Kendall Merriam
South End Poet
Kendall Merriam was
born and raised in Rockland, Maine. He has a history degree from Gordon College
in Wenham, MA and graduate studies in military and maritime history at the
University of Maine at Orono and Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Conn. He also
received grants to study historical research at Colonial Williamsburg and the
National Archives in Washington, D.C. Merriam has been widely published,
including in Katyn W Literaturze(Katyn
in Literature), a Polish anthology of literary works about the WWII Katyn
Forest Massacre by 120 international authors, including Czeslaw Milosz. Merriam
has written more than twenty books and plays. Most of Merriam’s work has a
definite muse – family, friends, and strangers – with life’s larger themes of
work, love, loss and death. On April 29, 2010, Merriam was appointed Rockland,
Maine’s Inaugural Poet Laureate, an honor from his hometown Merriam cherishes.
(The first two poems are in memory and in honor of Linwood Aylward, a true Southender, who recently passed away)
THE COMPUTER LESSON
For Linwood Aylward
God’s rain and fog
Has closed us in
So we sit around
The electronic fire
And attempt to read
Heaven’s messages
Through the ether
We were not successful, however
Both being caught up
In the old ways
Of wooden boats at Snow’s Shipyard
Today’s fog would prove
A hazard to ancient mariners
Without radar, without depth finders
Back in the days
Of Pal and Skipper
Memory is good
It provides enjoyment
When peace is about
Lin has worked hard in his life
Milking, delivering
Building silos
And the ultimate house on the shore
Here the clock ticks slowly
As if time has almost stopped
Ah, silence, except for words
From such a gentleman
Who knows how to cook haddock
And all the New England dishes
At Thompson’s Inn
He and Dot traveled the world
Bringing back the music
And photos of that world
It is a pleasure and honor
To know him
He is a wise man, quietly humble
Who shares his view
Both moral and out his window
The true possessor of The Boston Post Cane
Kendall Merriam, at Lindos, 10/14/11 3:16 PM
Talking with MrAylward& hearing the clocks
For Linwood
We
walked tonight
Around
the harbor in the June sunlight
Sinking
past the smoke of the kilns
It
was a nice rosy glow
Smelling
of New Brunswick spruce
You
have a view of the woods
On
Ash Island
That
was stripped clean
Shortly
after you built Lindos
It
wasn’t the first time
As
these islands go
Gil
says the surroundings of Rockland
Were
all bare for years
Until
they switched to coal
Now
things are easier
We
have butter, not lard
But
lard doughnuts taste better
Than
any fancy oil
That
the nutritionists
Say
we should be eating
You
used top of the milk for years
For
your coffee
And
other dishes that needed the real stuff
I
suppose it is better now
But
just this week I heard that
Seventy
percent of our edibles
Come
from other countries
And
only one percent is inspected
I
know it is good to share the wealth
With
the world
But
why take all the fun out of eating
When
the old recipes taste better
Sorry
if I talk food all the time
I
am a bear, you know
And
my stomach is very important
Which
you can tell as it blossoms out
Tonight,
we had cold meatloaf
With
new beet greens and chopped eggs
Delicious,
Simple,
And
ancient
You
are a very intelligent man
Reading
wholeheartedly every day
And
being inventive with the accoutrements
That
you designed for Lindos
I
am afraid I did not inherit
My
father’s handiness
Or
his work ethic
But
he only cooked once or twice
In
my growing years
Even
more than my printed words
But
maybe that will change with this machine
Your
gift will keep on giving
As
this first poem for you!
Kendall Merriam, Home, June 14, 2007, 9:16 PM
Written on a hand-powered typewriter (Smith-Corona
Of course) given to me by Linwood Aylward this day.
A WONDERFUL
HEALING
For
Hung
A
friend of mine was in Viet Nam
In
February
She
talked to a woman
Who
had fenced her yard
With
bomb fragments painted red
She
was kind and friendly
The
graciousness of the Vietnamese
Forgiving
the horrors
Of
that war
Inflicted
by me and all soldiers
And
U.S. tax payers
On
your small country
Here
you welcome us with food,
Precious
food,
Perfectly
cooked and spiced
A
great favor
On
this freezing Maine night
It
gives us pause
That
our present government
Inflicts
war
On
another Asia
We
cry against
The
power of guns
In
the U. S.
And
all over this rare earth
If
only all people
Could
enjoy your cuisine
Making
peace possible
Kendall
Merriam at Lemongrass Restaurant in Brunswick, Maine
12/16/12 8:31
PM
CARPET WEAVING
For Phyllis
The Afghan women
She reads about aloud
Break her heart
At their misery, servitude
Girls and women bound
To their looms, threads
Phyllis has seen
Many desperate women
Here in the bloody U. S. A.
In her job
As a child protective social worker
She marvels at the cruelty
Against many Muslim women
Across the world
Girls of ten having to marry
Ugly old men
To settle property disputes
To settle family feuds
This is not right
According to the real Koranic law
Just inventions of men
To satisfy lust, power
It has to change
Through law, through wisdom
Women create the beauty of earth
If unfettered, educated
They will strengthen
Any tribe, city, village
If the mullahs truly follow
Allah’s written wishes
The gifts of women will be unchained
Kendall Merriam, home, 11/30/12 11:30
PM
Listening to Phyllis read DEAR ZARI THE SECRET LIVES OF THE WOMEN OF AFGHANISTAN
No comments:
Post a Comment