The guards drew together instinctively, rolled their eyes. They experimented with one expression and then another, said nothing, though their mouths were often open. They looked like a silent film of a barbershop quartet.
"So long forever," they might have been singing, "old fellows and pals; So long forever, old sweethearts and pals--God bless 'em--"
Have to apologize for my absence last night. I was not bunkered down, waiting out a fire-storm. I was at the monthly poetry workshop I lead at the Joy Center in my home town of Ishpeming, right in the heart of the Upper Peninsula. There were lots of old pals and colleagues there. We wrote about ghosts, watched one of my favorite haunted house movies (The Changeling), and ate.
You know, I have realized this Saint Marty's Day that I have been richly blessed this year. So much good has happened in my life. If I were in a silent film of a barbershop quartet, the subtitles would probably be the lyrics of "This Little Light of Mine" or Pharrell Williams' "Happy."
I know I'm sounding very Up With People, but I have been very lucky this year, connecting with new friends and reconnecting with old ones. That has been one of the greatest blessings of being chosen Poet Laureate. I get to go places, read poems, talk about poetry, and meet wonderful people all over the Upper Peninsula.
Of course, there are still troubling things happening in the world--locally, nationally, and internationally. So much division and strife. These last couple days, there was a registered nurses' strike at the local hospital. Good people, walking a picket line to make the community a better, safer, healthier place. And, of course, there was Las Vegas this week. Donald Trump. Brexit. North Korea. There are plenty of things to worry about, and I'm not ignoring them.
However, for today, I'm going to watch my silent film, read the subtitles, hum a song.
Sing with Saint Marty: "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..."
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