On Sunday, September 25, 2011, the Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga present the group's President, Dorothy Skiles, as featured poet of the Monthly Poetry Reading at Bolton Hall Museum in Tujunga. The reading will start at 4:30 p.m. and will include an Open Mike for guest poets (2 poems or 4 minutes). Light refreshments will be provided. A cowboy hat will be passed around for donations to the Bolton Hall Museum.“Poetry has always been in my blood,” claims Dorothy who has been writing poetry since her teenage years. The first poem she wrote was about her grandmother who died when Dorothy was fourteen years old. In 1970, Dorothy graduated from San Fernando Valley State College earning a B.A. in English. That same year she started her career with the County of Los Angeles, Department of Public Social Services, and retired after 34 years of public service.
While married, raising twin boys, and managing a career, Dorothy published her first chapbook entitled The Sidewalk Gallery (1979). Other chapbooks followed including Ear to Earth (1996), Spine Flower Blues (1999) - a collaborative effort with fellow members of the Chuparosa Writers of Sunland-Tujunga, and Riddle in the Rain (2003) - a joint venture with Marlene Hitt, former Sunland-Tujunga Poet Laureate. Over the last 15 years Dorothy has read her poetry in coffee shops, book stores, and other venues including special church services. Also, her poems have appeared in various community publications.
Dorothy is currently the President of the Village Poets Planning Committee and is an active member of the Chuparosa Writers. She is also an active member of SAGE, which offers continuous learning for seniors and operates under the sponsorship of the Tseng College at CSUN and the Lutheran Church in the Foothills located in La Canada.
TWO POEMS BY DOROTHY SKILES
Winds
Early Autumn calls…
and Santa Ana winds whirl and bend
the half-barren white birch trees
before early dawn when
first day’s light dances among
Sunland-Tujunga’s old oaks.
Early Autumn calls…
Winds howl through the San Gabriels
until late afternoon brings calm,
and the promise of
the red hawk’s tranquil flight
above the Wash before dusk falls.
Deep in My Dreams
Deep in my dreams
In the middle of the forest
there is a house,
unafraid, I walk in.
Deep in my dreams
Weariness enfolds me
bringing me to my knees,
I lay by the cold, stone fireplace.
Deep in my dreams
God’s Spirit is translucent.
I am transparent, for
Her Truth is very near.
Deep in my dreams
I awaken, unafraid,
to a house with
no windows, no doors.
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Poetry (c) 2011 by Dorothy Skiles
Nature photos (c) 2011 by Maja Trochimczyk (Big Tujunga Wash, Sunland grass, Sunland-Tujunga - view towards northwest)