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 PASSING
Especially for Dennis, the Reluctant New
Patriarch
A brilliant sun
Shining on more snow
Than any time since ‘52
Sweet, handsome and attractive
people
Gathered to honor a man
Who
was a gentleman
But even more, a nobleman
If that ancient term
May be used
He truly was King of Lindos
His duties to his family
Were shouldered unflinchingly
When it was clear to marry
He and Dot traveled
The world to see
What
it offered
And what they could offer to it
He was a man brilliant with his
hands
Kind to his animals
In spite of unrelenting toil
His tiny Friendship sloop
Was the model
Of what he wanted
To build full sized
But used an aluminum small boat
To flood Dot with lobsters
To show her his love
As he did unfailingly for all of
us
Kendall Merriam, Home,
2/10/13 6:15 PM
Listening to a compilation
of World music by Rebecca Hill
THE GIRL IN THE SONG
For Rhonda
It is one of the highlights
Of my poetry route
Always gentle, beautiful
people
An oasis for the mind,
eyes, scent
Now celebrating
Making the women
Of Knox County
Relaxed and lovely
Can there be any
Other trade more important?
Rhonda sets the example
Slim and confident
Knowing the beauty
Of vials, soaps, lipstick
And all the other
attractions
Found in the SONG OF
SOLOMON
If this could be the norm
For the world
Doing away with war
Doing away with the control
By many men, in many
countries
Women can create beauty
If allowed to
And make all the earth,
A gentle, happy, loving
place
Rhonda has been doing this
For ten important years
She is a leader
Among women of the world
And for this deserves the
praise
Of those who love peace!
Kendall Merriam, Home, 12/5/12
12:51 AM
Listening to Diana
Krall “Live In Paris”
MEDAL OF HONOR
For
Linda, Annette, Kristen and Joe
Is
going to the wrong people
People
who kill and maim
Folks
in other countries
In
some false dawn
Of supposed democracy
The
real medal winners
Should
be those who study
And
protect our fragile earth
Keeping houses off mountains
Preventing the filling of wetlands
Why
not big ceremonies
At the
White House for them
A
special medal, a special neckband
People
won’t be dying
Under
their care
The
earth will flourish
There
will be no need
For
the scourge of weapons
No
parades of warriors
Just
the cries of birds
The
breathing of trees
What a
colossal waste
These
last ten years have been
We
need to pay attention
To
these gentle people
Who
are trying to calm humans
Whose
tools are national goodness
And
love for earth and sea
Kendall Merriam, Home,
2/17/13 2:10 AM
After seeing on TV a Navy
psychologist lauding Marines in Iraq
No comments:
Post a Comment