OLDIES IN NEW ORLEANS

Excited to be back in our favorite city

J and K's new home, so spacious and pretty

They’ve moved to Wirth Place 

For our youth, a new base 

And don’t forget Li’l Paws and the kitty 

Our first night, J made Skyline Chili 

NOLA Skyline might sound a bit silly 

But it tasted so good 

We knew that he could 

This Big Easy creation was a dilly 

The Southern Jewish Museum is grand 

Gripping stories presented firsthand 

It touched upon fears 

And we shed a few tears 

Jews making the rural South their homeland 

K brought us to lunch at Freret Faire 

Rouse’s deli with their own pastrami flair 

The guy messed up our check 

Saved five dollars by heck 

I stayed silent, pretended we were square 

Our grandkids’ report cards, straight A’s 

Their teachers had nothing but praise 

Math and English and art 

To excel takes such heart 

Eighth grade mastered, A and L do amaze 

Dat Dog has the fanciest treats 

Alligator sausage, weirdest of meats 

We took a bench outside 

Stuffed our guts till we cried 

Then rode home on the bumpiest streets 

We went to the Newman High game 

Arch Manning’s already gained fame 

He’s headed for Texas 

Perhaps with a Lexus 

But Arch’s team, I must say, they looked lame 

To the Quarter and the famous Redfish Grill 

Delicious plus a not-too-bad bill 

For me, a po-boy

Raw oysters, Katja’s joy 

Redfish chefs have the best Cajun skill 

Thanksgiving p.m., to the track 

People costumed like Lulu and Mac 

Our group bet some dough 

But our nags were too slow 

So we bugged out, came home for a snack 

J cooked up a twenty-pound turkey 

Filled its skin with butter, so quirky 

All the family did sides 

Boosted triglycerides 

So scrumptious we all felt quite perky 

At the Orleans Historic Collection 

A tour of Notre Dame’s resurrection 

Viewed a digital display 

Filmed from every which way 

Holy Moly, this cathedral nears perfection 

 Off to Marsalis Park, the Art Mart 

 Paintings, jewelry, we loved every part 

 Classic New Orleans scenes 

 And the pics of drag queens 

 All that beauty infuses one’s heart 

Ted’s Frostop is a circa fifties diner 

Never been to a diner that’s finer 

Their burgers were tops 

Not to mention soda pops 

Dreamed up by some kitschy designer 

We shopped at the parkway Goodwill 

My black leather belt, such a thrill 

It cost just six bucks

And it’s ultra-deluxe 

It will last till I’m in the landfill 

Our group did the Museum of Art 

Black photographers, portraits so smart 

Bourgeois in acrylic 

Surreal scenes idyllic 

Too sad that we had to depart 

We watched the Big Ten’s top-ranked game 

U. of M., O.S.U., such acclaim 

And wonder of wonders 

The Buckeyes made blunders 

And our Wolverines affirmed their fierce name 

M.S. Rau sells antiques and fine art 

It helps set Royal Street apart 

Picasso, a million two 

Chagall prices, “Whew Whew” 

A million-dollar chess set tickled my heart 

La Crepe Nanou on our very last night 

The perfect wind-up ahead of our flight 

My salmon was delicious 

The dessert was capricious 

Nanou was a connoisseur’s delight 

To the airport, beignets at Morning Call 

Big jolts of strong coffee for all 

So sad to be leaving 

Already we’re grieving 

This trip, we agree, was a ball

OUR U.P. ROAD TRIP: A VILLANELLE

 

A grand adventure with our frisky CR-V 

Passing Milwaukee the very first day 

We are back in the wild and wondrous U.P.  

Lunch break at Culvers in Wausaukee 

Butterburgers, custard, our diets now astray 

A grand adventure with our frisky CR-V 

The Interstate Bridge to Menominee 

Sheridan Road tracks the shore of Green Bay 

We are back in the wild and wondrous U.P. 

Our family is here, such hoopla and glee 

The kids at Farm do their artwork and play 

A grand adventure with our frisky CR-V 

Katja does the fudge store, the thrift shops for me 

My birthday at Berg’s Landing, the high point of our stay 

We are back in the wild and wondrous U.P. 

A time to share, be laid back and carefree 

It feeds one’s soul to travel so far away 

A grand adventure with our frisky CR-V 

We are back in the wild and wondrous U.P.

New York City Shadormas*

        *Shadorma: 6 lines; 3/5/3/3/7/5 syllables per line

Times Square

Blazing lights

Broadway, Seventh Ave

Milling crowds

Break dancers

MAGA caps and shirts for sale 

America’s soul

           

Museum of Modern Art

Hordes in line

Phantasmagoric

Picassos

Hoppers, Klees

Pointillists, surrealists

My head is spinning

The Subway

Blasting forth

Like an angry beast

Wheels screech

Lights flicker

Forty-second, Fifty-ninth

Hold tight, eight more stops  

 Metropolitan Opera

Grand gala

Don Giovanni

Mozart’s riff

Love and lust

Voices soaring to the sky

Don Juan burns in Hell

Oculus

Soaring wings

of the dove of peace 

Tragedy 

Inferno

Oculus signals rebirth

Strength and resilience 

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fifth Ave Met

Great Hall, breathless crowd

Dutch masters

Genji tales

Every wing a masterpieces

Visitors bewitched

Fiddler on the Roof

Tradition

Tevye and Golde

In Yiddish

Taboo loves 

Pogroms, the village destroyed 

Audience weeping  

Eléa

Eighty-fifth

New Greek restaurant 

Dim white lights

Gentle chat 

Whitefish, pasta with mushrooms 

Overcome with bliss   

Bloomingdale’s Department Store

Fairyland

Seven floors of swag

Preppy staff

Plastic smiles

Whisper “buy buy buy” to all

Somehow I resist 

Taylor

Handsome coat 

German Shepherd prince

Obeys Bruce

Calm and cool

Races to his dog walker 

Smarter than a fox

Crescent Beach

We check in at two, head straight for the beach 

At the top of the dune a new world bursts into view

White sand for miles, like a blanket of snow 

Facing us from the west, the vast expanse of the Gulf of Mexico

Blue-black in the distance, lighter shades in the middle  

Then pale green as it arrives near the shore 

Rhythmic sounds of waves and beach colliding 

The horizon, a perfectly straight line from north to south

Separating/connecting the sea and the sky

Sunshine, gentle breezes, bathers enveloped in warmth 

The beach is dotted with bright blue umbrellas

A long-legged bird prowls the water’s edge 

Locked inside seashells, ancient crabs dig burrows in the sand 

Two pelicans pass overhead, oblivious to the intruders below

But pushy seagulls scavenge for humans’ cast-off crumbs 

Waist-deep in the ocean, fishermen patiently hunt for unseen prey

I step into the water, a chill greets my ankles

Slowly, gingerly, I gradually reach waist deep 

Icy needles jabbing at my skin

Finally I grit my teeth, plunge into the oncoming whitecap 

Brrrr, such body-shock… 

I wave my arms, bounce up and down

But then, like a miracle, the water warms to my skin 

Eventually I succumb to the waves, letting them carry me back to the shore 

Katja is napping in her beach chair

Her cheeks already turning reddish-pink 

Tiny sails in the distance, kite-surfers flitting across the waves

Bicyclists and joggers use the hard sand as a roadway

Inside a giant sand castle, a small boy adds still one more turret 

A young couple throw a baseball, two girls gather shells 

I read a few chapters, solve one Sudoku puzzle, fail on a second

So warm and peaceful, I drift off too 

Dreaming of younger days on the beach in Wildwood

We break for supper, return at eight

The sun, just halfway through its twilight extravaganza 

Wispy clouds, brilliant yellows, oranges, and reds, a lavender backdrop 

A crowd has assembled at the water’s edge

All facing west, enamored of the show 

The huge red ball touches the horizon, then slowly disappears into the sea

Curtains drawn, the audience departs, the beach goes to sleep

The ocean shore — a world we rarely experience

So opposite from our mundane Midwestern environment 

And we, in these alien surroundings, are turned into different beings

Better, happier beings, more together, more in tune 

Will we hold onto those blissful moments?