i suppose everyone
had a goldfish
from the pet
store or school
fair, glistening orange
in plastic bag
captured bit of
rippling nature, and
we tried to
keep it alive
with flakes and
water changes, but
after a few
months it died
and what did
we learn? how
to understand loss
that toilet flush
goodbye, what is
life? what is
death? it meant
nothing, and everything
Month: May 2020
Only In Nashville
Have You Noticed?
Have you noticed that the earth
is always turning, that shadows
really do move across grass,
stone, everything?
Have you noticed that nature’s
wind touches all of life,
caterpillars, green ivy leaves,
chipmunks, tree trunks?
Have you noticed the white
cloud canvas, sparrow silhouette
in springtime sky, chirping
and flirting with the sun?
Have you noticed the bees
with their stingers, moving
from flower to flower, not
thinking about us at all?
Have you noticed how fast
we move through our days,
from screen to screen, with
all the rest unseen?
Lakeshore
A 3rd drawing by my Grandmother. I’m guessing this is Lake Ontario in the early 1930’s.
Flapper
This is another drawing by my Grandmother from the 1920’s.
Man Plays Accordion
This is one of my Grandmother’s drawings from 1928.
The House of Love
This is a second poem by my Grandmother Ethel from her scrapbook.
Our Wisdom
I found this poem in my Grandmother’s scrapbook, I believe it is from the late 1920’s.
The Veltin School For Girls
I’ve been going through my Grandmother Ethel’s scrapbook. My Grandmother attended The Veltin School in New York City. In the coming days I’m going to post some of her artwork and poetry. She lived her life in New York City, Rochester, NY, then Myrtle Beach, SC, for retirement. I was very close to my Grandmother (1907-2000). We were/are both poets and spiritual people. I’ve taught at a school serving girls for several years now, my Grandmother further connects me to that work and the historic mission of those institutions.
More about The Veltin School: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veltin_School_for_Girls
Baseball In Ecuador
The summer of 1990 I lived and worked in the Andes Mountains near Cuenca, Ecuador. The main focus was building latrines and planting trees, but we also taught baseball to the local kids. The bat was made of bamboo, and the ball was a rock, both wrapped in duct tape.
Daniel W. Polk 