Rosedale

Rosedale

I

Starting from Westchester,

New Rochelle & Hartsdale

Tuckahoe & Tarrytown,

In theaters & on streets,

We carried the garbage to the 

dumpster together,

We sat by the pool.

Two long winters 

& a flight to Florida.

Coca Cola visions of 

Marshall McLuhan 

& Kenneth Burke.

Poetry as symbolic action.

At the Christian Brothers School,

Down a blind street,

You fought the good fight,

Certa Bonum 

Certamen.

Off, off Broadway,

Certa Bonum 

Certamen.

Empire State Building,

Home of King Kong 

& Schenley,

World Trade Center

Tappan Zee

Staten Island Ferry & 

Lincoln Tunnel:

The Bohemian life in Manhattan. 

Black & white images w/ 

shadow & grace.

Pitchers of pilsner

w/ students & colleagues. 

Fourth of July picnics

w/ burgers & brats.

You smoked your pipe, 

played chess 

& read.

Beethoven on the record player,

you smoked your pipe, 

played chess 

& read.

& you were the proud 

father.

Day trips to 

The Cloisters & Coney Island,  

Bryant Park & The Gaslight,

Village Gate & Café Wha?

Ali’s Alley & Eddie Condon’s.

Gene Krupa played 

& the standing room crowd 

spilled onto the 

sidewalk. 

Grandpa was so impressed.

Haldeman has what ITT takes.

Ehrlichman & Mitchell 

conspired 

while you smoked your pipe & 

memorized 

Bach, Tennessee Williams, 

Brendan Behan.

No bricks thrown at you though.

Held hostage on the Hudson,

You were the proud father;

You sought refuge in the 

Charlevoix snow.

II

Starting from Windcrest,

1976,

we walked to the General Store

& the Post Office.

“Who is that masked man?” 

they asked. 

“Who has arrived w/ such 

time on his hands?”

We walked the trails 

behind the old high school

picking morels & getting lost.

One morel, 

big as my foot, 

grew under a white pine. 

It went in the marinara.

Collecting wild leeks

Behind the house – 

They went in the marinara

Conversations w/ Ray 

at the marina.

Outboard engines &

The mine waters of Quecreek.

Conversations w/ Ray,

Who introduced you to your next, 

best mania. 

Loquuntur cum 

pedibus,

a sturdy defender, 

Loquuntur cum 

pedibus,

we traveled to 

Boyne City, Harbor Springs, etc. 

We ate DQ Starkiss 

as the giant biker’s classic trike

backfired. 

& the bikers partied on the shore 

as Budweiser pop-tops 

littered the 

grass 

by the headwaters of 

the Bear River.

& you were the proud 

father.

Sunny sat on her front porch,

Shotgun loaded w/

Rock-salt.

“Get off my land”

she yelled, 

tired of reporters looking 

for loot,

looking for stories of her 

brother,

& she fired passed our heads.

“Don’t shoot, Sunny!”

you shouted. 

as we approached the cottage.

& you were the proud 

father.

Producing plays

at the Dilworth.

Bats in the belfry

during The Glass Menagerie,

w/ the suit of armor 

made from the old 

stove pipes.

This Property is Condemned.

The Dilworth, too,

was condemned.

You wrote one about Penn/Dixie.

“Can you get my son a job?” 

The irony never lost 

on the audience.

& you were the proud 

father.

III

Starting from Walloon,

1978,

MASH & Happy Days

Rockford & Hogan.

With Rick, you dove 

into the arena.

On the roof,

you adjusted the antenna 

watching matches 

from Canada.

Soccer Saturdays

& Mothers’ Days

In the van, you saw Midland

& Sault Ste. Marie

& Canton. Livonia 

& the Zilwaukee Bridge.

You showed us

Your childhood in

Rosedale.

Swimming pool 

& Catholic school 

& bus rides through Detroit.

Van rides through America

to Everglades, Smoky Mountains,

Acadia National Park.

Ferry from Bar Harbor to 

Nova Scotia, 

from lobster lunch

to living history.

Crepes & fresh 

baguette from those

roadside ovens.

Whales sounding off 

the coast 

as we rounded 

the cliffs 

toward Quebec City 

cathedral 

& Montreal 

playground.

Reagan & Weinberger

Poindexter & North

sold guns 

for hostages &

we saw you on 

weekends 

after the drive 

down I 75. 

We missed you 

for a year 

& then moved 

south.

IV

Starting from Wayne

County, 1988. 

Canton & Hanford Rd.

We watched Pink 

Panther films &

Old SNL episodes.

Letterman & Seinfeld.

You stood in the 

blizzard 

watching the meets. 

Watching other kids 

race down slopes 

of ice and artificial snow. 

A proud father 

without a horse 

in the race. 

With vertigo & bad knees 

you started 

showing your age. 

With money problems & 

depression 

you started 

showing your age. 

You were half asleep 

& I was stoned 

in your sister’s 

basement after school: 

MST3K on the television, 

but you were able 

to move on & up. 

Back to Canton 

& Eurorails with 

King Kirby. 

You showed us 

the Penobscot & Fischer

Guardian & One Detroit,

Greek Town, Cork Town, 

fireworks, & Thanksgiving 

football.

We saw the glass eye 

silhouetted against the 

setting Comerica Park 

sun.

With bottomless glass 

of Cabernet, 

you sang Sinatra & Elvis, 

“Hey Jude” & 

“What a Wonderful 

World.”

You were the proud 

grandfather. 

Through cancer 

& knee replacement, 

you were the proud 

grandfather. 

Road-trips & 

aerodynamic flapjacks, 

movie theaters 

& sushi. 

You were the proud 

grandfather.

Flash Issue 10