Halloween Reprinted poem from Salt River Review last spring

Laura Jensen

Three Thousand Hideous Children

Three thousand hideous children
tramped Hallowe'en dusk
for three thousand bits of candy
from merchants at their doors.
Stuck when barricades stopped my bus,
I had coffee at a quiche and dessert shop - maverick, alien,
among the three historic tavernsand not much more.
Pick your poison.
Three thousand hideous children
swept draped capes
flashed bared fangs past the shoe repair where a face once
frightened me, only the man who mended shoes,
but my father should be
at the drugstore in another part of town
near the Valhalla Temple.
I rattle tulips in the bicycle basket
for the teacher early in spring.
They are parrot tulips
ruffled and pink and green.
And our comfort was nostalgia.
Such collectible newspapers, magazines,memorabilia.
News photos of the school director,
but in the photo not the director
and not the students - no, no, nothing but the image
of what appear to be
our same old desks. The sweetness
is describable. About my face:
I desired you see tears rack down it,
tears so many they created
tears black as the dirty streets.
I can only get by. Or doubt:
a face pale with all the joy
that surrounds it. Silly happiness made of candy,
it is too late. Too late for me
to be good, to attain goodness.
I found this poem all crossed over, revised,
some coffee cup rings on it
after the death of my father.
I took the tall ladder
from the garage and, in the tallest cupboard
uncovered our old witches' hats.

November 6, Finland's Swedish Day

Today I am linking to a blog post from this year - it is about the song Modersmalets Sang - without knowing the full translation of the post. The song is sung for Finland's Swedish Day, which happens on November 6th. When my mother was choir director for the Runeberg Choir, this was a song they sang. I have my own translation of the words.

Three October Tranist-Related Events

Pumpkins from Bus Window 1

Yesterday Evening Beneath the Autumn Sugar Maple, a hard poem ever to get to if you are trying to express concern about how many cars create The American Nightmare on the Highway.

"How can we ask people to use alternative transportation if we don't?" (This important observation came from the Candidates Forum on Transportation from October 1- only one candidate could refer to their own applied effort with bike and bus).

From being in the audience for three transit-related events in October, I decided transit should offer classes in how to use all kinds of alternative transportation methods, even boating, they should do away with classes like Driver Training that has taught students to believe in nothing but cars.

At the Downtown Tacoma and the earlier Gig Harbor Pierce Transit Workshops - Pierce Transit Tomorrow , the points I wrote down on the Keep / Change forms were related to the idea of applied effort.

Pumpkins from Bus Window 2

I wrote that Pierce Transit should link with psychologists/ psychiatrists who apply an effort to use alternative means of transportation including public transit so that transit users who need their services can find professionals who understand public transportation at a user level.

When they design transit centers PT should link with architects and planners who use public transportation . PT should link with media representatives who apply an effort to use alternative means of transportation including public transit so that the reporters can tell the PT story in the news accurately.

Along the walk to the workshop in my neighborhood, I met three small dogs and two women I know. The dogs started to bark at me to defend them. I myself had to admit it was important if I had been a danger to these people these dogs would have scared me away very well. Actually more riders bring along companion animals now. Onward and forward.

Candidates' Forum on Transportation, October 1, Pierce Transit Workshops – Pierce Transit Tomorrow (Gig Harbor, Downtown Tacoma)

Pumpkins

Pumpkins

In Word War Two Food Rationing, what if people decided to participate when it was convenient for them?

City candidates talk transpo

This blog from the News Tribune discusses an event I attended, Candidates' Forum on Transportation. The blog features Councilman Fey, running unoposed in my district as winning the competition for using public transportation, but does not quote him - "It's hard to ask people to do this when you don't". Alternative transportation is important in 21st century thinking, yet the candidates for office cannot say that they participate or know about alternative transportation in any practical way.

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