Much is made of the failure of America’s public schools, the failure of the schools to teach, the failure of the kids to learn. There is much that is wrong with some of the schools, but not all of them. My grandchildren are prime examples of what good schools and good teachers can do for good kids.
Mrs. Mandes’s 9th grade class entered a contest sponsored by a local newspaper, the contestants to write a poem about a painting, in this case Orpheus #1 by Paul Keene. The contest was won by Matt Erickson, my grandson. I have tried repeatedly to paste the art into the post, without success, and so must give a brief word picture of the painting in question. It is not exactly The Scream, but close. So now you know where you are. The ‘She’ in the poem is Eurydice.
Inspirational Painting
Orpheus #1 by Paul Keene
Poem below was printed in the Wed. May 12, 2010 Issue of The Intelligencer
First Place Winner
Where She Belongs
By Matt Erickson, Holicong Middle School, Mrs. Mandes Grade 9
It was a mission
That I had to complete
Don’t look back, and I pass
Three stages she went through
From being a belonging of the underworld,
Blank, and soul-less
A crowd of underworld dwellers behind her
Urging her on to leave
The second stage, near completion
A face forming as she crosses the Styx
Bright colors show the world above,
A Parthenon, sun, blue skies
And then I failed, as I did look back,
Anticipating her to follow
Her face rages in the third stage
Eyes glaring at me, her one true love
She is no longer an earth dweller
Flames engulf her, bring her back down
It was fate that let her go
Fate decided, not me, not Orpheus, son of Apollo
She wasn’t meant to be here
Now I must walk alone
While she is in ownership to the underworld
It is forever and meant to be
It is,
Where she belongs.