In formal dress
they waited for him to appear
yes, tails and ties
Joe Cocker
Leroi Jones
Melville
Emily, her hair shorn
Langston and sad-faced Baldwin
Maya, fluttering like a bird
Back yard trees of every variety
Orange Daylillies on the side of the road
Slobbering Irish Setters
A flock of moaning border collies
Edna Saint Vincent Millet spreading out her diaphanous skirt
The Buddha with fabulous elephant ears
Whitman Chocolates
Letter to Editor of Philadelphia Inquirer about Christopher Bursk
Letter to the Editor of the Inquirer
I changed some of the wording to my original words.
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Death of Chris Bursk, Poet Laureate
Poets all over the Delaware Valley, not to mention the world over, are grieving the death of famous poet Christopher Bursk at 78. He won prestigious awards including the Guggenheim Fellowship and wrote an astounding number of books of imaginative poetry, including the The Improbable Swervings of Atoms, and he was praised by the New York Times.
A professor, a teacher, a human rights activist, he is survived by his wife, his children, his grandchildren and family members. Although I never took any of his classes, I would drive from my home in Willow Grove no matter how bad the weather to listen to his readings at Bucks County Community College, which he made his own.
Standing behind the podium, this unaffected man with his John Lennon glasses and hair like a haystack, Bursk filled the auditorium. We cheered, we thrilled, we all wanted to be like him.
I think of him when I look out the window at the furious rains in this chaotic world of ours. His poetry brought it to order. When I look outside I see the fireflies blinking on and off, on and off.
Peace, good man, the helper of all poets. He died on June 21, in Langhorne, PA.
....
Ruth, that is a great letter. A real tribute to Chris.
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