Carries No Weight
Cradled within the
cleavage of a copper
moon ceiling hiding
its color, the hiker
capers through an
unpainted gallery of
birch logs. Over the
crackling of chipmunks
chewing candy apple
brown pine cones.,
the cadence of his
cares carries no weight.
Mourning Warbler
Like medieval
madrigals, the dying
melody of the Mourning
Warbler is more
alive in former realms.
Glittering in the azure
shade of Striped Maple,
somehow they know that
heaven is only a
way to pass through.
At Sodom (NY) Community Church
“Restoration can follow”
says the preacher of our litanies of loss.
His name is Oliver, no ordinary guy.
Of the gift of tongues he will allow
an incident in Desert Storm, glossed
by Holy Spirit wind. A Bedouin came by
by camel with a child needing–needing
what!? “One of our Assemblies of God boys
prayed that someone understand.
And God said ‘Why don’t you?'” Heeding
which he did, reducing Babel’s noise
to apprehend the need at hand.
At hand today: Oliver’s stated theme:
“Except the Lord build, we build in vain”
–from Ezra’s ancient Hebrew book.
Grief and loss can blossom as a fruited plain
and compost be more and sweeter than it seem.
Lift another rock; take another look.
Tewawe’éstha
5,343 feet inside
the glittering,
Saturnal gales,
my lady is
serendipitous shrubs
submerged in
a sea of balsam fir.
Even her prismatic,
alluvial sands hold
my steps, ingrained
with the scent of
moonshine and
charred muscle,
clothed in hawking,
milky ash at the
opalescent summit.
Moose River Road
Strange how alone and
ignored they are. Like
mildewed beams in a
scrapyard, somewhere
along the Moose River
Road, the doe’s loins
lay untaken and twisted.
Washed in burgundy,
soaked on the crimson
gravel, her belly still gasping
as we smash into the electrical
softness of distant headlights.
Photo of Moose River Road.
In honor of National Poetry Month, NorthWind Fine Arts Gallery is set to host a Poetry Opening on Friday, April 6 from 5 to 7 pm, at 11 Woodruff Street in Saranac Lake.
“Poetic License” will feature poetry readings and new, companion pieces of art.
The Adirondack Center for Writing (ACW) has announced a call for submissions to their second annual PoemVillage event. ACW welcomes all forms of poetry from anyone living part-time or full-time in the Tri-Lakes region of Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake, and Lake Placid. The deadline for submissions is March 14th, 2017.
All submissions of poetry from community members, elementary kids to seniors, will be displayed in the windows of partnering businesses in downtown Saranac Lake. This year PoemVillage will host a schedule of events throughout the month including local poets readings performances, PoemVillage Pub Crawl, and more. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Center for Writing is presenting PoemVillage to celebrate of the creativity and talent of Adirondack Tri-Lakes communities during National Poetry Month in April. Starting April 11th, all submissions of poetry from community members, elementary kids to seniors, will be displayed in the windows of partnering businesses in downtown Saranac Lake.
For three weeks, a trail of locally-written poetry will follow anyone walking down Main Street. Then, on April 15th, the Adirondack Center for Writing will hide postcard-sized submissions in the corners of local businesses in an event called PocketPoetry. Under the morning coffee, tucked in a newspaper, or underneath the toothpaste at the local pharmacy, will be poems from your friends and neighbors. » Continue Reading.
Newspaper articles and poetry are two quite different styles of writing. It’s probably not a common thing to be well-versed (pardon the mild pun) in both, but a century ago, a North Country man enjoyed a regular following in both arenas. One of his poems struck me as capturing nature with beautiful prose, while at the same time recalling a great pleasure that so many Adirondack folks have experienced. » Continue Reading.
If you love Adirondack legend and lore, you’ll love this gem of a poem that first appeared in 1846. Since then it has appeared in print several times, often with revisions, and with the removal of certain stanzas. It’s the exciting story of a man-versus-bear encounter. The man was Anson Allen, whose colorful past included a fifteen-year stint as owner/editor of the Keeseville Herald, the village’s first newspaper. After moving to Westport in the early 1840s, he edited the Essex Co. Times and Westport Herald for four years.
He later published a monthly titled The Old Settler, covering stories and reminiscences from the region’s earliest history. The paper literally defined him, for Allen became known widely as “the old settler.” » Continue Reading.
For the seventh year the Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCS) has organized an Arbor Day Poetry Contest for Senior Citizens. SWCS Conservation Educator Caitlin Stewart started the contest as a way to reach an often overlooked and underserved demographic.
“My grandparents are very artistic and I see that spark they get when they create something,” says Stewart. “We do a lot with children through various events, like our Conservation Day for 5th and 6th graders and the Enviro-thon for high school students. This contest is a way to engage the Hamilton County Senior population.”
This year the theme Stewart has chosen is “Trees in Nature” in a free verse structure. Free verse poetry has no regular meter and rhythm and does not rhyme with fixed forms. Stewart provides an example of free verse through Walt Whitman’s poem Song of Myself. Stewart does not list an age requirement, but leaves the definition of “senior” up to the discretion of the participant. The deadline for entry is April 23, Thursday. » Continue Reading.
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