In the year of covid-fear all the hairs on my head turned shock-white ... #poem

 

https://wallpapercave.com/w/uwp2109286

Is March 1 a special day? Do we prank each other? In Arts class do we begin construction of a 15-day calendar to note the advent of the Ides of March. Any day, every day, anyone can be betrayed, being the theme?

The antidote to betrayal is to keep your expectations low. Don't convince yourself that today is the day your lottery ticket rings a bell. Don't assume that today, today, your luck is amping up and you will meet a gorgeous kind generous fertile not-fertile mate of any persuasion. The earth keeps moving. Most often, when you smile at someone they will not report you to the police. Somewhere, some child is happy. 

I'm ignoring the ruthless man in Russia.

Back to me. I showed up here to wish everyone a day of hope. Yeah, hope can be a killer of tender dreams, but we need it. This weirdo, me, is less tuned into hope, a future fantasy - not to be turned away but the now. The now. Whatever they're doing the clouds are astounding in their visual brilliance. Clear skies. Atmospheric struggles between pollution and clean air aside, there are pigeons. Always there are pigeons, plump and strutting, at least here in N.Y.C. If pigeons have earned an attitude of superiority and desire to parade their chubby selves, so can I. (I don't know why that's true. Let's pretend it is.)

I had a poem published in February, one I shall herein, here and now, share with you. It's about a painful swath of my life. About hope and persistence. Pulling away from pain. Moving on. One friend called it a "hair poem." Okay. Not really. Whatever you want.

"iv.

In the year of covid-fear all the hairs on my head turned shock-white, all white, only white."

Read "Shock-White" on the gorgeous and historical site, Big City Lit. I love the editors - Alyssa Yankwitt, Christopher Cappeluti, Barry Wallenstein, Richard Levine - who took over from Nick (Nicholas Johnson), who I loved also. Everyone loved. 

Everyone loves. Yes, we can all love. Don't have to admit it. Just enjoy. We're all forgiven every day.

For the Children of Poets #poem by G.E. Schwartz

 

John Milton and his two daughters, one of whom,
Deborah, I believe, is not looking thrilled with time spent taking dictation,
even if her learned father is dictating Paradise Lost. Artist: George Romney, 1794.

For the Children of Poets

Children of poets, how do you find Your haven? Maybe you escape to

     A cousin’s or some other place? If There are two homes, off and on,

Separately (the parents’), would you Be directed by where you have little

     But private stress to cope with? (With Her mother away, Deborah Milton

Had to be used, by ear and by pen Especially, at her alternate home.

     Imagine, in the dark deeps of night, The blind poet, her father, haplessly

Rounding with a surge of line upon Line till he could bear no burdening

     Anymore, and at four-thirty a. m., The hired secretary ill, unavailable!)

You heard, and wrote: a process by-Passing mind, or heart, I’d guess. Did

     Sister Mary, too, have to learn Hebrew, Latin, other languages, he wanted

Read aloud? Children of dust, the call Can come at harsh hours, disrupting

     The sleep of nature. The voice must Be heeded, the unfathomable words

Forming at best a promise that, in Some way, someday, everything will

     Come into clarity. Warm-hearted Samuel Johnson must have been so

Exasperated on your behalf, saying That you had ben schooled only in

     Alphabets and sounds of all those Languages, not in the words, their

Meanings that might have made all The long hours a little less wearisome.

     Children, sleep well while all time Runs on. Rise, docile, dim of spirit.

Someday someone sometime will bless you for it.

_ _ _

G.E. Schwartz. "For the Children of Poets" first appeared in Dappled Things, and is included in G.E. Schwartz' collection Murmurations (Foothills Publishing, ISBN: 978-0-951053-32-4; www.foothillspublishing.com).

Climate Change and Your Nerves

 Climate Change and Your Nerves

East River Park where 400 trees were cut down
& mulched to make way for an environmentally dangerous development
of fancy apts. Same old same old. [photo by Sarah Sarai]

Last Tuesday my weekly talk group - all of us senior and queer - hit the subject of feeling anxious about climate change - are we?/aren't we? anxious. And our guilt and fear, right-now fear and right-now guilt related to climate change and its inevitable impact on that thing ahead of us: The Future. Did we stop it? No. Many of us, to some degree or another, tried, ie, recycled and sometimes boycotted. If you have tried to mollify the planet or if you haven't, it's coming. We agreed we had the anxiety and probably each of us thought more about the messed up Earth awaiting us. The messed up Earth here and now. That giant iceberg that's about to break free. Birds. Always birds. Often cats, too. 

So I was relieved to read a very relevant article by reporter Ellen Barry in the New York Times (monthly subscription costs $4!). Here's the first few paras from Climate Change Enters the Therapy Room.

PORTLAND, Ore. — It would hit Alina Black in the snack aisle at Trader Joe’s, a wave of guilt and shame that made her skin crawl.

Something as simple as nuts. They came wrapped in plastic, often in layers of it, that she imagined leaving her house and traveling to a landfill, where it would remain through her lifetime and the lifetime of her children.

She longed, really longed, to make less of a mark on the earth. But she had also had a baby in diapers, and a full-time job, and a 5-year-old who wanted snacks. At the age of 37, these conflicting forces were slowly closing on her, like a set of jaws.

In the early-morning hours, after nursing the baby, she would slip down a rabbit hole, scrolling through news reports of droughts, fires, mass extinction. Then she would stare into the dark. con't.

Yeah. The thought of mass extinction will do that to you.

I would expect that only the captains of industry who push denial like it's soft serve ice cream consider climate change it's a momentary blip. Or believe their fortresses will protect them. Which they won't. God could but God never seems to step in until ten million or sixty million people have been slaughtered. And even then... Anyone's guess. So I recommend you read the article. Here's a little more to bide you over:

It was for this reason that, around six months ago, she searched “climate anxiety” and pulled up the name of Thomas J. Doherty, a Portland psychologist who specializes in climate.

A decade ago, Dr. Doherty and a colleague, Susan Clayton, a professor of psychology at the College of Wooster, published a paper proposing a new idea. They argued that climate change would have a powerful psychological impact — not just on the people bearing the brunt of it, but on people following it through news and research. At the time, the notion was seen as speculative.

That skepticism is fading. Eco-anxiety, a concept introduced by young activists, has entered a mainstream vocabulary. And professional organizations are hurrying to catch up, exploring approaches to treating anxiety that is both existential and, many would argue, rational.

Again, from the Times.

East River Park...already in partial ruin

photos by Sarah Sarai
 

The Gilded Age on HBO - scrapes off the gild to reveal plywood

Madison Square Park, photo by Sarah Sarai

I am most unhappy with the first episode of "The Gilded Age," a Julian Fellowes-written jam which is very silly and very white. My HBO subscription ends in a few hours, so this was my farewell and no problem there. 

This first-of-the-series episode is a fitting send off (to the demise of my subscription).  There were many complaints with HBO's The Wire - that it was a white writer's impression of a black city (Baltimore) and a black struggle (Baltimore). That is my perspective of "The Gilded Age" - that it is very very very white and remarkably uninventive in being so. Despite the one young black woman who is a struggling writer. Perhaps her struggle will be representative of the times but why bother representing those times? Why use the history of racism as an excuse to further racism? 

And why such a pallid portrayal of the nouveau riche? Hallelujah and thank you, lord, two great and interesting actresses brightened the screen. Christine Baranski as an old school white lady richie rich. And, briefly so far, Audra McDonald as the mother of Baranski's new secretary. (There is no situation or script on God's earth that could not be bettered by Baranski and/or McDonald.) 

The plot is pallid. Carrie Coon, an actress I dislike (her expressionless face creeps me out - has done so since Fargo [the t.v. show], is the striver in this series. A monied wife who has a house built on Fifth - across from Central Park - as her Cape Canaveral to launch herself into old New York society. Her architect is the great Stanford White but apparently his name means nothing to the first families of New York. New York has always had snobs spinning its social circles with a circus clown's panache. And, yes, snobs are delightful when they are Baranski aided by some of the mustachio twirling men in the series. 

In the final scene of Episode 1, the Carrie Coon character, an arriviste, insists she's going to make the snobs of New York admire her or come to her parties. THAT's the issue? Sounds like a Father Knows Best episode with Kitten scrunching her 10-year-old face to reveal gumption. It would work better if Reese Witherspoon were the pushy broad determined to get through Harvard Law. 

I live in NYC and it is mundo snob-o-licious. It is awful here, in fact, IF you harbor a desire to fit in. Which I stupidly did. Because there are no accommodations for weirdos like me (a simple country lass with no money and a quick tongue). I'll talk about that sometime when my thinking portions are up to par. 

Captain Snowpants: Vermont School Kids Name Their Snowplows

Last November, Vermont school kids got to name their local snowplow. Click below for the news story and below the below, read the names, i.e., William Scrape-speare, The Plowinator, Brr-ito, JFK Snow You Didn't, Darth Blader, Captain Snowpants

Vermont grammar school kids name their snowplow, 2021

Academy School Brattleboro Astro Albany Community School  Albany Wolf Tracks Allen Brook School  Williston Salty Bakersfield Elementary and Middle School  Bakersfield Jennifer Snowpez Barnet Elementary School Barnet Storm Breaker Barre Town Middle/Elementary School Barre Snow Destroyer Barstow Memorial School Chittenden Frostbite Barton Graded School Barton  Eye of the Tiger Bennington Elementary School Bennington Snowy the Plow Berlin Elementary School Berlin Yo Bro, No Snow Bethel Elementary School Bethel Plowtron Bishop John A. Marshall School Morristown Snowbegone Kenobi Blue Mountain Union School  Newbury BMU Monster Buck Bradford Elementary School  Bradford Blizzard Wizard Braintree Elementary School Braintree Captain Snowmerica Brewster Pierce Memorial School Huntington Yogi Bridge School Middlebury Plowy McPlowFace Bridport Central School  Bridport Spooky the Square Pumpkin Bristol Elementary School Bristol Captain Snowpants Brookfield Elementary School  Brookfield Ole Bessy Brookside Primary School  Waterbury Brookside Beast Brownington Central School Brownington The BCS Beast Burke Town School  West Burke Frosty's Demise C.P. Smith Elementary School Burlington Storm Slayer Calais Elementary School Plainfield The Calais Snow Cat Cambridge Elementary School  Jeffersonville Baby Snowda Camels Hump Middle School Richmond Plower Power Castleton Elementary School Bomoseen Stardust Central Elementary School Bellows Falls The Maple Machine  Champlain Elementary School Burlington The Snowlebrator Charleston Elementary School  West Charleston  Dorito Chelsea Public School Chelsea Kirby Christ the King School Burlington Carl Concord School Concord Pumpkin Cornwall School Cornwall The Snow Eagle Currier Memorial School Danby Snow Hunter Danville School Danville Blizzard Davis Community School South Burlington Snowy the Snowlifter Derby Elementary School  Derby Line Tiger Force Doty Memorial School Worcester Snow Pickle Echo Valley Elementary School Washington Snow Wolf Eden Central School  Eden Brr-rito Edmunds Elementary School Burlington Timberwolf Essex Elementary School Essex Scoop Fayston Elementary School  Waitsfield Snow Day Crusher Ferrisburgh Central School  Ferrisburg Midnight Fisher Elementary School  Arlington Snow Day Reaper Flood Brook Elementary  Londonderry  The Mighty Snow Tiger Founders Memorial School  Essex Junction Ice Claw Franklin Elementary School Franklin Plow-A-Tron 6,000 Georgia Elementary School  Georgia Snow Dragon Gertrude Chamberlin School South Burlington Chamberlin Chomper Good Shepherd Catholic School  St. Johnsbury Arctic Angel Grafton Elementary School  Grafton Snow Panther Halifax Elementary School Halifax Midnight Monster Hardwick Elementary school  Hardwick The Snow Bobcat Hartford High School White River Junction Snowicane Harwood Middle School Moretown  Snow Day Dream Crusher Head Start - N. Bennington  North Bennington  Pumpkin the Plow Truck Head Start - Pownal Center Pownal Snowdigger Head Start - Spring Center   Bennington Snowasaurus Hiawatha Elementary School Essex Junction Crystal Royalty Highgate Elementary School Highgate The Ice Crusher Hiland Hill School Bennington Ducky Homeschooling Student Bradford Scrapes the Snowplow Homeschooling Students Ripton William Scrape-speare Hyde Park Elementary School Hyde Park Snow Hawk Irasburg Village School  Irasburg Thunder Jamaica Village School Jamaica Vermont Bob Jericho Elementary School Jericho Snow Day Stopper JFK Elementary School  Winooski JFK Snow You Didn't Killington Elementary School Killington Snowday Buster Lake Champalin Waldorf School Shelburne Ice Will Pay the Price Lakeview Elementary School Greensboro Snow Dog Lowell Graded School Lowell Snow-manator Ludlow Elementary School Ludlow Get Out of My Way! Lunenburg School Lunenburg The Lion's Snow Destroyer Lyndon Town School Lyndonville Snow Buddy Maple Street School Manchester Center Maple Snow Racer Mettawee Community School West Pawlet Mettawee Mountain Mover Mid Vermont Christian School Hartford Darth Blader Middletown Springs Elementary School Middletown Springs Tiny Tim Miller's Run School  Sheffield Snowy Joey Milton Elementary School Milton Milton Mike Molly Stark Elementary School  Bennington  Molly's Snowdragon  Monument Elemetary School Bennington Hot Cocoa Moretown Elementary School Moretown Snowbuster Morristown Elementary School Morrisville Snowy Wolf Pup Mountain River School Morristown Snow Runner Neshobe Elementary School Brandon  Ice Ice Baby Newark Street School Newark Fearless Frosty NewBrook Elementary School  Newfane Mr. Plower Newbury Elementary School  Newbury Snowflake: The Knight Plow Newton School  South Strafford Rumble North Hero School  North Hero Steve  Northeast Primary School  Rutland PAWS Oak Grove School  Brattleboro Mr. Frost Okemo Mountain School Ludlow Snow Big Deal Open Fields School Thetford Plowdypus Orchard School South Burlington Obi-Wan KenSNOWbi Orleans Elementary School  Orleans The Night Owl Pacem School Montpelier Edgar Allen Snow Porters Point School Colchester Arctic Blaze Pownal Elementary School Pownal Mr. Pushy Randolph Elementary School Randolph Bob the Plower Readsboro Central School Readsboro The 'Boro Beast Red Cedar School Bristol Snow Blade Richford Elementary School Richford Flurry Rick Marcotte Central School South Burlington Mighty Moose Robinson Elementary School Starksboro Snowy Chicken  Rumney Memorial School Middlesex Snowfight Rutland Area Christian School Rutland RACS Snow Destroyer Rutland Intermediate School  Rutland Luke Snow Walker Saint Francis Xavier School  Winooski Snowbusters Saxtons River Elementary School  Saxtons River Arctic Fox Shaftsbury Elementary School Shaftsbury Salty Eagle Shelburne Community School Shelburne Shelburne Blizzard Shelburne Nursery School Shelburne  Ice Breaker Shrewsbury Mountain School Shrewsbury Sub Zero South Royalton Elementary School South Royalton Wildcat Winter St. Johnsbury School  St. Johnsbury Snowflake Dently St. Monica-St. Michael School  Barre Frosty the Snowplow St. Paul's Catholic School Barton Flurry the Snow Cow Stowe Elementary School Stowe Polarplow Summit Street School Essex Junction Crystal Sustainability Academy Burlington Snowcrusher Sutton School Sutton Sutton Cats Rule the Road Swanton Elementary School Swanton Maple Creemee Cruiser The Barn School Westford Blizzard Lizzard The Dover School East Dover The Orange Snow Peeler The Elmore School Elmore Snowy Owl  The Mountain School at Winhall  Bondville Snow Place Like Home  The Riverside School Lyndonville Plowser The School of Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales  Bennington Perry the Plowerpus Thetford Elementary School  Thetford Snowy Thomas Fleming School Essex Junction Mr. Plowington Tinmouth Mountain School Tinmouth Plow-Cow Trinity Baptist School Williston Snow Shadow Troy School North Troy The Plowinator Tunbridge Central School  Tunbridge  Snow on the Go Underhill Central School Underhill Center The White Fox Union Elementary School Montpelier Storm Union Memorial School  Colchester Everest United Christian Academy Newport Snow Plowie Vergennes Union Elementary School Vergennes Glacier Vermont Commons School South Burlington Shellington Vermont Day School  Shelburne Snow Magic Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative Morrisville Vinnie's VTVLC Pack Waits River Valley School East Corinth Snow Chomper Waitsfield Elementary School Waitsfield The Frost Walker Walden School Walden Snow McQueen  Wardsboro Elementary School  Wardsboro Storm Trooper Warren Elementary School  Warren  Sweeping Beauty Waterville Elementary School Waterville Blizzard Bessy Weathersfield Elementary School Ascutney Big Bessie West Rutland School West Rutland Orange Bolt Westford Elementary School Westford McNugget Westminster Center School Westminster  Green Mountain Plower Williston Central School Williston Powder Pusher  Windham Elementary School Windham Slip Sliding Safety Service Wolcott Elementary School Wolcott Super Snow Storm Woodford Hollow Elementary School Woodford Woodford Sands