New York – Page 4 – Irene North

Ellis Island

On 30 November, 2018

A picture of a picture at Ellis Island and the inspiration for my May, 1991 poem.

This poem was published in the anthology “A Sea of Treasures” in 1995. It was the first thing I had written to be published.

Ellis Island

The beds lie in
Soldier rows
ten by five
Steel frames that are
more of a home
to roaches

Paint peels off
and rust
corrodes the springs
mattresses full
of lice
and
rats
burrowing in

The beds are pushed
against walls
where paint chips
fall

No sheet
no blanket
just a pillow
to rest a
weary head

Beach

By Irene

On 16 November, 2018

In Poetry

My mother worked for twenty-seven years at the Middletown Psychiatric Center. Most of her career was on the geriatric units. Over the years, I got to know a few of the patients. I always liked talking with Adalaide, even if she didn’t talk much. Just as I entered my teenage years, she passed away. I wrote this poem about her a decade later, sometime between 1993 and 1995.

Grandma

By Irene

On 1 November, 2018

In Gram, Poetry

The best grandma in the world.

I wrote this poem as part of my final project in my poetry class at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I turned it in on July 12, 1990. I had turned twenty-years-old seven days before. Today would have been Gram’s 96th birthday.

The little girl in the picture

By Irene

On 26 October, 2018

In Poetry

When Walter Mitty was my Hero

By Irene

On 20 October, 2018

In Stories

Mr. Rosen taught 11th grade English, but his class was about so much more than grammar, spelling, and punctuation. We read Alive By Piers Paul Read and learned to look at the world differently rather than being repulsed by people who had to make impossible decisions. He read, then interpreted, Shakespeare – Macbeth to be exact – into his own brand of humorous English. He was a DJ on WPDH during the Christmas holidays. He encouraged us to use our imaginations. Most importantly, he introduced us to Walter Mitty.

Merde de chien

By Irene

On 16 September, 2018

In Stories

Middletown, New York is a city with plenty of parks and designated play areas among the shopping centers, supermarkets, and concrete jungle, but, if you are a kid, there are also plenty of wooded areas to explore and step away from the trappings of city life.

The Well-Mannered Balloon by nine year old me

By Irene

On 12 May, 2018

In Stories

I am working on a piece for the Star-Herald about why I am a journalist. Honestly, I didn’t pay close enough attention, but I think it’s going to be used in ads or internally. I just listened to the topic, said I’d do it and stopped listening. Not a good trait for a journalist.

However, it got me to thinking about something I wrote when I was nine years old.

The day we bought into the fear

By Irene

On 10 September, 2017

In Ramblings

At the World Trade Center memorial in New York City, roses of different colors are placed in a person’s name each year on their birthday.

In the 1980s and 1990s, whenever you went to the airport, your family and friends went with you to the gate. They would embarrass you with hugs and kisses before you began your journey down the gangway and into the plane.

The cockpit door was sometimes open. People could drop in on long flights and get a quick tour. I once watched the sun rise from the cockpit.

Then, on September 11, 2001, everything changed. We gave into the fear of an attack on our country.

On a bright, sunny morning when President George W. Bush told us “you’re either with us or you’re against us,” I knew our fate was sealed. In that moment, I became “against us.”

A walk down (mostly food) memory lane

By Irene

On 17 July, 2017

In Ramblings

Ed explains to Paul that if you sit quietly, you’ll eventually hear the woodland creatures and they may even come up to you. Location: near the top of a trail at Winding Hills State Park in Montgomery, New York.

The only two things I miss about living in New York are the trees and the food.

Writings

Tag: New York Page 4 of 5

Ellis Island

Beach

Sweet Adalaide

Grandma

The little girl in the picture

When Walter Mitty was my Hero

Merde de chien

The Well-Mannered Balloon by nine year old me

The day we bought into the fear

A walk down (mostly food) memory lane