I don’t know who picks the Poet Laureate, but they did an awfully good job this last time when they selected Joy Harjo. Spirituality, earthiness, magic, and reality have all found a home in her work.
Each one of her poems is like a prose work condensed to its absolute core. The one I reproduce here is a novel in which we already know all of the characters.
.
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Perhaps the World Ends Here
by Joy Harjo
The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live.
The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been since creation, and it will go on.
We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teethe at the corners. They scrape their knees under it.
It is here that children are given instructions on what it means to be human. We make men at it, we make women.
At this table we gossip, recall enemies and the ghosts of lovers.
Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms around our children. They laugh with us at our poor falling-down selves and as we put ourselves back together once again at the table.
This table has been a house in the rain, an umbrella in the sun.
Wars have begun and ended at this table. It is a place to hide in the shadow of terror. A place to celebrate the terrible victory.
We have given birth on this table, and have prepared our parents for burial here.
At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow. We pray of suffering and remorse. We give thanks.
Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table, while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite.
Joy Harjo is the present Poet Laureate of the United States.
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It seems that there is no escaping the fact that Neanderthals and modern humans dated way back when, and occasionally went all the way. DNA archeology has shown some small amount of neanderthal DNA to be present in most of us, and if a person is curious a few dollars spent on a lab test would show them just how much they owe to these folks. For myself, I think I’ll skip that step.
This is a scientific reconstruction of what a neanderthal man looked like, as found in a diorama.
This is a photograph of my great-great-uncle Trygve Einar Flom, taken on his 35th birthday.
It may be my imagination, but there are some subtle similarities here, enough that I don’t think that I need to spend the money on lab work.
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A Dick Guindon cartoon
Little Home In The Valley 
I detect a touch of Rodin.
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Funny you should say that. Rodin Gustav Flom was Trygve Einar’s twin brother.
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Good morning Jon.
Or since you’ve been up since 1 or 2 am, is it afternoon for you?
Thank you for introducing us to our Poet Laureate and The Table. Yes!
And a big laugh about your relatives; not mine. 😅 Caroline
On Sun, Dec 13, 2020 at 1:52 AM Little Home In The Valley wrote:
> jono55 posted: ” I don’t know who picks the Poet Laureate, but they did an > awfully good job this last time when they selected Joy Harjo. Spirituality, > earthiness, magic, and reality have all found a home in her work. Each one > of her poems is like a prose work condensed ” >
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What can I say … I come from sturdy stock.
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