TheColumnists.com

 Paul Hertelendy

presents a new poem from his latest collection:
Poetrose in the 'Oughties

 

 The following poem was written after a visit to the Louvre Musee in Paris

 FROZEN IN THE SUN

 

 

 

 



Around the Louvre the finest mimes of Paris loom
Resembling statues (masked) from King Tut’s funeral room.
Others stand like shrouded white-faced corpses lifted from the tomb,
Still,
till one so tall surprises me, thrusts wide his lids and stares at me obliquely,
Quite enough to scare the daylight
Out, even in the sunlight bright.
They’re masters of unflinching, never-scratching stony height.
But the finest one by far was she devoid
Of mask or makeup or disguise,
A tiny grandma sitting on a bench
Without so much as shifting of her eyes.

Her left hand, cupped, now overflows with bird-seed,
Ringed with sparrows who are perching, snatching gourmet feed.
Two dozen birds are joyously surrounding, flitting, intervening,
Tamed by wrinkled, soft, immobile lady who gives miming brand-new meaning.

 

 

For thee and me to freeze and play the part of Francis of Assisi,
Locked in stone, is hard; for her, it’s easy.
To mimes the task is labor done for tips, all paid in francs.
For her, the recompense is adoration by the birds
Who gravitate and radiate abundant thanks.

Louvre entrance, Paris, France: 3/12/01

© 2001 by Paul Hertelendy. Excerpted from "Poetrose in the Oughties" by Paul Hertelendy, reprinted by permission from Danubian Publishers.

 

You can order signed copies
of Paul Hertelendy's new
poetry volume for $18.90
(which includes shipping costs). Make your check or money order out to Paul Hertelendy and
send to him at
Box 1290
Berkeley, CA 94701
Allow three weeks for
delivery.
(For two books, send $35.90;
for three, $52.90.)

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 Veteran West Coast music writer and journalist Paul Hertelendy is the former music critic for the Oakland Tribune and San Jose Mercury News, and is now in his third year writing for and managing the San Francisco Bay Area cultural affairs website: www.artssf.com. He also is the author of three volumes of poetry: The Very Slender Volume; Vietnam, Venice, Varied Vales; Poetrose in the 'Oughties. In 2000, he was named Poet Laureate by the national board of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Hertelendy was born in Eastern Europe, but raised in Washington, D.C. He speaks four languages fluently and two others "badly." He has a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Calif., Berkeley; an MSE from Stanford University and a BSE from Princeton. He has chaired several non-profit organizations in the Bay Area, including the Chinese Cultural Center and, currently, the Lawrence Hall of Science. He has served six years on the board of the Smithsonian. Hertelendy, his wife, Martha, and their family live in Piedmont, Calif. This is Paul's third guest column for this site.

Paul Hertelendy's work appears regularly on the website www.artssf.com

You can comment on this column or contact Paul Hertelendy with an email to: talkback@thecolumnists.com

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