JUST KIDS by PATTI SMITH #FridayReview

Patti Smith’s book serves as a salute to New York City during the sixties and seventies. As an emerging artist, she once questioned the point of creating art, thinking it seemed indulgent to add to the glut unless one offered illumination. 

I didn’t realize the story of Patti Smith’s life would entertain me from cover to cover, taking my emotions on a roller coaster ride that I prayed would not end too soon. Some people sample life, either skimming the cream off the top or barely dipping a finger into the main course. Patti Smith and her everything-friend, Robert Mapplethorpe, not only dove in head first, they barely surfaced long enough for the next breath of NYC air. 

I wouldn’t recommend everyone aspire to live this hectic pace, but I do suggest you read for enjoyment how diplomatically Patti tells her story. Inspiration oozes from every page, enough to make you want to accomplish at least one of those goals you set in January. A book that can do that deserves 5 stars. 

Rags to Riches

A rags-to-riches success story that shows all the kinks and hard work to prove it was well-earned is a rare find. Written without blinders, no punches pulled, Patti Smith tells her story the way she lived life, straightforward with no window dressing. 

It took twenty years after Robert’s death for Patti to tell this story in print. Considering the raw emotions involved in reliving such a story, another person might have chosen not to proceed. But, as she states in the book, she made a promise. 

Patti Smith, writer, performer, visual artist, gained recognition in the 70s for her “revolutionary mergence of poetry and rock.” Among her many achievements, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

 

Next up for review:

Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs

SMILING BACK: Linking Poetry Japanese Renshi style

In my book of linked poetry, Another New Beginning, the first poem is entitled A Tiny Flower. It spoke of a small, surprise act of kindness extended to me on King Kamehameha Day. The following words, the last line of the poem, are used to form the title for the next poem:

Air brakes lift

We roll forward, and

the universe smiles back.

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My poetry is loosely patterned after the intriguing renshi poetry of Japan. The Japanese word, ren, means “to link.” The final words of the previous poem suggest the title for the next one, thereby linking them. Then there is a shift as the new poem changes topic or idea to present a new thought. 

In today’s poem, Smiling Back, one of my alter egos of past decades recalls “after hours” fun times with co-workers, eventually overshadowed by shifting lifestyle. Anyone over the age of awareness knows life does not move forward at a predictable pace but shifts and changes, often with the wind. This is colorfully expressed in Steinbeck’s “best laid plans of mice and men” which suggests that things do not always work out as planned, no matter the extent of preparation.

 

Those flexible enough to bend with the wind will most comfortably weather the storm. Over the years, I’ve weathered many storms. I believe learning to give thanks and forgiveness has allowed me to become a content person, comfortable with my inner being.

 

 

Smiling Back 

From shadows,

smiling back at me,

clear memories

of frothy rapids

while tubing down

an apple-scented river. 

 

Company softball games,

cheering on my teammates

win or lose, celebrating

El Torito style.

 

All too soon, highways

move me state to state,

major life changes

blinding me to loss. 

 

Above the clouds

endless open skies

ease me from the past; with

lazy eagerness, promises appear

of another new beginning.

 

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