The Krzywy Domek House in Sopot, Poland
poured from fantasy
melting with modernity
pretentious art
From my books Pieces of Wine and Riverthink
Poland
All posts tagged Poland
Ethnic Carpatho-Rusyn Homelands
ethnic culture
a stepchild of history
never possessed
of a country
ever tenants
of political tenements
landlords revolve
wearing crowns
shined by fortunes of war
Trans-Carpathian Slavs
good peasant stock rooted
in shadows of mountains
linguistic ghettoes
comprising their tenuous
range of identity
smack in the high
stony heart verging
modern Europa
orthodox Christian faith
fractured for want of
annealing effects
of a secular power
dividing themselves
among sects of the
Byzantine Grecian
and Romanish rites
a people connected
by blood and biography
shared in the handwork
of hardscrabble hectares
the struggles of centuries
people who nonetheless
own a soft soul
a wide open heart
and a great zest for life
a people I dearly admire
whose spirit I’ve basked in
whose churches I’ve prayed in
whose laughter I’ve shared in
whose affection I’ve enjoyed
whose food I have eaten
whose vodka has warmed me
whose daughter
I’ve had the great privilege
to take as my bride
From my book Onionskin
“Family at the Beach”
Painting by Elizabeth Blaylock
From elizabethblaylock.blogspot.com
we made six halves
three new wholes
birthright powers
and passionate traits
two bold cultures
gave sumptuous arc
to the edges of Europe
her eastern and
southernmost reaches
come finely aligned
find their futures
emphatic Americans
taking their place
in a turbulent history
still in the writing
two daughters
one son share a
sibling nobility each
with deep well defined
character each a
contributor giving the
lie to gen x sociology
standing their opulent
ancestries proud
The Krzywy Domek
in Sopot, Poland
poured from fantasy
melting with modernity
pretentious art
