It's Not How, It's Who

The friends who used to play with me
Sometimes write and ask of me,
"Robert, my old friend, how are you?"

I always have the same reply,
And with a twinkle in my eye,
I smile and say, "Not how, my friend, but who."

For I lie abed in many forms,
Some well known, but all well worn.
Characters from books; both old and new.

And, like the lad in "Counterpane",
armies lain before me, in a game;
I always win when there are less than two.

I draw upon books I may have read;
and then tell stories in my head.
I make myself the hero; wouldn't you?

When the game is up I'm out of bed.
But the stories remain inside my head,
and next day I'll live them all again, re-newed.

"The Quare Fellow" - 1962

This is the story of a newly minted prison guard in Ireland, 1962, on death row duty and the story of how it affects him. Taken from the Irish play by Brendan Behan, the film is a convincing argument for both sides of the issue raised, yet still leaves room for the viewer to question both beliefs. Behan does this by making the focus of this play about the effects on the people involved, rather than the issue itself. It is the same technique which he employed brilliantly in his 1958 play, "The Hostage". 

I saw this performed in repertoire in NYC in the early 1980's. Even today it would not be too difficult to find it still playing somewhere, as it has been translated into about 22 languages. The ballad is sung by none other than Kathleen O'Connor. Not withstanding any changes in the adaptation to the screen, this is an excellent film, summed up in this exchange between the newly hired guard and his supervisor, a 22 year veteran of hangings on Death Row;  

"If you feel as you do about the job Sir, then why do you stay?" 

 "It's a soft job between hangings." 

 You might say that the older man, who is Catholic, has come to question the validity of the job he was hired to do all those years ago. Only the innocence, and presence, of the new guard allows the older man to give voice to his long pent up feelings about the job he has been doing for years. 

A Shared Bridge

This was "my" bridge for decades, 

a place where I would roam,

when things got too confusing, 

and I needed someplace to go. 

 Once a ship was tied up there, 

 (for many years it seems.) 

I used to sneak on her of night times 

and I'd sail her in all of my dreams. 

 This was the bridge that I rode across 

 on my bicycle built for one. 

On my way to the beach, or just fishing, 

this was my bridge alone! 

 Years had passed and I'd moved away

 yet still, this was the bridge that I'd see. 

Yes, this was the bridge that I'd lost until 

you came and gave it back to me!

 For Victoria Kanrek - long overdue. With affection and thanks! 

Photo by Victoria Kanrek

The Swan Lives

The swan swims, all alone,
in the pond he once called home.
His love has gone, he feared she might
be leaving all along.

Here, where they once swam, side by side
the pond now seems an ocean. Wide.
In a vacant gulf, filled with cries,
a sadness here presides.

And on he sadly paddles,
but his days alone feel wrong.
For as he swims he wonders how
long it takes to sing a swan's song.

Photo by Wendy Josephs

October 16, 2020
Stonecroft

 

"The First Conspiracy" by Brad Meltzer with John Mensch (2018)

 

This is Brad Meltzer's first stab at non-fiction, and with the aid of co-author John Mensch, they have penned a truly riveting account of this overlooked chapter of the American Revolution. 

Long before Lincoln, Pinkerton and the Secret Service there was a group of soldiers assigned to guard General Washington 24 hours a day. They were literally called by the name "The Life Guards." They were armed, and stood close to the General wherever he was. Into every room he went, these men went with him. 

New York City, where the action in this book takes place, was a hotbed of espionage, skullduggery and counterfeiting during the Revolution. Governor Tryon, a Loyalist to the Crown, was forced to live aboard a British ship where no one could get to him. The Mayor, a noted Tory himself, was likewise in seclusion. But they were not idle.

Among the plots and sabotage emanating from Manhattan, were a band of counterfeiters from Long Island. They play a large part in this highly readable, well written book. Only out of their bungling does there emerge that there is a plot amongst a group of men who are members of Washington's own "Life Guards" to kidnap, and or kill, the General. The authors of this plot?  None other than the Governor and the Mayor!

This is a highly charged book which takes place on the eve of the Battle for New York City in June of 1776. The outcome is never in doubt. We won the war and Washington became President. The real story in this book is the beginning of espionage and counter espionage in America. It is a history that is still evolving over 200 years later, only now it continues en masse, and on a world wide stage and scale.
 

The Rocks Stand

The rocks stand.
Attached, as if they've grown
to the boulders in the sand.
Always they've been known and seen
at this very lip of land.

The waves crash.
They land ferociously
and mark the anger of the sea.
Evermore they swell and break
as they have eternally.

The people come.
Attracted, as they are,
by the battle of this pair.
The rocks and ocean, locked in time.
Neither going anywhere.


August 26, 2020
Aquinnah, Martha's Vineyard
Photo by Wendy Josephs.

Moving Forward

Moving forward looking back
upstream to the past,
the boat moves slowly, downward bound,
while the current pulls you, fast.

Dreaming dreams of dreams that were,
idle thoughts lay ahead,
moving you forward while you're looking back
at a past you know is dead.

The memories draw you back upstream,
while  the future calls you down,
to a city where you'll live out your dreams
And your life will become your own.


August 22, 2020
Eduardo Cetner-Argentine painter
Photo by Debbie Cawdrey