Band of Brothers

Fall in. Park your bicycles in a row.

Breezeway leaf sweeper, shovels and a hoe.

Pay attention to the yard you must mow.

Weekly allowance – I don’t think so.

Burgers all around. Soft drinks on the side.

Anna’s baloney is best when it is fried.

Cupboard bakery snack cakes, cookies, all twist-tied..

Enough to nosh --- to be somewhat satisfied.

Cosmetic affluence --- A bit of a show.

Nothing ever as it seems you know.  
Live, love, laugh, rolling in the dough.

Color coded - Red, Blue, Green, Yellow.

Push down, pull up, roller-coaster Sandusky

Breakers, squall lines - Chicken of the Sea

Life jackets, half hitch, all aboard - bow and stern lights,

Dockside cabin cruiser – safe, clear, starry nights

You wanted to be with your friends this week.

You wanted to hang on the corner or the tracks.

You wanted to call that girl late and sneak out back.

You wanted to break some rules, smuggle a beer, relax.

Instead you are on a family trip in close quarters.

Towing the line, swabbing the deck, following orders.

And yet - All these years later I wouldn’t trade a minute

All those times I shared with my brothers in it.

Note: Our family of six children included an older brother and an older sister too. Mom often referred to me as the oldest of the four boys denying me any claim to middle child syndrome. I have fond and vivid memories of growing up at a time when a Kennedy-esque Camelot seemed attainable even in Northeast Ohio. Dad was captain of the Leprechaun – a 29’ Chris Craft with a flying bridge.       

The Attic of my Being

Reflections on May 20 – the anniversary of my birth

Tiddlywinks, Lincoln Logs, Tonka Trucks, footballs, baseballs, whiffle bats;

Superman, Batman, Robin, Tony the Tiger, Felix the Cat;

Lawn mowers, Mathew, Mark, Luke, John, Monopoly Money, Cracker Jacks;

Slinky, man on the moon, Tang, Rock n Roll, Photomat.

Kodak Moments --- Ektacrome, Kodachrome, Plus X;

Summit, Elbur, Lake, Manor Park, Andrews, Bird Town, the Flats;

East Side, West Side, North, South, right and wrong side of the tracks;

Ohio Bell Land Lines, Cleveland Museum of Art, May Show, Shakespeare, Peter Max;

Running, 10 speed, CYC, Valley Hike, Touch Football Passes;

Downtown Cathedral, Hegwig, Malachy, St.  Luke Masses;

Browns, Indians, Crusaders, Rangers and Hurricanes;

Madison, Lakewood Park, Sandusky, Cedar Point, weather vane;

Winterhurst, Agora, The Brass Bell, Mistake on the lake, Erie sailboat race;

Hair on fire Ralph J. Perk, Carl B. Stokes, Dennis the Menace, Face to face;

War on the nightly news, Kent State, Twist of fate, checkmate;

Ed Sullivan really big show, JFK Nixon debate, The Selling of the president in 68;

Captain Penny, Barnaby, Romper Room, Wrestling on TV;

Party in the Park, Bandstand, July Parade, Let it Be;

Manners Big Boy, Perkins Pancakes, Bearden’s Burgers, Holy Name;

NFL Football Canton and Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Cut and paste, lost and found, dusty records, scrapbooks, ticket stubs, hello, goodbye;

Renaissance, rebirth, the circle of life, a baby cries, an old man sighs;

The ephemeral overwhelms but was never meant to last;

The future looks bright --- have a blast.

Springtime Visit to CAM

I entered the gallery as I walked through the Contemporaty Art Museum, located in the Grand Center arts and entertainment district, in the center of St. Louis one morning in March (the first week of Spring 2016) without knowing anything about the exhibit Not Human by Italian artist Arcangelo Sassolino. The stark space seemed harmless enough. But out of the silence I was startled by sculptures that breath, explode, punch and crush threatened my solitude. FIGURANTE 2010 is a menacing metallic head of a beast mounted on the wall. The pointy teeth of this creature spread to reveal a big bone in its mouth that seemed to drip blood to the ground in front of it. The curious piece could not be pondered too long before the menacing mechanical robotics took me from a feeling of quiet peaceful feelings to sudden terror. The room is alive in the way horror films jar you with shock when a seeming tranquility is broken with unexpected computer generated image roars into your space.

The paintings over a 25 year period by acclaimed artist Lisa Yuskavage are at CAM too. The Brood is not so much a comprehensive survey as an account of her development and identity as a painter. The artist presents the female body as a site of defiance and decadence. 

Tehran born, Los Angeles-based Tala Madala First Light is a presentation of playful yet provocative paintings and animation. Peter Sutherland Forest and Fires is made of images printed on perforated vinyl and manipulated by this Michigan-born, New York based artist. The courtyard in plain view of café patrons displays Sutherland rocks that appear to be bursting into flames. I enjoyed my coffee thinking it was the best $2.00 investment I’d made in quite some time.

Note to self: I must return to this place. Art Matters. Contemporary Art Matters today. Visit CAM. It's FREE and maybe, just maybe, you will see or hear something that startles you.  

Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. Exhibitions, programs, and general operations are privately funded through contributions from generous individuals, corporations, public funders, and foundations.

Stress Recipe

Stress Recipe

By Wesley A. Morgan

Wronged. No medication, no potion, no cure.

In disarray you want to run away. But you stay and fight.

Physical and emotional pain. Disbelief --- No relief. Simple and pure.

You were tossing and turning throughout night.

Stressed out, over-ruled, overwhelmed, ill prepared, undermined.

Daylight comes, coping, adjusting, breathing, pleasing.   

Over-rated, twist of fate, under appreciated you find;

The situation is bad --- getting worse. It is wrong and unfair. Uneasy.    

Misstep, mistake, miss the boat, misinterpret, miss the mark, unkind.

Doubting Thomas --- you hesitate. You second guess.

You didn’t measure up. You’ve been cheated. Be smart.

You feel the haters mitigated by those who love best.

That’s when you see what you have and realize a need to restart

While you are a mortal --- flawed and imperfect;

You move to the plus side --- proactively, perform.

Don’t judge, lest you be judged, Let it go;

So many prayers from and for you --- Have faith

Do what is right. You know in your heart. You know.

You are down but you are not out

Reach for calm and a moment of Zen

Wake up, dust off, dance, smile, laugh out loud

Stand and bounce back as you have --- again and again.

From: Kiso, Debra S
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2016 8:22 AM
To: Mcdonald, Megan K; Morgan, Wesley A
Subject: RE: STRESS RECIPE

Wes,

I am deeply touched by your heartfelt poem. I can see that you are comfortable being uncomfortable, you have the courage to be the person you know you are meant to be, and embrace the value of sharing. Truly, you are a gifted and talented person. Thank you for your vulnerability and sharing your strength. With your permission, I would like to share this poem with Ilene Knobler, Special School District's Director of Insurance and Benefits, and many others for that matter.

Sincerely,
Debbie

Debbie Kiso M.Ed., H.C.
Wellness Account Consultant for Special School District
Coventry Health Care an Aetna Company

-----Original Message-----
From: Mcdonald, Megan K  Neuwoehner School Nurse

Wes, this poem is so powerful! You are a very talented poet! I am glad you were able to take so much away from Debbie's talk. She is very good at what she does! :)

Debbie- I have had many great responses to your talk Friday and heard it was a great turn out! Thanks so much for all your help making this week very successful for many!

Have a great week!

-----Original Message-----
Debbie -

After putting my feet up against the wall and letting the blood rush to my head, I proceeded to complete the attached poem. You see, that is what I wrote down on my little note after your session on stress Friday at Neuwoehner. I wanted to share it with you along with a note of thanks. I really appreciated the atmosphere and tone you set with such an important topic.

Macbeth Spotlight Spies and Spectre

Somewhere around 1600, Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches that he will become King of Scotland in William Shakespeare's Tragedy of ambition and murder (in Macbeth, the Movie). In 2001, The Boston Globe assigns a team of journalists to investigate allegations of sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church in the movie Spotlight. Spielberg’s movie, Bridge of Spies, begins in 1957, During the Cold War. New York lawyer James Donovan (Tom Hanks) is recruited by a CIA to negotiate a prisoner swap for the release U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers. In Spectre, the timeless and ageless James Bond uncovers a sinister organization (Spectre) while the secret service faces a giant merger in the latest installation in the 007 series.

A Shakespearean tragedy beginning with witches spreading hearsay to old time investigative journalism to the vagaries of cold war intelligence to issues of good and evil controlling global security --- It is the holiday movie season. This sampling of features suggest that communications are at the heart of dramatic story arcs still. What is kind of amazing in our digital age is how dated word-of-mouth, fact-checking, military intelligence and keeping the world safe from the bad guys starts to feel. I’m wondering if timeless tales and non-fiction will yield to fantastic blockbusters with only a sketchy attachment to the human condition on the planet earth.

Here's to wishing us all PEACE ON EARTH. See you at the movies.

Also recently viewed the latest in the Rocky series - CREED and the BI SHORT about the financial house of cards around mortgages including sub prime investments of which hardly anyone understood except a handful of shrewd people betting on wholesale failure of the system in 2008.

    

Speeding Ticket

I drove my car and my heart was a little bit broken

A brief siren, flashing lights, hardly a word spoken.

Driver’s License and proof of insurance from the glove box.

Hiding in front of a gated community, where the cop stops.

Velocity on Highway 40, changing lanes and green lights past

Creve Coeur officer claims --- “You’re going too fast.”

“Really, you got me timed on a half mile stretch of road?”

Nothing will stop him from completing this quota load

Paperwork says more than one hundred bucks I should pay.

A citation at high noon on a November Sunday.

A speed trap - this isn’t Rock Hill? I’m just sayin’

Who really wins in such a frivolous violation?

The lawyer, in 30 days time, --- revenue he will see.

The judge will be faced with a December docket and a plea  

Amended ticket, off the record, status quo

Don’t argue. Get a lawyer – It’s the place to go

Time will pass and the leaves will fall.

No point, no points, best of all.

My Boy Ben

I cannot tell you about my boy Ben
without bragging again and again.

I cannot tell you he is without flaw,

Nor would he --- he is so humble and all.

He smiles --- he laughs at every kind of joke.

Elephants, Hookkah bars, cigars up in smoke.

As I recall, he wore a tie under his hood and gown.

The U was lucky he decided to stay around.

In a hurry to excel and to succeed;

On a casual walk he stops to see graffiti.

I said “You will be tested.” --- Your life will have surprises.

Yet he shows support for all around him --- He always rises

Crunching numbers in valuation math,

With a sensibility closer to a visual artist’s path.

What a silent leader looks like and can be;

I love what he does and anyone can see;

The sense, the humor, the love, the design

Simple pleasure and economy of line.

The years go by --- a priceless legacy;

My boy Ben. Look, a Selfie --- You and me.     

Happy Birthday Bubba 10-12-2015