Poets in the 4th of July Parade and Mina Kirby and Beverly Collins on July 28

The Poets Convertible, July 2013

Happy Fourth of July! Poets Laureate of Sunland Tujunga will ride in a Parade in a specially decorated Poetry Convertible. Dorothy Skiles, the 7th Poet Laureate of ST will be the star, accompanied by Marlene Hitt, the first Poet Laureate, Maja Trochimczyk, the sixth, and Joe DeCenzo, the fourth who will serve as the driver.

Look for us along the Foothill Blvd., from Mt. Gleason to Sunland Park. The Parade starts at 10 a.m. Rain or Shine! See some pictures from the previous parades:

Dorothy Skiles, Poet Laureate, 2012

STAR- SPANGLED SKIES

This Fourth of July -

Let’s give a cheer

our town’s

parade is here!

Marching bands,

horseback riders,

carriages, classic cars,

and cycles

all making their way

down the boulevard.

Neighbors greeting,

friends meeting,

flags waving high!

Children giving chase

as fire trucks go by,

spraying the crowds,

cooling them down.

Sunland-Tujunga

that’s our town!

Star-spangled skies

will surely be alight

for this town will shine

in celebration tonight!

Young folks’, old folks’, all folks’ 

eyes watching darkened skies

for the sights and sounds

of fireworks on jubilant display

on this our nation’s birth holiday!

Dorothy Skiles

07/03/13

©Copyright 2013 by D. Skiles

(Written for Sunland-Tujunga’s 2013 Fourth of July Parade.)

Dorothy Skiles and Joe DeCenzo, Fourth of July, 2012

Maja Trochimczyk, Poet Laureate, 2010 - Album of Photos

Maja Trochimczyk, Poet Laureate, 2011 - Album of Photos

Who has more stars on the hat? Maja or a donkey?

Marlene Hitt - Poet Laureate of 1999, has ridden with the Little Landers Society and the Bolton Hall Museum volunteers. This is the first year she's riding in the Poets Laureate Convertible. Here's her Fourth of July poem:

America the Beautiful

Purple mountain majesties,ridges lines with houses,
windows on fire with the sun,
plains fruited with lawns, 
beds with all the world's flowers,
strip malls.
Spacious haz-ed skiesdrop onto hillsides.
Ten thousand worlds spin
on city streets
and broken pathways.
Beliefs are slippery 
as brookside moss,
and all the laws begin
to slide downhill
into canyons below.
God shed
with brotherhood...
Death passes freely
through red signals,
killing is for fun
or for initiation.
All the genders dance
to piercing sound
making bird song silent.
Blades of eyes
thrust out in condemnation
as new legends are sung,
the old myths lost somewhere.
Changed words question
the Constitution.
Amber waves of grainstill wave, Wind
still blows, confused,
whirl, oceans warm.
Fractal gods rule in chaos
while the people
hide behind locked doors
or in empty cathedrals
from sea to shining sea.

Marlene Hitt 

Marlene Hitt and Maja Trochimczyk decorate the car for the Fourth of July, 2013.

_______________________________________________________________

KIRBY AND COLLINS FEATURED ON JULY 28, 2013

On July 28, 2013, the last Sunday of the first month of the summer, we will celebrate poetic voices at Bolton Hall Museum in Tujunga (10110 Commerce Avenue) with two Featured Poets: Mina Kirby and Beverly M. Collins. Both poets have been seen and heard at Village Poets readings and we are looking forward to their presentations. Two segments of Open Mike and Refreshments in a lovely, historic home for poetry in the foothills...

BEVERLY M. COLLINS

Beverly M. Collins grew up in Westfield, New Jersey, loves amusement parks, music and traveling. Collins applies lessons she learned from Songwriter Guild of America and the National Association of Record Industry Professionals to her poetry. She is the author of the book, "Quiet Observations," and one of the 2012 prize winners for the California State Poetry Society.

Her work has appeared in the California Quarterly, Poetry Speaks! Year of Great Poems and Poets Calendar. (Sourcebooks, Inc.). Beverly Collins often attends many readings around town, has worked with "Poets on Site" and has featured at the Cobalt Cafe, The Talking Stick, "Unbuckled" NoHo Poetry. She is a regular at Barnes and Noble Burbank monthly readings, as well as at The VillagePoets of Sunland-Tujunga Monthly poetry Reading Series.


Next

by Beverly M. Collins

From the tip-top of January
to the bottom of every December,
life is a continuum.
May we remember to remember.

There are no platforms on which we
halt. No arrivals at which we are landing.
There is only continuous movement.
Blend motion into all planning.

Next is a good four letter word that dances
on the tongue and illuminates the playgrounds
of our minds. Next can call loudly or soft
and subtle when it chimes.

Within the cold of winter remember next comes
fragrant flowers of spring. Next reminds us
there is no be-all or end-all to anything.

When riding a high tide or if low tide has one
feeling sadness or perplexed, know true muscle
can be found in how well we just say...Next!

Beverly M. Collins

MINA KIRBY 

Mina Kirby is a retired mathematics professor. She has survived a broken washing machine, a broken back and a broken heart, all of which provide rich material for writing poetry and stories. She has for many years been a folk singer and sometimes songwriter. Plagued with health problems in recent years, her writing is part of coming back to life. Mina is the author of several books, including Mathematical Dreams: Songs about Mathematics, a cookbook, and eight chap books. Her poetry has been included in Red Lights (tanka), The San Gabriel Valley Poetry Quarterly, and Poetry and Cookies. She has presented her poetry at a number of venues, including Pasadena Art Talk. She lives in Altadena with her husband, daughter, two cats, a pet rat, and too many spiders.

When I Was Me *

by Mina Kirby

When I was me

in bow ribbons

and kittens

and ice cream

I saw spring melt

into a buttercup

and heard symphonies

in wind-wafted trees

When I was me

in turquoise

and breezes

and cartwheels

I ran up the mountain

the sun warm on my face

and caught sparkles

in a flowing brook

When I was me

lacy

and pink

and vibrant

I was in love

wanting togetherness

for every minute

and for all time

Where did I go

that long-haired

lemon-scented

idealistic girl

who thought

she could absorb

all the tastes

in the universe

What prickly troubles

put obstacles

in my path

changed starry-eyed into ordinary

or did I

caught in whispers

of shifting clouds

just let me slip away

Perhaps one day

when soft rains turn to sunshine

and flowing water

pours over hard rocks

in a small place inside myself

I will find clothed with soft smooth silk

in purple and crimson and gold

the new me

and learn to love her too

A Special Place

by Mina Kirby

It is warm here

Golden rays of sunshine

brighten green fields

fragrant with yellow flowers

The air sparkles

with hums of bees

and chirps of soaring birds

A gentle breeze ruffles my hair

In the distance

are sounds of an ocean’s roar

as it splashes against rocks

I could be here

yesterday

tomorrow

and today

I could be here in the sun

and the softly falling rain

in the cheerful daylight

and in the velvety darkness

I could be here with you

feel the warmth of your hand in mine

talk until the moon goes down

and stars sparkle in the night sky

We could walk

for miles and miles

absorbing the beauty

surrounding us

Or

I could be here alone

a little sadder

but content

as perhaps

some day

I will

cloaked in sunshine

remembering you