqbQaGG_IJdeQqx7h-m7iDE1oWuGFWnoiWpVwNXvo47WQqovBDZsjRdxxdW5ZAFINa-Lqour3UWWn63amb2dAWeoD1_DudKp4dY3C2mJ0SdwCeVSfd3jq4sBaobZ7kNHhxHbENH4wjuvgF5weLQMewful/s4032/IMG_4401.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKT8Zb8LOV5bgqbrLt2g5nOaddVn5mqsUsqbQaGG_IJdeQqx7h-m7iDE1oWuGFWnoiWpVwNXvo47WQqovBDZsjRdxxdW5ZAFINa-Lqour3UWWn63amb2dAWeoD1_DudKp4dY3C2mJ0SdwCeVSfd3jq4sBaobZ7kNHhxHbENH4wjuvgF5weLQMewful/w400-h300/IMG_4401.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><h4><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Emerald City.</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;">I can see it from Jersey.</div><div style="text-align: center;">There is no wizard.</div></span></h4><span style="font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>It's no secret: <a href="https://varettoni.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-visit-to-eagle-rock-with-view-to-oz.html" target="_blank">I love New York's skyline</a>, and I often write haikus about the city: <a href="https://varettoni.blogspot.com/2020/12/last-month-in-new-york-in-photo-haiku.html" target="_blank">Exhibit 1</a> and <a href="https://varettoni.blogspot.com/2020/11/ny-images-october-2020-captions-in-haiku.html" target="_blank">Exhibit 2</a>.</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">The view above is an edited version of what you'd see about 20 miles away from the northernmost point of Sandy Hook Reservation in New Jersey.</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;">In un-filtered real life, you can even pan right to see the Parachute Jump, the iconic, now-dormant ride at Coney Island:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdAaxuv3VI0pBUO9NU4dOhN7CbGXNqDkD67GdGGdZxhEN6cEui-xHofB1W4F3zV0w1pMLxRL7eb9cO7wIZTMpW99A2KNpJ2ZZ3fDvCLsWUSA5KqIGjfxFNCHqtuqu8huwC2qD-WH1XvQzA0GGptcLdpeBzMiZUKv_JaUR3v-e7upcVjyp9t62_JD8n/s2878/IMG_0237.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2157" data-original-width="2878" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdAaxuv3VI0pBUO9NU4dOhN7CbGXNqDkD67GdGGdZxhEN6cEui-xHofB1W4F3zV0w1pMLxRL7eb9cO7wIZTMpW99A2KNpJ2ZZ3fDvCLsWUSA5KqIGjfxFNCHqtuqu8huwC2qD-WH1XvQzA0GGptcLdpeBzMiZUKv_JaUR3v-e7upcVjyp9t62_JD8n/w400-h300/IMG_0237.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I visited Sandy Hook last weekend with photography friends from <a href="https://blackglassgallery.com" target="_blank">Black Glass Gallery</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>These next few days are an ideal time to visit for yourself. </span><span>Sandy Hook is part of Gateway National Recreation Area. If you get there before Memorial Day, there is no entrance fee and no charge for parking. It's a wonderful place to explore, with plenty of room to avoid crowds.</span></span></div></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LErBCXaec1g8C9kXelAMsLa9BtvuMlxOvet66hq3vUkDdS6NWWsCN2NwynJ5AcL8o1Gdifk9UbgrX48ttfXt6Ei_mKZ8wZpQJi2CdkJPRr0o9ZggWhrfcRyMu_14Zt7uIboTfKSOwa4YnOTwTWY8q1S-QHhUrUR14Bs9dF8N3uwifJ2XkBaI9xg6/s4032/IMG_4398.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LErBCXaec1g8C9kXelAMsLa9BtvuMlxOvet66hq3vUkDdS6NWWsCN2NwynJ5AcL8o1Gdifk9UbgrX48ttfXt6Ei_mKZ8wZpQJi2CdkJPRr0o9ZggWhrfcRyMu_14Zt7uIboTfKSOwa4YnOTwTWY8q1S-QHhUrUR14Bs9dF8N3uwifJ2XkBaI9xg6/w400-h300/IMG_4398.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">As Friend ChatGPT tells me, the park is named after the Sandy Hook Peninsula, which is a narrow strip of land that extends for several miles into the Atlantic Ocean. One of the main features of the park is the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, built in 1764 and one of the oldest lighthouses in the U.S. Visitors can climb to the top for panoramic views. <br /><br />Another popular attraction at Sandy Hook is Fort Hancock, is a former military base that was active from the late 1800s until the mid-20th century. Visitors can tour the old barracks, gun batteries, and other historic structures at the fort.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Still, for me, it's the view from this platform, looking about 20 miles to the north, that's the biggest highlight:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJjOawfBexfHTDSLTZZIsfBGLIrcW75Gz1MgoPtCYHiqJTI-fPpPdMPqBHk3Aw_ji9lmVUVzNItGr2OewmWkw9SvGZJXIPT-EvLTcp4m33S2JgEcx81dbFO3u3B-2_VvixgqeDlKBOUgrazEyiwhlFLMnHxORaNMGi2DjnSphtm1CCWXY3lgy-KtG/s2661/IMG_4264.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2661" data-original-width="2661" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJjOawfBexfHTDSLTZZIsfBGLIrcW75Gz1MgoPtCYHiqJTI-fPpPdMPqBHk3Aw_ji9lmVUVzNItGr2OewmWkw9SvGZJXIPT-EvLTcp4m33S2JgEcx81dbFO3u3B-2_VvixgqeDlKBOUgrazEyiwhlFLMnHxORaNMGi2DjnSphtm1CCWXY3lgy-KtG/s320/IMG_4264.heic" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I can't help myself. Just yesterday, Google Photos randomly sent me <a href="https://youtu.be/YMKkRlvro3s" target="_blank">this video compilation</a> of the New York City skyline photos from my photo cloud -- many taken from the back of a NJ Transit bus commuting to or from work. Google randomly chose a great Tears for Fears song as a soundtrack too (and assures me it is not a copyright violation :)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I love New York, even if there is no wizard there.<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><p></p></div></div></div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-83873827089630521802023-04-30T21:20:00.008-04:002023-05-05T10:53:17.571-04:00This Is the Way Poetry Month Ends<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01LxdY44ItdTXIseYO6gsRMhKXyznRqrtQLasTPaygFv2jHgHp-uhUHn9QApXu4BfEeYqCKv__3FRbJLJv5wluLMxEZfM7wHZgoHzM3tOXa1QAflRpY5I9687wP2t8NJeZ2M92XHxxD2zgF6Mq6i-hTr5LT4ww9TqQuxXl6LzoK8l0aU1J6objBDA/s4032/IMG_3868.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01LxdY44ItdTXIseYO6gsRMhKXyznRqrtQLasTPaygFv2jHgHp-uhUHn9QApXu4BfEeYqCKv__3FRbJLJv5wluLMxEZfM7wHZgoHzM3tOXa1QAflRpY5I9687wP2t8NJeZ2M92XHxxD2zgF6Mq6i-hTr5LT4ww9TqQuxXl6LzoK8l0aU1J6objBDA/w400-h300/IMG_3868.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">It ended with a howl!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">This is a photo taken April 29, 2023, of <a href="https://www.wordseedinc.org/profile/talena-lachelle-queen" target="_blank">Talena Lachelle Queen</a>, the poet laureate of Paterson, NJ, reading Allen Ginsberg's virtually unreadable "Howl" at the Paterson Museum, where Ginsberg once read his poetry decades ago.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Although National Poetry Month has ended, "Paterson's Poets: Voices From The Silk City" will remain on exhibit there (at 2 Market St.) through June 24.</span></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwEdXa4NTrFWPmRyvjmNZ5LaCGHdM3DW30vhmwY7dkSagyvbbEGcEN4MHOjg67tCy1bXWM9v8DDleVGoreiSZJBpiaKDdzItEGMnott4wqZ4YgvqzCT9KrYPC2237DVj7mWSfI5bDffVWiknCd3-THRiv4BNEwlzBZqK13mYQiTGuu0r7gWxfehvLx" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="651" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwEdXa4NTrFWPmRyvjmNZ5LaCGHdM3DW30vhmwY7dkSagyvbbEGcEN4MHOjg67tCy1bXWM9v8DDleVGoreiSZJBpiaKDdzItEGMnott4wqZ4YgvqzCT9KrYPC2237DVj7mWSfI5bDffVWiknCd3-THRiv4BNEwlzBZqK13mYQiTGuu0r7gWxfehvLx=w310-h400" width="310" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">As <a href="https://patersonmuseum.com" target="_blank">the museum</a> notes: "Since its founding in 1792, Paterson has been home to many poets. Still more have visited Paterson and been enthused by the beauty of the Great Falls or the ingenuity of the city's residents. This exhibit celebrates and honors the poets who were not only inspired by Paterson, but became a part of our community, whether they lived, worked or played here."</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">On intriguing display features "The Bulldog Poets" of School No. 4, a group founded by ESL teacher Joseph Verilla in 1994. Their motto: "No bull, just dog." According to the exhibit, poets Kamarra Fabor, Leslie Graham, Shernese Myers and La-Chaka Price drew from their experiences with crime, drugs and family struggles, and won acclaim at the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival in 1996. Earlier this month at a museum event, four members of the group re-created a photo from the '90s. Thanks to Chris Fabor Muhammad of <a href="https://yourcreativeforce.com" target="_blank">yourcreativeforce.com</a> for letting me re-post it here:</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiA4zwij7cw_2bvtYmD6fgSreHsKCmQ0ebcTb3edzP2_8WVn-DLkqv3QFLvuXJnEzahJLE9WN1bRhGcj_05fzqhMqGCMQqoyYeV_z5G2QElIX7ZLoG4W88LM8dsYoqlX4WKyBj8OxnoVWOso9Cz2b-kfa7H3epgrJShPfCU0VUMICZVxfhnkA6Xk9JQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiA4zwij7cw_2bvtYmD6fgSreHsKCmQ0ebcTb3edzP2_8WVn-DLkqv3QFLvuXJnEzahJLE9WN1bRhGcj_05fzqhMqGCMQqoyYeV_z5G2QElIX7ZLoG4W88LM8dsYoqlX4WKyBj8OxnoVWOso9Cz2b-kfa7H3epgrJShPfCU0VUMICZVxfhnkA6Xk9JQ=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">As for me, I'm ending poetry month with another prompted poem (with the prompt as the title), a little longer than usual, although not at all inspired by "Howl." 🙂</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">---------</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b>What Have You Learned from the Study of Other Languages?<o:p></o:p></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">I studied Classical Latin, taught by “Father Bone Ass”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">at a Catholic university called “Our Lady of the Lake” in French.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">My professor was also my dormitory’s rector<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">charged with the enforcement of “parietals,”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">which has nothing, and everything, to do with biology.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">His name was literally “Banas,” a common word root for “being unbearable”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">in the Tagalog dialect in the Filipino language.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Not quite “unbearable,” either.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">“Banas” is a mix of sweltering humidity and annoyance<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">specific to the Austronesian climate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Father Banas had a dry sense of humor.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">He of course knew his crude, banal nickname,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">although “Bone Ass” is untranslatable in Tagalog.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">My professor bore our boorishness with a patient smile.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">He taught Catullus, a poet who is untranslatable in English.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Which Father Banas also, of course, knew to be true.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">We struggled in translation.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">As an inside joke, he gave our class advice from a modern poet.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Yevgeny Yevtushenko had said that translations are like women:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">The more beautiful they are, the less true.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Or Russian words to that effect.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">What I heard in English studying Classical Latin inspired a love of poetry,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">the way Yevtushenko inspired a generation of young Russians<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">in their fight against Stalinism during the Cold War.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">I am not a fighter, or a lover.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">I am an observer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">I watched as Catullus’ poems for Lesbia<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">sank deeper and deeper into perversity.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">The poet had no Latin words for the passion he sought to express.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">“Odi et amo” encapsulated a messy entanglement of obsession and desire,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">of love that strains against calcification in verse.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Of “love” only poets can begin to untangle.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">And then I wondered, what is “perverse”?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">I was born and raised in New Jersey,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">on land the Dutch stole from the Lenni Lenape<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">and named after the Delaware Indian word<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">meaning “between the mountains and the water.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Once Father Banas sat at my breakfast table<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">when he saw I was eating alone in a campus dining hall.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">He was always kind, and he knew I was homesick,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">alone on the shores of St. Mary’s Lake,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">missing my life between the mountains and the waters.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">He told me he missed his brother, a missionary in Bangladesh, “The Land of Bengal.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">The Indo-Aryan suffix “Desh” derives from the Sanskrit word for “land,”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">now combined with a geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">referring to the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">We spoke of aurochs and angels, the secret of durable pigments, prophetic sonnets.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">We conspired, “breathing together” about the refuge of art.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">I last saw Father Banas at his funeral at the grand basilica on the shores of the lake.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">A “basilica” is not a “cathedral,” but a church accorded special privileges by the pope.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">It houses an “ombrellino,” a silk canopy striped in papal colors of yellow and red,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">and a “tintinnabulum,” a bell atop the pole carried in procession on special occasions,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">and somewhere within, a basilica also displays the crossed keys symbolic of St. Peter.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">The funeral of Father Banas, like the future pluperfect of my own,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">was not a special occasion, save for the procession of his brother priests.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">I remember the reading from the Book of Wisdom:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">how the souls of the departed darted about<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">as sparks through stubble,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">And how we the living… every one of us, even the poets…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">raised our voices in formulaic prayer,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">professing the word “thy” three times during the “Our Father,”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">invoking the ineffable power of intercession<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">that “your” does not possess in modern English.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><a name="OLE_LINK8">This is how I learned that everything simple is complicated.<o:p></o:p></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Words are translations of nuances we universalize and neuter.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Forgive me the length of this poem.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">I considered all these words carefully, today,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">alone at my breakfast table:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">in homage to the hallowed life of Father Banas,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">in praise of the trespasses of Catullus.<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: right;"><i>--Bob Varettoni, 4/30/23</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><i>---------</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><i>PS- The photo of Paterson behind Talena on top of this page is a sight that inspired another poem I once wrote... <a href="https://varettoni.blogspot.com/2020/07/2-poems-same-subject-decades-apart.html" target="_blank">"Scenic Overlook."</a></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></p></span></div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-48478772902882616312023-04-26T19:51:00.010-04:002023-07-16T18:09:09.858-04:00Poetry Month in New Jersey, 2023<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3HDzWar0C7cQn8K7K14PCaMaAVtDVsFFqM0w2rMD6YITqdKxTDAjSyhAHsJuO2CjDytKsC-NzW11_larz-SRMqVZN3m5nNvyubd5JndBSqDM7A9TC65MhcEmd_O5nq-R0bUg_EG4l-th-oA7bzlNKuens5wheIaGRvQ5hxbl47w4gHdQpe45AnAp/s1122/IMG_3763.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1122" data-original-width="1122" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3HDzWar0C7cQn8K7K14PCaMaAVtDVsFFqM0w2rMD6YITqdKxTDAjSyhAHsJuO2CjDytKsC-NzW11_larz-SRMqVZN3m5nNvyubd5JndBSqDM7A9TC65MhcEmd_O5nq-R0bUg_EG4l-th-oA7bzlNKuens5wheIaGRvQ5hxbl47w4gHdQpe45AnAp/s320/IMG_3763.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">What to do early on a Saturday night in New Jersey?<br /><br />How about some poetry during National Poetry Month? <br /><br />This coming Saturday, April 29, the wonderful <a href="https://www.wordseedinc.org">local Word Seed organization</a> is hosting an event at one of the state's "hidden gem" locations -- the Paterson Museum (2 Market St., near the Great Falls). I've posted the flyer here; the free event starts at 5 p.m.<br /><br />The program will pay tribute to poets no longer with us from the Silk City's past, including Allen Ginsberg and William Carlos Williams.<br /><br />Last weekend I visited to see the Poetry Month exhibit there and had the whole museum to myself for a few minutes.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm__L2N6h5GanvOAsxjUTnnO6dYjGrKunTpsq9LbHPN7yCRQH76NqbxkFxeWEk347o0IdLDRiABjz9rAky45z_Aw1cMD8nTgPttMBo5WHg8jjp-s9YbJMgYylWjPzJrHN8EwtCW4q2CkoofDQyqAMZMOU6kMHAVtHTKatJ8ZoAj_xOZAPFE47-jjJ1/s4032/8D397971-2B65-4407-9DE1-956677AF39FF.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm__L2N6h5GanvOAsxjUTnnO6dYjGrKunTpsq9LbHPN7yCRQH76NqbxkFxeWEk347o0IdLDRiABjz9rAky45z_Aw1cMD8nTgPttMBo5WHg8jjp-s9YbJMgYylWjPzJrHN8EwtCW4q2CkoofDQyqAMZMOU6kMHAVtHTKatJ8ZoAj_xOZAPFE47-jjJ1/w400-h300/8D397971-2B65-4407-9DE1-956677AF39FF.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I also stopped by the Museum of Modern Art during lunch hour earlier this week in New York and stumbled across the Dial-a-Poem exhibit there.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIlY1qHlP1-Qcg2tJwDu5kZ_J7h779XoIQzk5GfPu1e2tjuvEWfJRdplrFA6Hzpti6ovaiUis-rBJi2Cke8VKXbRJ8ZZBzNNxFKOPatytEDBBnnfcmYakzYvehHceL1rgqxFsxVbo9IeNbmDpbW2ueIfff1gH5k-JAj-cyThEcJaZ0qpnWc6-g71l/s2438/IMG_3741.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2437" data-original-width="2438" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIlY1qHlP1-Qcg2tJwDu5kZ_J7h779XoIQzk5GfPu1e2tjuvEWfJRdplrFA6Hzpti6ovaiUis-rBJi2Cke8VKXbRJ8ZZBzNNxFKOPatytEDBBnnfcmYakzYvehHceL1rgqxFsxVbo9IeNbmDpbW2ueIfff1gH5k-JAj-cyThEcJaZ0qpnWc6-g71l/s320/IMG_3741.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Of course, I had to dial 917-994-8949. (And you can too!)<br /><br />I heard a poem by Frank O’Hara (who died in 1966), then John Cage (who died in 1992), then Bill Berkson (who died in 2016). I was afraid to call again and find out who would die next.<br /><br />Actually, the MOMA exhibit dates back to 1968, when John Giorno began delivering instant poetry through a free telephone hotline in New York City. So everything on the hotline dates back 55 years or so.<br /><br />As far as new poetry is concerned... from someone still alive... which would be me, for now... I've been following through on my resolution to write weekly prompted poems this year.<br /><br />Here are three recent original poems. The first, writing about my hometown; and the second and third poems with the prompts in the titles.<br /><br />I'm also excited about two upcoming prompted poems, but I'll wait until after Saturday to finish those. I'd like some input first from the ghosts of Allen and William. </span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">---------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">How to Write the Great New Milford NJ Poem<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Before your start, you must accept<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You are invisible.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You live in the suburbs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">People walk dogs past your house,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In front of your white picket fence.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sometimes they stop and peer<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Into your dining room window,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pointing in your direction,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As if they’ve seen a ghost.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">They don’t know you can see them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You do not participate in Little League baseball,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Or Junior League football.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Your children left home long ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The town pool has closed without warning.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Its parking lot, empty; its grounds, overgrown.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Your family used to swim there.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Burger King is still open.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Decades ago, the borough attorney<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Protested the “Home of the Whopper” sign<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Because he said it insulted Italian Americans.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Your children used to eat there.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Begin now by offering a prayer to <a href="https://varettoni.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-mystery-of-bertha-reetz.html" target="_blank">Bertha Reetz</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">At her abandoned stone in the French Burial Ground.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Remain calm when you hear gunshots<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From the range behind the Recycling Center.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The police are shooting blanks, scattering the deer<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In your town’s only remaining sliver of woods<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Along the Hackensack River.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gather the scraps of your neighbors’ families:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sticky, dirt-crusted Dairy Queen napkins and cups<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Littering the curbside along River Road.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cross the street to the garbage can<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">At the bus stop outside Canterbury Village.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Use extreme caution. You are invisible to traffic.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You return home alone.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You start to write a poem.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">---------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Poetic Words Children Need to Learn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Salt-water taffy…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">in cardboard boxes<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Salt-water taffy, the color of swirling rainbows<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Salt-water taffy that you can only buy on the boardwalk at the Shore<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Salt-water taffy that sticks to your teeth and gums<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Salt-water taffy that your mother loves<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Years later, your mother will grow old,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And you will ask her for memories of when you were young.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She will tell you instead she doesn’t want to think of the past<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Because it only makes her sad.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She doesn’t remember the salt-water taffy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Salt-water taffy used to be her favorite.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You need to know that about my mother.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She didn’t always have sad memories.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She knew salt-water taffy wasn’t good for us,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">but she loved the taste.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The improbable, magnificent sweetness,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">now missing from our lives.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">---------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Consider the Inequity in How Lives Were Impacted by the Pandemic<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></i></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Prompt: Write a poem in 2023 contemplating what challenges persist in the aftermath…</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I can’t write this poem<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Because three years have passed<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For all of us, equally,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Including you.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><span style="font-size: medium;">Mark my words:</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The only constant in life<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Is time’s erosion of inequity…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The numbering of our days.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The defenseless of our nights.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Alive or dead.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In 2020, I counted bathtub Marys<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Adorning suburban lawns<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">During socially distant walks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In 2023, I still dream of you,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As I might forever.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have counted every hair on your head.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-9001074614275321912023-03-25T14:00:00.003-04:002023-03-25T14:02:57.877-04:00What's the Best (or Worst) Cover Version of a Song?<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2nCWCP2YgpY3VZWtIa76_gplf3PThF1_yX2XmulBm5XpC2xp6yp2P9R_umFNK0SzJpJPQ5LlzWgqKOdQOf7VXle_BGxiufJT5eSFqNBVRHm4tkYQ4W_SgIngOdt6fKmcUvdo6ZXa2iaj9ervdNfrCS_bRr7yAtEbqDYLJVjRG3o6Dfe5VuDVY25gd/s2349/IMG_2623.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2349" data-original-width="2349" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2nCWCP2YgpY3VZWtIa76_gplf3PThF1_yX2XmulBm5XpC2xp6yp2P9R_umFNK0SzJpJPQ5LlzWgqKOdQOf7VXle_BGxiufJT5eSFqNBVRHm4tkYQ4W_SgIngOdt6fKmcUvdo6ZXa2iaj9ervdNfrCS_bRr7yAtEbqDYLJVjRG3o6Dfe5VuDVY25gd/w400-h400/IMG_2623.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A busker in Helen, Georgia, singing "Angel From Montgomery"<br />as good as John Prine, almost as good as Bonnie Raitt.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />What's the best (or worst) cover version you've heard of a favorite song?<p></p><p>I'm "asking for a friend" because -- somewhere in Bergenfield, NJ (I won't say precisely where or when to protect the innocent) -- I recently heard a performance of the worst cover version in the history of Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind."</p><p>It was jangly and upbeat, and I rushed home just to play the original version to restore balance in the world. That's when I also stumbled up another cover of the same song by Johnny Cash. It was heart-breakingly good. Give it a listen...</p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xEx147n9G1A" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <div><br /></div><div>Around the same time, Cash also recorded his famous cover of Trent Reznor's "Hurt" -- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AHCfZTRGiI" target="_blank">which is here</a>, if you're not one of the several hundred million people who have already streamed it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Perhaps my all-time favorite great cover is Springsteen's version of "Jersey Girl," originally by Tom Waits. Here are 10 others I love:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley (originally Leonard Cohen)</li><li>"Tainted Love" by Soft Cell (Gloria Jones, and "our song," according to someone I once dated)</li><li>"Angel from Montgomery" by Bonnie Raitt (John Prine)</li><li>Just about any cover version <i>of</i> "Creep" (although Radiohead's original version is classic)</li><li>"Mad World" by Gary Jules (Tears for Fears)</li><li>"The Sound of Silence" by Disturbed (Paul Simon, a bold choice, considering how Paul's "American Tune" is perhaps my all-time favorite song)</li><li>"Me and Bobbie McGee" by Janis Joplin (Kris Kristofferson)</li><li>"Hasten Down the Wind" by Linda Ronstadt (Warren Zevon)</li><li>"Sweet Jane" by the Cowboy Junkies (Lou Reed)</li><li>"Songbird" by Eva Cassidy (but only as a homage to Christine McVie)</li></ul><div>How did I exclude anything by Tori Amos? Well, anyway, those were the first that came to mind on this, Aretha Franklin's birthday.</div><div><br /></div><div>Aretha, after all, out-covers anyone, even Bruce and Tori, with her version of Otis Redding's "Respect." Did you ever hear her version of Elton John's "Border Song"? She changes the end lyric from "What's his color? I don't care" to the more challenging "What's is color? Do you care?"</div></div><div><br /></div><div>As for <i>bad</i> covers, I think I remember The Muppets once singing "We Built This City" about a dozen years ago. But maybe I was hallucinating, and I never much liked original by Jefferson Airplane/Starship anyway.</div><div><br /></div><div>Perhaps -- having just watched the final episodes of "Daisy Jones & The Six" last night -- I'll say my least favorite cover is U2's version of the otherwise haunting "Dancing Barefoot."</div><div><br /></div><div>Covering a Patti Smith classic? Some things just shouldn't be done.</div><div><br /></div><div>What do you think?</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1Z9G8BdnFGs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-24057926750748958452023-03-18T14:18:00.005-04:002023-03-22T09:07:02.450-04:00Poem: 'Byzantium in Jersey'<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Q4kW8LX0XjDfrRVdIRcSTA5_N37KdeWZdQ2Un7e3A6a4AQ4WVdhiMDte95MHTbYAYR10nL-yso9AEdrVop8McjY7YcU3zOJHysD3InIjpd_H9IfXfq9ZQ6wjA-YMbKL_KnKzmLwMRX4lRG_4G1dvvzFDKRMlM0xVe8bz6dInIZ4JsS7P0WFGhQn9/s626/IMG_2556.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="436" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Q4kW8LX0XjDfrRVdIRcSTA5_N37KdeWZdQ2Un7e3A6a4AQ4WVdhiMDte95MHTbYAYR10nL-yso9AEdrVop8McjY7YcU3zOJHysD3InIjpd_H9IfXfq9ZQ6wjA-YMbKL_KnKzmLwMRX4lRG_4G1dvvzFDKRMlM0xVe8bz6dInIZ4JsS7P0WFGhQn9/w279-h400/IMG_2556.jpeg" width="279" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My grandfather, 1969, Budd Lake, NJ<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Last week's poetry prompt from <a href="https://www.dimitrireyespoet.com">Dimitri Reyes</a> intrigued me greatly.</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">"Today is my grandfather's birthday," Dimitri wrote. "Though he is no longer on this plane, I still hear him in my mind and I honor him through voice & spirit... When doing research into my own Puerto Rican culture and discovering how I was going to traverse 'creation myth,' my grandfather's successes and failures helped fill in the spaces -- fully and honestly."</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I listened to Dimitri's poem, <a href="https://youtu.be/CBbutD-J73k" target="_blank">"Papi Pichón"</a> ("Father Pigeon"), and the poet invited me to "create my own bird."</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">So this week I couldn't get my own grandfather out of my mind. He died in 1976, and just in the past three months, I've mourned the death of three other close and extended family members.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I also thought of a favorite poem, one I used to recite to my daughters as a lullaby, about the passage of time. This morning -- thinking of Yeats' bird of hammered gold and gold enamelling, and imitating (poorly) the iambic pentameter and rhyme scheme of "Sailing to Byzantium" -- I wrote the following (<i>although, PS, I'm still debating that next-to-last line... considering "This, my father's father's mysterium"</i>):</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a name="OLE_LINK1"></a><a name="OLE_LINK2"><b>Byzantium in Jersey<o:p></o:p></b></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This, my grandfather, in his Sunday best:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a cigarette dangling from its holder,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a tattered suit, a worn Italian vest,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">with me at his side, decades less older.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He does not hold my hand. There is no rest.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He lectures as we walk, points my shoulders<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">toward a butterfly he displays to me<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">along the shores of Budd Lake, New Jersey.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This, a back country road, is my classroom:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">milkweed, honeysuckle, red columbine,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">hummingbirds, spotted touch-me-nots in bloom,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">blue robbins’ eggs, goldenrod, dandelions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My grandfather names them for me, assumes<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I will remember that sparrow, that vine,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the chicony, those edible lilies,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the songs of mimicking catbirds we see.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These have all vanished for me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I live in the suburbs, reminisce now<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">about ancestors. One Sunday, I walk<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the Hackensack riverbank in a drought.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">During the golden hour, a gyring hawk<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">directs my gaze to a sun-kissed bough<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">where a crow blinks back in silence, stalking.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This, I know, is my father’s father’s song<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">of what is past, or passing, or to come.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHuHET9chvoCRrUDLyYleov2EiNVaLjCtijqMrloX-Am41BaGyzLlcf6cqEsZei-3XKeS0TT6Z-l1LvPTY4aX5Z3dumfFMIJ751RnKkFO40GWJXG4ZOB278VI2BXFMxFXJ9hyQlmqDsA-jWReUgstCImjjoK7nPY7IrbJI9NkTu1CWgvrG7etGGvs/s3280/1969_08_19_004.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2212" data-original-width="3280" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHuHET9chvoCRrUDLyYleov2EiNVaLjCtijqMrloX-Am41BaGyzLlcf6cqEsZei-3XKeS0TT6Z-l1LvPTY4aX5Z3dumfFMIJ751RnKkFO40GWJXG4ZOB278VI2BXFMxFXJ9hyQlmqDsA-jWReUgstCImjjoK7nPY7IrbJI9NkTu1CWgvrG7etGGvs/w400-h270/1969_08_19_004.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Varry and Kate," my grandparents.<br />Photo by my father.</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p></div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-88029152667981427682023-03-09T16:19:00.015-05:002023-03-24T11:22:10.654-04:00Poem: 'Grief's Cliche'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNhaV2nrnTnAfctpqOt3WwDNZ1XAhBAIevDcdOk4VqB6zij0z4dmj6m4SLMsttYbo53RphQEGvig-vk2NQPhyw3JrQvLdiG1By8r0fIqWC2yd60d4kQLXlBsPasfLeVz8cY4aCi-aYCtVWG5adUFW4jeFku-Wz8BGS3OvfhYQX1mzdyd1jHoWnCk_m/s4032/IMG_2067.HEIC" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNhaV2nrnTnAfctpqOt3WwDNZ1XAhBAIevDcdOk4VqB6zij0z4dmj6m4SLMsttYbo53RphQEGvig-vk2NQPhyw3JrQvLdiG1By8r0fIqWC2yd60d4kQLXlBsPasfLeVz8cY4aCi-aYCtVWG5adUFW4jeFku-Wz8BGS3OvfhYQX1mzdyd1jHoWnCk_m/w300-h400/IMG_2067.HEIC" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I have only one prompted poem to offer today for February, and it was written in March.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Another that I wrote was too personal (naming names). I submitted still another for publication (with the assurance it was otherwise unpublished), and the last of the weekly prompts I received from my poetry Patreon was a reading, rather than writing, assignment.<br /><br />The prompt for the poem below was simply, "How is your body a mausoleum of flowers?"</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">"Mausoleum of Flowers" is the title of <a href="https://poets.org/poem/mausoleum-flowers" target="_blank">this poem</a> by Daniel B. Summerhill, and the image had special meaning to me as I contemplated <a href="https://varettoni.blogspot.com/2023/02/remembering-fr-julian-in-1000-words.html" target="_blank">the funeral and burial of my uncle</a> on March 2.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the past week, I couldn't get this short poem out of my head. I kept thinking of the roses pictured here, the ones gathered in front of the altar of Sacred Heart Church in Clifton and later placed upon the grave at Calvary Cemetery in Paterson. This was my first draft:</span></div><div><br /></div><div><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Missing You</span></b></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;">I pricked my finger on the rose<br />I cast atop your grave.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;">My droplet of blood,<br />camouflaged by the buds<br />the others threw on you.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Then you were hidden too;<br />your body, a mausoleum of flowers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;">While each of us beheld<br />the shorn beauty of your life<br />and pretended we would live forever.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52);">---------</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52);"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And this is where I landed (revised, 3/24/23):</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52); font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(52, 52, 52);"><b>Grief's Cliche</b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The rose I cast upon your coffin<br />is scent-less in the dead winter’s cold.<br /><br />Thorns, rendered painless;<br />my fingertips, numb.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Curiously, I see a timid trickle of my blood<br />mix with the petals already covering you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Then, lost in red, you are hidden too:<br />Your body, a mausoleum of flowers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #343434;"><span><span><span style="background-color: white;">I exhale. A puff of air dissipates like incense.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #343434;"><span><span><span style="background-color: white;">My life shorn, my body suspends itself.</span></span><br /><br /><span><span style="background-color: white;">Lungs empty, I kill time at your grave.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #343434;"><span><span><span style="background-color: white;">I crave belief, yet question all truths:</span></span><br /></span></span><br />This pretense I am sharing<br />a final breathless moment with you.</span><br /><span style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p></div></div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-23851712160088264012023-02-26T17:15:00.003-05:002023-02-28T20:58:04.349-05:00Remembering Fr. Julian in 1,000 Words<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a name="OLE_LINK4" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"></a></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/AVvXsEhDVHnjy5l7ZVpXPeQhYk4TBOfOB0YChpM6oOIBMu7G2TKaIAiiRgtKjVLjrzc4v9AQmc0qKi1DENK9MIteW-tKj2CUlpLhigeyh-mfvNZZnCNt1E0vi-K1i90ZH0x0E9fAClZwrCWHkZUYnJEW-6c0SOZHiGmhMV0BewXi4uJI412o_C-SMB1A-jxe/s1368/Screenshot%202023-02-26%20at%203.24.17%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1368" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVHnjy5l7ZVpXPeQhYk4TBOfOB0YChpM6oOIBMu7G2TKaIAiiRgtKjVLjrzc4v9AQmc0qKi1DENK9MIteW-tKj2CUlpLhigeyh-mfvNZZnCNt1E0vi-K1i90ZH0x0E9fAClZwrCWHkZUYnJEW-6c0SOZHiGmhMV0BewXi4uJI412o_C-SMB1A-jxe/w400-h201/Screenshot%202023-02-26%20at%203.24.17%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">93 years ago today, a mother was cradling her first-born son in her arms at St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic, NJ.<br /><br />She had been told her newborn had only days to live or, at best, would spend his life in a wheelchair.<br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;">She was a woman of strong Catholic faith, and she offered both their lives to the service of God, if only He would spare her son.<br /><br />Her name was Rachel Varettoni. She was my grandmother, and I called her “Nonna.” She lived a long, devout life of service – raising and supporting a family of three boys, and instilling in them a profound faith in God’s goodness – and she died 22 years ago on the eve of her 100th birthday.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I called her first-born son “Father Julian.” He fully recovered, albeit (as his beloved nephew Bill reminds me) with one leg shorter than the other, resulting in chronic back pain later in life. As his mother had vowed, Fr. Julian indeed devoted his life to God. He grew, both physically and spiritually, to be the strongest man I ever knew.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">That’s us in the photo, after he carted toddler-me around the grounds of his parents’ home in Budd Lake. It was a modest farmhouse on a fair-sized plot of land, purchased during The Depression, where Fr. Julian was its lifelong caretaker. It’s where he suffered a seizure that led to his death last Thursday night on the literal eve of his 93rd birthday.</span><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">---------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnY-mDfMefDuKGtCVoEXqgGRFwt9wJVtIB1PTfcAkXg8YR49njVu-eFYrFYejGcJhmgMdnVuSsD6Nq-2IyOw2jY5E-3mMMvrwtWwTejXOCWH2xe58z1PA_XPWu4EzGq_RpicXEWaVA1UAm-6NtAK6iNPIj68SRVr0JgfN_bt57f0aOF_CAh6A5ojia/s1280/1969_08_19_009.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1280" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnY-mDfMefDuKGtCVoEXqgGRFwt9wJVtIB1PTfcAkXg8YR49njVu-eFYrFYejGcJhmgMdnVuSsD6Nq-2IyOw2jY5E-3mMMvrwtWwTejXOCWH2xe58z1PA_XPWu4EzGq_RpicXEWaVA1UAm-6NtAK6iNPIj68SRVr0JgfN_bt57f0aOF_CAh6A5ojia/s320/1969_08_19_009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fr. Julian with my sister; Budd Lake, circa 1969;<br />he chopped all the wood in the background.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">Most people remember Fr. Julian at the altar. He was pious. His sermons were thoughtful and eloquent. They didn’t come easily to him since he was uncomfortable as a public speaker. Few people realized this because he practiced diligently – and enlisted the aid of my father with some of his words – to give sermons that would make his mother proud.<br /><br />He accomplished so much as a parish priest in service to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson. You can read about this <a href="https://www.marroccos.com/obituaries/Julian-Varettoni/?fbclid=IwAR3jtVNtl0lKbqu1JVWFBEF0K9tXwxMXDVhdqF5O0thvdrLUVXvxThpXymg#!/Obituary">in his obituary</a>: his devotion to music ministry (which he also inherited from his mother); his progressiveness in the service of those in need; his lifelong joy in building and fixing and refurbishing… most often with his own capable hands.</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiShSA-HJiP63kthemTmOwsmXWLBC2yf2IklcQqANxMb85RtV3TN37RJPHGX_5aZckX_ZL01A696OOTBgEq66wVOpvWKrHvcJ3tvPX9EyugSNRoc_utf8lNYWngAHX5ftB2Ds_3ZWQGnt8arNslggnIn165GX6YerYK2uLdvEuf-YoTA8R5z62Eht6J/s1028/Wedding%20Day.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1028" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiShSA-HJiP63kthemTmOwsmXWLBC2yf2IklcQqANxMb85RtV3TN37RJPHGX_5aZckX_ZL01A696OOTBgEq66wVOpvWKrHvcJ3tvPX9EyugSNRoc_utf8lNYWngAHX5ftB2Ds_3ZWQGnt8arNslggnIn165GX6YerYK2uLdvEuf-YoTA8R5z62Eht6J/w320-h265/Wedding%20Day.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fr. Julian at the altar at my parents' wedding in 1955.<br />Dad waited to propose to Mom until after his brother<br />was ordained so he could officiate at the Mass.</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">He was also the priest at every family wedding, and present at every family gathering. Decades ago, before cell phones, he would record family events with a video camera perched on his shoulder. He also chronicled details of vacation trips on a portable tape recorder.</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span>Fr. Julian was an adventurous traveler: once taking my mother up in a hot-air balloon over Colorado, and once taking my sister Sue and me on his parish’s pilgrimage to Rome. He led us up the centuries-old stone steps of an otherwise closed parapet so we could see a breath-taking, God’s-eye view of St. Peter’s Square.</span><br /><br /><span>He married my Mom and Dad. He was the priest at every family funeral. He buried his parents and my Dad. Later in life, he said Mass for my wife and children and me around Nonna’s dining room table every Christmas Eve.</span><br /><br /><span>But here’s what I remember most about Fr. Julian. I remember him most in Budd Lake, where he returned for decades every Wednesday on his day off and on Sundays after Masses, to take care of his mother and their home.</span><br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;">When they were young, Fr. Julian and his brothers used to sit on the brick steps by the front porch and harmonize in song. The house faced Route 46, which was a country road back then, and the brothers tried to identify each car by the make and model as it passed. Fr. Julian always won this game, because </span><span style="font-size: medium;">he could identify the make and model of every car by the sound of its engine, before it was even in sight.</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRAmipGeQZGmVrAjtnB6UOD8l5NXyRmnRrkE1mjeiVgB4EwK3OkjbCNTNtiRqdMdM0qGhc45x_h3hzRV5ul5O-G2fJJHbyMqcT8wUWM323WNp-BIgzlg0bsN5h1k9NkOuejlIBHxcHLAcQlJkfx3m_s2c0-GT-PO-aiypCL0bSozbgU0f1xYZAWxlQ/s321/IMG_2003.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="321" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRAmipGeQZGmVrAjtnB6UOD8l5NXyRmnRrkE1mjeiVgB4EwK3OkjbCNTNtiRqdMdM0qGhc45x_h3hzRV5ul5O-G2fJJHbyMqcT8wUWM323WNp-BIgzlg0bsN5h1k9NkOuejlIBHxcHLAcQlJkfx3m_s2c0-GT-PO-aiypCL0bSozbgU0f1xYZAWxlQ/s320/IMG_2003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nonna with her three sons on her 99th birthday.</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><span style="font-size: medium;">When I was a boy, I watched Fr. Julian effortlessly perform tremendous feats of strength. He was a carpenter, like Jesus. But he was also an electrician and an architect and a plumber and a gardener. He could fix anything. He could build anything. He would always buy whatever he needed at Sears.<br /><br />In the summer, he shucked freshly picked rhubarb with the same sure and graceful hand movements of a concert violinist. In the fall, he loved the solitude and repetitive grace of roaming his land on his tractor to collect the fallen leaves.<br /><br />I once visited him in his basement workshop and heard him, alone, giggling like a schoolboy. Fr. Julian had taken apart his car’s carburetor, and he was reassembling its hundreds of intricate pieces… simply for the joy of it.<br /><br /> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguDIWizXjy8mpm2QPP1gP_04U7UrljIcvQQqCmj5wHDD5HigBwDldRyOG3uqjS8KGwSscG6azP3JjvnBXzeV2bp9Ps-ou9LQRdq7bNQJzCc-umYdhqpzbEyRvsRn030k-xLCGMpvuTXFJ5_P9kCz0Km2-7WpClf8ZduA9uI5NgBibMiJgCPAk0DEru/s1954/puzzle.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1464" data-original-width="1954" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguDIWizXjy8mpm2QPP1gP_04U7UrljIcvQQqCmj5wHDD5HigBwDldRyOG3uqjS8KGwSscG6azP3JjvnBXzeV2bp9Ps-ou9LQRdq7bNQJzCc-umYdhqpzbEyRvsRn030k-xLCGMpvuTXFJ5_P9kCz0Km2-7WpClf8ZduA9uI5NgBibMiJgCPAk0DEru/s320/puzzle.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fr. Julian enjoyed jigsaw puzzles; here's the one<br />he was working on before he died.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">As the years went on, and some of the property was sold, Nonna’s garden and grapevines shrank in size, and now lay barren after her death. All the bottles of her homemade wine are empty, but the small greenhouse Fr. Julian built for her still stands. So do the remnants of a path that he cleared behind the old garage. He had installed Stations of the Cross in that small patch of woods, where he and his mother could wander and pray.<br /></span><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">---------</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Now this extraordinary life has come full circle.<br /><br />I learned the sad news about Fr. Julian’s death in a phone call from my sister. They were especially close, and my strong sister Sue was in tears. I had taken my Mom to visit with Fr. Julian just days earlier, and it was such a happy, life-affirming visit. Sue was happy to hear this. My wife, when I told her about Fr. Julian’s death, remarked that it was “the best birthday present he could have gotten.”<br /><br />She said this because Fr. Julian had a profound, unquestioning faith handed down from his mother. My own mother told me that during their recent visit Fr. Julian said he was ready to go “home.” So this is what I believe, without any doubt:<br /><br />Fr. Julian woke up on his 93rd birthday in Heaven, with Nonna holding him in her arms once again.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8Z-hr8cEVdw5JxX-kg5gGgS2d-D8HHF38Mi2iJYiqs24yU7YrBx5oLT5rMnHQ-I5trKTGmckgp4BNOjMk2z_O7cczuXMGJn_qf_UEIu074-e_BzXmBUDo0FF_QUZcP_TDe4AXHG-2iFJ8JD7XPTzUWBQrbxKRRhxcIb1yp63gnkRYH3MmFLXNERF/s1000/IMG_1895-COLLAGE.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8Z-hr8cEVdw5JxX-kg5gGgS2d-D8HHF38Mi2iJYiqs24yU7YrBx5oLT5rMnHQ-I5trKTGmckgp4BNOjMk2z_O7cczuXMGJn_qf_UEIu074-e_BzXmBUDo0FF_QUZcP_TDe4AXHG-2iFJ8JD7XPTzUWBQrbxKRRhxcIb1yp63gnkRYH3MmFLXNERF/w400-h400/IMG_1895-COLLAGE.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom, me, and Fr. Julian this past Monday</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p></div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-56220383385261394502023-02-20T12:51:00.002-05:002023-02-20T12:51:27.662-05:00Love Thee, Notre Dame<span style="font-size: medium;">This Facebook post.</span><div><br /><div>
<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="841" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fvarettoni%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02L4Xa8HLii1ThqTMoVBxjPcLgfGyC6kTVXC7sw3nNjBEz6GkfziddQQnFgPbZ4Fitl&show_text=true&width=500" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="500"></iframe></div></div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-24422913311726194222023-02-19T09:59:00.002-05:002023-03-22T09:14:51.238-04:00ChatGPT Gets Us: An AI Conversation With 'Jesus'<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmT9P_CJmX3SnYak4DvUHcbEdX6DtYVU6EykZ7_NXEdlsRL2ZkRBnwNL9M8zSe5GCbPjFnfgH2LUSfCmYFk29eBFMdfBDAsdiB9UIiXYzG4qsyH9Bi_rg1L92Fh6rtiYS2VCNG_tiOiCqSbneYKmVBOsN1fJEhTrK5reZ4z5-boQRybkNa0bia6M_i/s4032/IMG_7605.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmT9P_CJmX3SnYak4DvUHcbEdX6DtYVU6EykZ7_NXEdlsRL2ZkRBnwNL9M8zSe5GCbPjFnfgH2LUSfCmYFk29eBFMdfBDAsdiB9UIiXYzG4qsyH9Bi_rg1L92Fh6rtiYS2VCNG_tiOiCqSbneYKmVBOsN1fJEhTrK5reZ4z5-boQRybkNa0bia6M_i/w400-h300/IMG_7605.HEIC" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The message in RF: "Jesus still believes with two outs in the 9th."</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I first saw one of the "He Gets Us" advertisements splayed across the right field fence at a Pittsburgh Pirates game in September.<br /><br />I thought it was silly.<br /><br />Fast forward to the Super Bowl (am I even allowed to call it that here?), and the video ads produced by an evangelical Christian initiative, The Signatry, <a href="https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/he-gets-us-advertising-campaign-provokes-mixed-reactions" target="_blank">caused quite a stir</a>.</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Although hardly a speck as much as historical Jesus.</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7v2vyCwJjmxRduuklXUetsNMKaKuBD8ulmYtj2eB8iA2koTUgv9RYqKhQOrVkFREC8jrTORkj4fbFqGuHEkBsNkbO7ve3lVgIcUNM6P59m4rcTAkdgja0j0cc8o2WEv9q2ADNUxu5wKAa5bOMYIrPTMrvGYiQDLjn1JW_DFKBzBtphSmkHRWhOhA/s1130/Screenshot%202023-02-19%20at%209.25.18%20AM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="1130" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7v2vyCwJjmxRduuklXUetsNMKaKuBD8ulmYtj2eB8iA2koTUgv9RYqKhQOrVkFREC8jrTORkj4fbFqGuHEkBsNkbO7ve3lVgIcUNM6P59m4rcTAkdgja0j0cc8o2WEv9q2ADNUxu5wKAa5bOMYIrPTMrvGYiQDLjn1JW_DFKBzBtphSmkHRWhOhA/w400-h188/Screenshot%202023-02-19%20at%209.25.18%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">I was puzzled by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's tweet calling out the ads for "making fascism look benign." After all, one had simply shown photos of people arguing and fighting, with "Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man playing in the background. The message: "Jesus loved the people we hate."<br /><br />Then I read more about The Signatry's funding, and I understood the backlash -- although, to be honest, I agree more with author and Catholic scholar Phyllis Zagano's analysis, which I linked to above. She concluded:</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;"></span><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">Whether the evangelical Christian presentation of the story of Jesus is or is not aligned with specific denominational beliefs, it has the right to be presented. And if people want to spend their millions doing so, they can, because the United States is a country free of fascism. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I also asked ChatGPT what "Jesus" might make of all this. The AI chatbot obliged, with the proviso that "I'll do my best to simulate a conversation with Jesus Christ. However, it's important to remember that this is a purely fictional conversation, and it's up to you to determine what you believe in."</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Here's my Q&A with a simulated version of God. It's unedited, and sometimes redundant, but on the whole I found it surprisingly on point. Perhaps with the exception of the robotic "thoughts and prayers" response about the earthquake.</span></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif"><b>Jesus, why should I believe in you?<o:p></o:p></b></span></p><div style="border: 1pt solid rgb(217, 217, 227); padding: 0in;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 15pt; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">I would say that belief in me should be based on a personal conviction and faith, rather than simply accepting my existence as a matter of fact. I believe that I am the Son of God, and that through me, people can have a personal relationship with God and receive eternal life.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">It's understandable that you may have doubts or questions, and I encourage you to seek the truth for yourself through reading the Bible, praying, and seeking guidance from others. Ultimately, the decision to believe in me or not is a deeply personal one that requires reflection, contemplation, and faith.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Did you truly perform miracles?</b></span></span></p><div style="border: 1pt solid rgb(217, 217, 227); padding: 0in;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 15pt; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">As a figure of Christian faith, it is believed by many that I performed miracles during my time on earth. According to the New Testament, which is the primary source for my life and teachings, I performed many miraculous acts such as healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and even raising the dead.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">However, it's important to note that the veracity of these events is a matter of faith and belief, and different people may have different interpretations of them. Some may see these events as literal, while others may view them as metaphorical or symbolic expressions of spiritual truth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">Regardless of how one chooses to interpret these stories, the underlying message is one of love, compassion, and hope. The miracles that are attributed to me were intended to inspire faith and encourage people to live according to God's will, which is to love one another and seek justice and peace.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>What if people find it difficult to believe you are the Son of God?</b></span></span></p><div style="border: 1pt solid rgb(217, 217, 227); padding: 0in;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 15pt; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">It's understandable that some people may find it difficult to believe that I am the Son of God. Faith is a personal and complex matter, and there are many factors that can influence one's beliefs and doubts.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">In response, I would encourage you to approach the question of my divinity with an open mind and heart, and to explore the evidence for and against this belief. Reading the Bible, seeking guidance from trusted spiritual advisors, and engaging in personal reflection and prayer can all be helpful in this process.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">However, it's also important to acknowledge that faith is not necessarily based on empirical evidence or rational argument alone. Belief in me as the Son of God requires a personal and spiritual transformation, a leap of faith that is rooted in the heart and soul rather than the mind.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">Ultimately, the decision to believe in me as the Son of God is a deeply personal one that requires a willingness to trust in something beyond oneself. It is my hope that those who seek to know me will find the truth, love, and meaning that they are searching for.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>What is love?</b></span></span></p><div style="border: 1pt solid rgb(217, 217, 227); padding: 0in;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 15pt; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">Love is a central theme of my teachings, and it is one of the most important concepts in Christianity. At its core, love is a selfless and sacrificial act of caring for others, putting their needs before your own, and seeking their highest good.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">In the Bible, it is written that "God is love," and my life and teachings were a demonstration of this love in action. I taught my followers to love their enemies, to forgive those who wrong them, and to care for the poor and marginalized.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">Love is not just an emotion or feeling, but it is something that we actively choose to do. It is a way of life that involves putting others before ourselves, seeking justice and peace, and treating all people with dignity and respect.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">Ultimately, love is the foundation of all human relationships and the key to a fulfilling and meaningful life. It is my hope that all people will learn to love one another as God loves them, and in doing so, experience the fullness of life that God intends for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuU3KbEWoWfa0NocFXngp3Q6p_zmeWacJi0dl0HXaFWyfQ3uFZ1rrG5FjYRw-WFYbbh7hJxIs0iHIt6cjlaCihFVE4LLdn5oyA_nB-IeI7IoH8bK9EuaYYbrwFKzxiuTnI1prxLL_AfABe7MMpuQQqg4hCIlUcHKR8-oDf3wEv_MQGXXew-KkWq0NO/s4032/IMG_1864.HEIC" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuU3KbEWoWfa0NocFXngp3Q6p_zmeWacJi0dl0HXaFWyfQ3uFZ1rrG5FjYRw-WFYbbh7hJxIs0iHIt6cjlaCihFVE4LLdn5oyA_nB-IeI7IoH8bK9EuaYYbrwFKzxiuTnI1prxLL_AfABe7MMpuQQqg4hCIlUcHKR8-oDf3wEv_MQGXXew-KkWq0NO/w300-h400/IMG_1864.HEIC" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A photo from last night, at St. Paul's Church<br />near Columbus Circle in Manhattan.</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>What is your most important message to me today, in 100 words or less?</b></span></span></p><div style="border: 1pt solid rgb(217, 217, 227); padding: 0in;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">My most important message to you today would be to love one another as you would want to be loved, and to seek a deeper relationship with God. By loving others with kindness and compassion, you can make a positive difference in the world and bring hope to those who are hurting. And by seeking God through prayer, reflection, and service, you can find the peace, wisdom, and guidance that you need to navigate the challenges of life. Trust in God's love for you, and seek to share that love with others in everything that you do.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif"><b>Jesus, what would you say to Donald Trump and Joe Biden if you could speak to them today?<o:p></o:p></b></span></p><div style="border: 1pt solid rgb(217, 217, 227); padding: 0in;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 15pt; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">As someone who taught about love, compassion, and service to others, I would encourage both Donald Trump and Joe Biden to seek to govern with these values in mind. I would remind them that true leadership is not about power or personal gain, but about serving the needs of the people they represent.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">To Donald Trump, I would urge him to seek unity and reconciliation, and to put the needs of the country above his own personal interests. I would remind him that he has a responsibility to govern justly and to care for the marginalized and vulnerable in society, and that this requires humility, compassion, and a willingness to listen to others.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">To Joe Biden, I would encourage him to lead with integrity and to seek justice and equality for all people, regardless of their race, gender, or socioeconomic status. I would remind him that he has been entrusted with a great responsibility to govern wisely and justly, and that this requires courage, compassion, and a commitment to serving the common good.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">Ultimately, as I taught in the Bible, true leadership is about serving others and putting their needs above our own. My hope would be that both Donald Trump and Joe Biden would seek to embody these principles in their leadership, and that they would work together for the good of the nation and the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif"><b>Jesus, what would you say to someone who doesn't believe in you?<o:p></o:p></b></span></p><div style="border: 1pt solid rgb(217, 217, 227); padding: 0in;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 15pt; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">To someone who doesn't believe in me, I would first of all want to say that I love them and that I am always present for them, even if they do not recognize me. I would also encourage them to explore my teachings and to seek to understand who I am and what I stand for.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">I would remind them that faith is a personal choice, and that I do not force anyone to believe in me. However, I would also encourage them to consider the evidence for my life and teachings, and to seek to understand the impact that I have had on the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">Ultimately, I believe that the most important thing is to seek the truth, and to be open to the possibility that there is a greater purpose to our lives than what we can see or understand. As I taught in the Bible, "Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">Whether or not someone believes in me, I will always be present for them, and I will always offer them my love and grace. My hope is that all people will come to know me and to experience the fullness of my love and grace in their lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Jesus, what would you say to the earthquake victims in Turkey?</b></span></span></p><div style="border: 1pt solid rgb(217, 217, 227); padding: 0in;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 15pt; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">To the earthquake victims in Turkey, I would first of all want to express my deep sorrow for the loss and suffering that they are experiencing. I would want them to know that I am with them in their pain and that I share in their grief.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">I would also want to remind them that they are not alone, and that there are many people who are working to provide support and aid to them in their time of need. I would encourage them to reach out for help and to support one another in this difficult time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">Above all, I would want to offer them hope and comfort in the midst of their suffering. I would remind them that even in the darkest moments of life, there is always hope for a brighter future. I would encourage them to turn to me for strength and guidance, and to trust in my love and mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 15pt 0in 0in; padding: 0in;"><span face=""Segoe UI", sans-serif">As I taught in the Bible, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). My hope is that all those affected by this tragedy will find comfort and peace in the midst of their pain, and that they will come to know the fullness of my love and grace in their lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></div></div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-22405788728085645142023-02-09T12:10:00.003-05:002023-02-12T09:44:05.891-05:00There's No 'AI' in 'Poetry'<span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT48rYPquqEC5Cmnb7AOqoAVe7Pgmp26PvuaxZmI8UuwmMBAlCJaKLZbikprE6fpcce5Moha_0LNwGsUhNiL_7tHLB_iqaGHqAsIoY2DWtP_MnIKMMJAah4E6FNxLs3Bm4KQTbV62ae6sQGtWBS2dBj4inOpxWSuFGLBHKxthrSKJ-0byJd3Qo9adj/w400-h300/IMG_1608.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Named after The Muppet's Bunsen Honeydew</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Silly me.</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">On a cold Saturday morning in New Jersey, I cuddled up with ChatGPT and asked the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot a series of absurd requests, such as "write a three paragraph love letter to a penguin."<br /><br />I was amused by the amusing result, so I tweeted this screenshot of it:<br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomFCH0-fgl-o2K3-HVPp2q3E6CVreaGa8r9x9wZNgqIWX17q12jLJJ61xoNcNl8j9x5m8zP_oUP6ukVgekppbHrNF3evCMkKI0VzqBcOfTg_nR5xbLHLQka8QMZH_xMkPOWjMp2vQh0E6zPaatl5gpygb3IwW6XbXpWZe91jyhC9iUPnNmHCGzaQu/s1536/FoJNJMmX0AAoUsY.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1536" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomFCH0-fgl-o2K3-HVPp2q3E6CVreaGa8r9x9wZNgqIWX17q12jLJJ61xoNcNl8j9x5m8zP_oUP6ukVgekppbHrNF3evCMkKI0VzqBcOfTg_nR5xbLHLQka8QMZH_xMkPOWjMp2vQh0E6zPaatl5gpygb3IwW6XbXpWZe91jyhC9iUPnNmHCGzaQu/w400-h301/FoJNJMmX0AAoUsY.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The next morning, I received this prompt on my quest to write weekly poem in 2023:</span><br /></span><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Can I Call you Rose? Listen to this song -- "<a href="https://youtu.be/vKJhzL16woE" target="_blank">Can I Call Your Rose?</a>" by Thee Sacred Souls -- and get inspired to write your own love poem! And start with "Can I call you (fill in the blank)?"</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />So this is what I wrote:</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Love Poem for Dr. Bunsen</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Can I call you Honeydew?</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I remember the whimsical days,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">when my daughters were young,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and they adopted you.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So I fell in love with a penguin.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It wasn’t you, Dr. Bunsen; it was me.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Your beauty and grace in the water are unmatched,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and I cannot help but be drawn to you.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I visited you once at the boardwalk aquarium.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A thick wall of glass cast a glamorous haze,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and you won my heart</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">with your playful antics, your curious gaze.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now seven years have passed,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">regenerating every cell in my body.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Time has transfigured you too:</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You have become my daughters.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I proclaim the same to all of you:</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I am fully aware that our lives and worlds</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">are very different,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">but I want to protect you.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I cannot imagine my life without you.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Can I call you Honeydew?</span></p><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">---------</span></div><br />I don't pretend to be a poet, but inspired by AI, "Love Poem for Dr. Bunsen" contextualizes a random prompt, a generalized bond between fathers and daughters, and specific personal memories to create something that didn't exist until now.<br /><br />Posted here, I expect it will be scanned by Google's cloud and become part of something larger. Whether the poem is good or bad is subjective, but at least it's authentic and unique.<br /><br />That's what I crave more than anything else: not to be boxed in, or characterized, by my age, gender, job, race, residency, past purchases, or by the thousands and thousands of other data points the cloud has collected about me.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I rage against this machine. I don’t pretend to be a poet, but I refuse to be an algorithm.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-89843101079575890972023-01-31T12:09:00.007-05:002023-02-04T10:54:47.158-05:00January’s Poems: Devastation, Gorilla Monsoon, and Groundhog Day<div><i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIPlVhHPOGZfKGMuF5tR3jo-_1LzN7b4i45D-eqO3HQGi4rAI-wr-7Hmw-lV5EvYJzYurnAMnp2IXVuqhLT7Dta1Kbjjq43jtWmDmuRgBnHhY_HX2tQTzckbfphoquk0ugspLceujV4mKSaYESaXpcUmj3RhRB2QPq2pG_RO3puSxCSdI9lsGYDzC/s3264/88536FE3-716E-449C-9164-E088CAFF9EEB.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1632" data-original-width="3264" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIPlVhHPOGZfKGMuF5tR3jo-_1LzN7b4i45D-eqO3HQGi4rAI-wr-7Hmw-lV5EvYJzYurnAMnp2IXVuqhLT7Dta1Kbjjq43jtWmDmuRgBnHhY_HX2tQTzckbfphoquk0ugspLceujV4mKSaYESaXpcUmj3RhRB2QPq2pG_RO3puSxCSdI9lsGYDzC/w400-h200/88536FE3-716E-449C-9164-E088CAFF9EEB.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Images generated by DALL-E 2</td></tr></tbody></table></i><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div>I’m writing poems based on prompts every Sunday from New Jersey <a href="https://www.dimitrireyespoet.com/" target="_blank">poet Dimitri Reyes</a>. Although I’ve taken some liberties with the prompts, I hope to continue this throughout 2023 and post these poems monthly. I’ve already posted my <a href="http://varettoni.blogspot.com/2023/01/poem-lost-cat.html" target="_blank">first</a> and <a href="http://varettoni.blogspot.com/2023/01/poem-2-mysteries-of-rosary.html" target="_blank">second</a> poems here. Following are the other poems during this five-Sunday month.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>—————————</i></span></p><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">The prompt: Write about something you’ve been devastated about.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b>POEM 3: Diary of a Sociopath<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’m a boy playing minigolf<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">in rural New Jersey along Route 46.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">It’s the site of a strip mall now.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">My playmates, young Sheryl and Eddie,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">were neighbors then.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Their house, a used car lot now.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">It was Mother’s Day then.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Tires screech.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">A car horn blares.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">A sudden, sickening thud of metal on metal.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">A woman screams.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I miss my short putt.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Minutes pass,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">and we witness her death.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The children in her car are silent.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Her dog wails.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Sheryl and Eddie are speechless.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I grow restless.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I rearrange my stance over a bright yellow, dimpled ball<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">and aim for the mouth of a clown.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Can I have a do-over, I ask?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>—————————</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">The prompt: Write a poem using these words: mule; monsoon; traveled.</span></i></p><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><a name="OLE_LINK7"></a><a name="OLE_LINK8"></a><a name="OLE_LINK9"><b>POEM 4: Ode to Gorilla Monsoon<o:p></o:p></b></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We traveled through seven man-made holes<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">in the mountains of Pennsylvania.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Heading west, Dad squinted behind Saratoga Ray Bans:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The last cold warrior, the Republican JFK.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Dad was behind the wheel of our black Chevy Impala,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">his hands recklessly at 12 and 6.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">He said it gave him more control,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">as Hank Williams crackled “I Saw the Light” across WINB AM.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Beads of sweat formed on Dad’s clean-shaven cheek,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">releasing the incense of Old Spice.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Our car leaked smoke from his Micronite-filtered Kents<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">rising from a half-inch crack in the driver’s side window.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Arriving from New Jersey at dusk,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">we parked in front of a modest house atop Mount Pleasant,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">and my uncle rushed to place cinder blocks<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">behind our low-slung wheels.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The next morning, amid cornstalks on a hillside,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">my cousin and I wrestled, diurnal primates at play.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">His hero was Bruno Sammartino,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">and I was a poor substitute for Gorilla Monsoon.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I am not a fighter.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I ate a mule kick on my cousin’s follow-through,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">as Dad watched in the distance.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">He flicked his cigarette to his feet and turned his back on me.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I was always a sucker for a sucker punch.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I woke this morning<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">threescore years and precisely 338 miles away,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">with a phantom pain in my side.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I am the Survivor Series antihero.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And I remember everything.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><i>—————————</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i style="text-align: center;"><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">The prompt: With Groundhog Day upon us, read <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F_smStpl4yoB9Eh_4-xJdIPx-sVcHyMappy79LwEcGY/edit" target="_blank">this poem by Len Lawson</a> and write your own poem where the speaker repeats the same day over and over again.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b>POEM 5: Groundhog Day in Ramsdale<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In the month of January,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I wrote a poem every week.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Prompted by a poet,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">each day I wrote more words for you,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">but I have not gotten anywhere yet.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In the month of February,</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I will wait for your return:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’m still in love with you.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’m still in love with you.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’m still in love with you.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’m still in love with you.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’m still in love with you.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’m still in love with you.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’m still in love with you.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’m still in love with you.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’m still in love with you.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Repeat, editor, till the month is full.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><i>—————————</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i style="text-align: center;"><br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>PS: Here's a visual poem </i><i style="text-align: center;">—</i><i> <b>"Groundhog Day 2023" </b></i><i style="text-align: center;">— </i><i>with images of the NYC skyline from the Lincoln Tunnel helix on my morning commute via bus during January:</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><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/AVvXsEhs7jsCx0hEd_NGMvj5yYkRW1YHoBl0jgQDA8udinWnuw5_OUMYfg-Hj9GafZgGDqg030rWM52J9mr7V5DDgA_1TFBgQP_ufK7XLyYSE5wrIiu92tZ7Thl13t5tYrkbizeQyni4Gha0fUFcWpmQDJefcCMIhUOutuBu3Y1yLd52E3qWlWwcL7syioeV/s1024/nyc%20january%202023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7jsCx0hEd_NGMvj5yYkRW1YHoBl0jgQDA8udinWnuw5_OUMYfg-Hj9GafZgGDqg030rWM52J9mr7V5DDgA_1TFBgQP_ufK7XLyYSE5wrIiu92tZ7Thl13t5tYrkbizeQyni4Gha0fUFcWpmQDJefcCMIhUOutuBu3Y1yLd52E3qWlWwcL7syioeV/w400-h400/nyc%20january%202023.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span><p></p></div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-27235627508127953542023-01-30T15:17:00.004-05:002023-01-31T14:15:46.421-05:00ChatGPT Visits the Philadelphia Museum of Art<i><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEwt_FdZfieAFVlS20UBhmRXWT8gk910TCw1dy2nZ-85a6Y3W9XnoQssFqihFsTCfes7GdqrqXsOL6PypzuecfFwfBr7O1XjrKBKlKYLm39KLZ-pImjTfpS-dXWJxWw-F88PeC45pWoOyVL3oy26tFQ67v_mRIq18QVs1osCWE-6SSSL0CBULxM1s/s2566/IMG_1528.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2566" data-original-width="2566" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEwt_FdZfieAFVlS20UBhmRXWT8gk910TCw1dy2nZ-85a6Y3W9XnoQssFqihFsTCfes7GdqrqXsOL6PypzuecfFwfBr7O1XjrKBKlKYLm39KLZ-pImjTfpS-dXWJxWw-F88PeC45pWoOyVL3oy26tFQ67v_mRIq18QVs1osCWE-6SSSL0CBULxM1s/w400-h400/IMG_1528.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Museum of Art courtyard viewed from the Armor Room.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I wanted to post some photos here from a recent visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I had suggested the “immersive Monet” exhibit in NYC, but my wife preferred we check out “real-life Matisse.” For background and context, I gave ChatGPT a few prompts and out popped the following words. Not bad!</span></i><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords:</span></i><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />The Philadelphia Museum of Art is a must-see destination for any art lover visiting the city. Located in the heart of Philadelphia, the museum boasts an impressive collection of over 240,000 works spanning 2,000 years of world culture.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6obNqWSAO1slyKwcgM3pEH0fclVjmpyaM3k2KwGW2ICr5lNOJOTPzQu5KBmnlVtXxmcS7aeFiJBpNRHIk7blK89aisK2McpvbYKG16f7jT0drD3XwoEWQ8ViwwtHT3i8xY9o-47-yAORycayuoP9OU7_ntKdmFy8U2RhG_exTilII6sR1HiIwaPCp/s3264/DipticExportSaveLocation.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="3264" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6obNqWSAO1slyKwcgM3pEH0fclVjmpyaM3k2KwGW2ICr5lNOJOTPzQu5KBmnlVtXxmcS7aeFiJBpNRHIk7blK89aisK2McpvbYKG16f7jT0drD3XwoEWQ8ViwwtHT3i8xY9o-47-yAORycayuoP9OU7_ntKdmFy8U2RhG_exTilII6sR1HiIwaPCp/w200-h200/DipticExportSaveLocation.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>It isn't uncommon to see visitors engaging in playful activities on the front steps. One such activity is pretending to be the iconic fictional character "Rocky." Visitors raise their hands above their heads and jump in triumph, mimicking the famous scene from the first film in the series.</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Upon entering the museum, visitors are greeted by the grand staircase, which leads to the main galleries on the second floor.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />One of the highlights of the museum is the American art collection, which includes works by some of the most famous American artists such as Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent and Edward Hopper. The museum also has a significant collection of European paintings, including works by Monet, Van Gogh, and Renoir.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNBrORDccfozH_iCNLfuQ5u5Coh8R3g5Kqlp_DjmAHo5t2_cVa7iRLFA4vplntV2ZvMksDJwkrJRpGvzE4WGJ4KPAqLjSFO19LhxjRchcjhVt8CgwR8dEC3jKireNdpSOi-5cCju_Tu35jhbaoMT4ffshZ3HQHWswwmQfymlQIxynXMB5nIj2mGp78/s3464/B633B172-2F31-4B4F-9CB0-35391A3214E2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3464" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNBrORDccfozH_iCNLfuQ5u5Coh8R3g5Kqlp_DjmAHo5t2_cVa7iRLFA4vplntV2ZvMksDJwkrJRpGvzE4WGJ4KPAqLjSFO19LhxjRchcjhVt8CgwR8dEC3jKireNdpSOi-5cCju_Tu35jhbaoMT4ffshZ3HQHWswwmQfymlQIxynXMB5nIj2mGp78/w400-h349/B633B172-2F31-4B4F-9CB0-35391A3214E2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diana atop the grand staircase, decorated for the holidays.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbOP0AVdfK6eZx8GuWkNXFh4AVOCarI2naLT2sk8DqZSsV6xo_Q_14ODBBQqpFErtAIlNjyBmZwXjUp_jPggC3rMYaj8S91sMdhZ_1SwEge7KnYzodiTKVA7QivTemHpVTj1wfI1RqZP221GnoWcfqVlemWZVEAxGUHPmkYJ_oPDCueaSE2N1ae3N/s3264/IMG_1529.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="3264" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbOP0AVdfK6eZx8GuWkNXFh4AVOCarI2naLT2sk8DqZSsV6xo_Q_14ODBBQqpFErtAIlNjyBmZwXjUp_jPggC3rMYaj8S91sMdhZ_1SwEge7KnYzodiTKVA7QivTemHpVTj1wfI1RqZP221GnoWcfqVlemWZVEAxGUHPmkYJ_oPDCueaSE2N1ae3N/s320/IMG_1529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matisse’s “Large Reclining Nude” (1935) and <br />“Woman in Blue” (1937), including the skirt<br />worn by the painting’s model. </td></tr></tbody></table>During my visit, I had the opportunity to attend the special exhibition "Matisse in the 1930s" which featured over 80 works by the artist, including paintings, sculptures, and drawings, as well as a selection of his personal objects from his studios in Nice and Paris. This exhibition provided an in-depth look at the artist's techniques and the way he used objects in his studio as inspiration for his work. <i>(Note: This exhibit closed yesterday... and I think ChatGPT is actually describing a previous Matisse exhibit here.)</i><br /><br />I also had the opportunity to view the painting "Sunflowers" by Vincent Van Gogh. This famous painting, which is one of the most popular on display at the museum, is renowned for its vibrant colors and dynamic brushstrokes. It was a true highlight of my visit to the museum.<br /><br />Unfortunately, I also set off two proximity alarms while viewing the paintings, but it was a reminder of how close you are allowed to be with the paintings and how precious they are.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCvG4jJ-AiKaezzOlrpHf68Z-SpC9ypcTycTKQL5IFXFfQ2gaVEJHnyY4Fa3tO1lqGAh6F8ANHhMYpHFpSNmTTkyDM4_jQzPEOiRauQJWAB1zpOjFDmHSjj9i1C3vFXV2WAoxrQvPTlwTjOgljiVFXHf1zPUMEevqPIApx0hzWt0Fq8PAutW2-0Crf/s3264/2DE5B490-6E25-4876-9525-EF235F95A025.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="3264" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCvG4jJ-AiKaezzOlrpHf68Z-SpC9ypcTycTKQL5IFXFfQ2gaVEJHnyY4Fa3tO1lqGAh6F8ANHhMYpHFpSNmTTkyDM4_jQzPEOiRauQJWAB1zpOjFDmHSjj9i1C3vFXV2WAoxrQvPTlwTjOgljiVFXHf1zPUMEevqPIApx0hzWt0Fq8PAutW2-0Crf/w400-h400/2DE5B490-6E25-4876-9525-EF235F95A025.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So excited… a little too excited… to see this up close.<br />I also set off an alarm tripping over Zoe Leonard’s floor sculpture.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Overall, a visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art is a truly enriching experience. The museum's vast and varied collections, special exhibitions, and educational programs make it a must-see destination for any art lover.</span><br /></div></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>This is where ChatGPT stopped writing, but here are a few more images:</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL1RDR17OrnOttIA2el61F6rSP2C7UcZaBUQjQLBsbDDzNvlZaYUeOUnDhch6kH7nluFImxlwizsoJlwaF--qwKVPGQuW8rowtt-cbCICiVReJERkxsRtBkDCH-PlL_sc6JN8u3Y8wTcSi214xYlW5I70y8y61gR13BAaIdpebkfIRMXw8oSu_NikH/s2846/68AEF352-BCCB-4897-A4D3-47C7A94B1D7C.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2846" data-original-width="2415" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL1RDR17OrnOttIA2el61F6rSP2C7UcZaBUQjQLBsbDDzNvlZaYUeOUnDhch6kH7nluFImxlwizsoJlwaF--qwKVPGQuW8rowtt-cbCICiVReJERkxsRtBkDCH-PlL_sc6JN8u3Y8wTcSi214xYlW5I70y8y61gR13BAaIdpebkfIRMXw8oSu_NikH/s320/68AEF352-BCCB-4897-A4D3-47C7A94B1D7C.jpeg" width="272" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Degas in Philadelphia.</td></tr></tbody></table><i><br /></i></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCkOfOcpbIjxYdebzl0aAL01Nch6Hi5DQK7GhiA6viJ0ljC9vrvpUxSvsmXRmIiVPckiPoltycPscVu0GNu5iIlZ0GegZNJkJ97CHGapbd36z7GDCKgNr1FqM9wARBYjRETTEkpiDQChGFiwkdggftpHlNcU4z6B7iWzSbsfWcyq8ZxPYdlMaXzFO1/s1440/92793CE4-0BCF-4E9A-A57E-4CD4FE9DDC89.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCkOfOcpbIjxYdebzl0aAL01Nch6Hi5DQK7GhiA6viJ0ljC9vrvpUxSvsmXRmIiVPckiPoltycPscVu0GNu5iIlZ0GegZNJkJ97CHGapbd36z7GDCKgNr1FqM9wARBYjRETTEkpiDQChGFiwkdggftpHlNcU4z6B7iWzSbsfWcyq8ZxPYdlMaXzFO1/w320-h320/92793CE4-0BCF-4E9A-A57E-4CD4FE9DDC89.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Video exhibit by Visual AIDS.<br />Lots of nooks and crannies in this museum!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ1liIZ-uksDcjL9fWiWNxm1FjwrHX0BWwGG2vIQZZyD-bytRzYbAQgdmqpbCQTgTup2s8nm_wuNVNFGIKwOw9j4WW3djGW_fegUphQLWIbz1ZuMMVoIGuszDcYk5ki6lJJfmrO_YsQKEh9Ge-RH-9fZZVuxe3SkduOUO9VMoMv9WUNyBDxuEDWmph/s3159/1545401D-EC9B-467D-9350-CC8BA67A5752.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2723" data-original-width="3159" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ1liIZ-uksDcjL9fWiWNxm1FjwrHX0BWwGG2vIQZZyD-bytRzYbAQgdmqpbCQTgTup2s8nm_wuNVNFGIKwOw9j4WW3djGW_fegUphQLWIbz1ZuMMVoIGuszDcYk5ki6lJJfmrO_YsQKEh9Ge-RH-9fZZVuxe3SkduOUO9VMoMv9WUNyBDxuEDWmph/s320/1545401D-EC9B-467D-9350-CC8BA67A5752.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is an unfinished Cezanne, which I liked very much.<br />The Matisse exhibit also showed some of his works in progress,<br />and I liked the rougher, early versions better.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJstNZBQibvAVVW6aKge0IaJtaRpEuZRwLC9UwOMDTBhmLp-hccBCImd8if2ZnFrymjd1mfhvBTWWgBTXmFdLqvQW9cl6J81nt8jlNG_ireclIQrIZ41Rd5xp61qIRJZ0e0hOZ-VXFSdDJZ2j-9TflYeqRcSduxHqFsskQ3XP1NQBLIt4vo8h1PzW/s2048/E84173B4-F0D6-4AFD-8975-D05F34FE5CFE.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJstNZBQibvAVVW6aKge0IaJtaRpEuZRwLC9UwOMDTBhmLp-hccBCImd8if2ZnFrymjd1mfhvBTWWgBTXmFdLqvQW9cl6J81nt8jlNG_ireclIQrIZ41Rd5xp61qIRJZ0e0hOZ-VXFSdDJZ2j-9TflYeqRcSduxHqFsskQ3XP1NQBLIt4vo8h1PzW/w400-h300/E84173B4-F0D6-4AFD-8975-D05F34FE5CFE.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Had to wait until all the people jumping like "Rocky"<br />stopped posing on these steps 🙂<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671156728137489008.post-16779398112455529772023-01-13T17:36:00.008-05:002023-03-24T11:45:45.386-04:00Poem: 'Mysteries of the Rosary'<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbBk-i8QqWpmcoz6Honp5cxdqs-A_zl8mVr_90smiTp9DPfJyeMKAJG4z37Lwxl9vG9P4Hkd0SQzz1S4Oaj5GJLTTkzgEsuMH-tgxOrvh2fN6VGpkxdRYeqAw5Wdk7Mt8qtwtQqTkhKJZjhVwmTc6_J44px2yGga4OEFn8aNvBaBBgGMW2EtrzhOd/s2778/IMG_1277.PNG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2778" data-original-width="1284" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbBk-i8QqWpmcoz6Honp5cxdqs-A_zl8mVr_90smiTp9DPfJyeMKAJG4z37Lwxl9vG9P4Hkd0SQzz1S4Oaj5GJLTTkzgEsuMH-tgxOrvh2fN6VGpkxdRYeqAw5Wdk7Mt8qtwtQqTkhKJZjhVwmTc6_J44px2yGga4OEFn8aNvBaBBgGMW2EtrzhOd/w185-h400/IMG_1277.PNG" width="185" /></a></div>This week's poetry prompt was simple:<p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Go through your phone’s camera roll and pick a random photo. Capture each detail with words and phrases, descriptive words for what you see, what the photo is of, where it’s from, etc. Think of these various details as a collage and put together a new poem.</blockquote><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have thousands of photos on my phone: 61,023 as of earlier this week, to be exact.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I downloaded a free app called "Stumble." Developers Ritchie & Mason enticed me with the first line of the app's description: "Take a </span>serendipitous walk through your photo roll."</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">My life can use some </span>serendipity.</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once installed, I pressed the "Stumble" button, and a photo appeared from a March 7, 2021, visit to The Met Cloisters. My wife and I had stopped to look at what we've previously discovered was the same favorite exhibit which we had both first seen years before we married.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had seen<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464449" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">this extraordinary rosary bead</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></a></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">during a high school field trip, then years later accompanied by a friend who was an artist. I later took my young children to see it. Years later I returned alone, before returning again with Nancy last March.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I even tried writing <a href="https://varettoni.blogspot.com/2021/04/11-goodbyes-to-poetry-month-2021.html" target="_blank">a poem about this</a> once before, but I like this one better</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Mysteries of the Rosary</span></b></p><p></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I am a pilgrim.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Each decade of life,</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I return to New York</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">to behold an intricately carved</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">boxwood prayer bead</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">the size of a snowball.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It depicts Christ’s crucifixion.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The museum piece,</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">hollowed and exposed,</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">never changes.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">My spirit, </span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">hollowed and exposed,</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">diminishes in return.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">My prayers</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">have been autonomous circles</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">of desire and intent.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Nothing more than empty shells.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Behold this dying man.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I see everything now.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Salvation is in the details.</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1eyJTX4sNWUDqKeKRl6A2K_ognXEt7cD0DX5FqfohWzoAbliGMXgs-SnY4LExEYq4jM08D6ixejq7ECerHOt8R7KidrsKcwq8df_OXeVo1YFCfkznSSP8h28Dq43fhxh_n8Us4YWTZpI3F4WM2N2rcZDfUZ80y0d2-6uKmHyTTcr3ENFPGk50kBv3/s1138/IMG_7678.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="1138" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1eyJTX4sNWUDqKeKRl6A2K_ognXEt7cD0DX5FqfohWzoAbliGMXgs-SnY4LExEYq4jM08D6ixejq7ECerHOt8R7KidrsKcwq8df_OXeVo1YFCfkznSSP8h28Dq43fhxh_n8Us4YWTZpI3F4WM2N2rcZDfUZ80y0d2-6uKmHyTTcr3ENFPGk50kBv3/w400-h400/IMG_7678.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">My New Year's resolution: write a prompted poem each week in 2023, encouraged by New Jersey poet <a href="https://www.dimitrireyespoet.com" target="_blank">Dimitri Reyes</a>.</span></i></div><ol>
</ol>Bob Varettonihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04273928683291493673noreply@blogger.com0