SHE REMAINED AT HOME

for Jo Crawford, on her 75th


Travellers can find New England
in quaint moments of the year,
snow drifts lining old church steeples,
or maples snagging rainbows on the fly,

              But she is New England all the time.

in memorable lobster dinners
along a rocky coast Down East,
or on village greens no less tidy
than a thrifty Yankee mind,

              But she is New England all the time.

through fields turned gold with pumpkins,
many miles from Harvard Yard,
and onto revered battlefields
with the stonewall borders that you’ll find.

              But she is New England all the time.

Travelling once half-way
round the earth, she still
remained at home, standing
with brave Anne Hutchinson
or falling at Concord Bridge,
maybe fighting alongside Garrison,
or sorting cans on Food Bank trips.

No, she was never part-time.
She is always the perfect rhyme.

              She is New England all the time.


January 5, 2001


All written material © Bill Schechter, 2016
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