Somewhere- just off the pen

 

 

Somewhere

 

"There’s a place for us; Somewhere , a  place for us.

Peace and quiet and open air

wait for us... Somewhere.” * 

 

I listen to whispering tree canopies responding to gentle breezes

punctuated by fireflies lighting stages for crickets in full symphonic harmonies,
muted to a veil of subdued quiet for my stroll
past picket fences fronting clapboard homes with hollyhocks and hydrangea standing guard.

 

I turn the corner to a buzz of voices from people meandering

this summer seaport hamlet festive under strung lights and the florescent glow
from ice cream emporiums and art galleries radiating enticing caramel smells and bright gold-framed colors of orange and red.
welcoming me to stop and visit awhile.

 

I glean so much pleasure in children with rosy cheeks and awestruck smiles

holding balloons or Raggedy Ann dolls with stitched faces
while parents trade romantic glances or
stop to take the impromptu party  in.

 

I dodge bicycles thumb-clang weaving thru nearby park

where elders on benches listen to wafting jazz beats overlording
raucous toasts and cheers of a generation removed
resonating forth from Bart’s watering hole of what’s happening, baby.
 

A collage locking on time and place, this

bedbound vagabond warehoused in a Newark nursing facility
looks out on a dumpster landscape,
and ,with trembling hands, holds worn and faded travel brochure,

 

still dreaming of ,“Somehow; Someday; Somewhere…”

 

  
I like to read the poem with this audio background.  Pet Shop Boys were the first pop group to stage a London west end theater piece in 1997.  This link is a cinema-verite' version of the inspirational iconic song from that show. I'm SUCH a drama queen !

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3Z7uMIYJlM

 

 

-Jerry Wendt 2013

 *- 1^st verse © 1956 “Somewhere” from “West Side Story” - Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Music by Leonard Bernstein