by Lynne Friedman
My Secret Summer Among the Zinnias
Grandma’s whiskey-tasting stations
in the rose garden with its periphery of zinnias
the size of bushes, some six-feet tall, like my grandfather
who made mash and distilled spirits somewhere off
the property, some place I would never get to see.
There were always three samples to taste
and I was tucked away from sight, stuck inside the dusty skirt
of corn, the under-age tassels unsure which way to lean,
where was up, or down. I guess it doesn’t matter until
the wind places a kiss in just the right place.
The Baptists were the least amused, hard-core Bible-thumping
harbingers of the Good News, that alcohol should never touch
thine lips, that dancing in any form invites the devil into
your living room, into the bowels of the kitchen to place
his nasty droppings into the flour bin, the salt and sugar,
promising an eventual cruel death that will make the family
sad forever and a day.
I am snuggled by plants, my small pink fingers clutching the
glass half full of a tasty rye whiskey, its amber tone like
the eye of a werewolf. He’s named this one Ryes & Shine.
I sip and stay quiet, listen to the sounds of old people
giggling like they’re in church and have a naughty thought.
These tastings are like hummingbird conventions. Just a sip,
a quick peck, and then another, and another, a flash and they are gone,
free to buzz
into the day.
John Dorroh once flew in a small plane with his 12th-grade English teacher. It was a Saturday afternoon in May, and the sky was as blue as Crater Lake. He handed Paul Ruffin a forged permission statement for the flight and away they went. Paul did a few fancy maneuvers and that was all it took. The freedom of being airborne was glorious. The thrill of flying with a forged permission form made it seem dangerous. That’s how he feels often when he finds new poet voices such as Catherine Pierce and James Tate. Dorroh’s poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Tilde, Burningword, Feral, and Blue Heron Review.
Lynne Friedman’s work has been shown in solo exhibitions at the Booth Western Art Museum (GA), Galleria Nacional (Costa Rica), the James McNeil Whistler Museum and numerous solo shows in New York City including Noho Gallery and Prince Street Gallery among others in the Chelsea District of NYC. Additionally her work was selected for the U.S. Department of State Art-in-Embassies Program for Djibouti, E. Africa and Colombo, Sri Lanka. Her work is in many corporate and private collections including Pfizer, McGraw Hill, IBM, Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, Pace University, Ritz Carleton Hotels and City National Bank. She has received seven artist residency grants to work in Spain, Costa Rica, Ireland, Southern France and New Mexico. She received a BA and MFA in Art from Queens College, an Ed.D. from Columbia University and studied at the New York Studio School. Previously a college art teacher she now works full time painting.