HAIL AND FAREWELL
Salvatore Salerno, poet laureate of Modesto
My run was modest, oh, with an urgency low
as expected, but my poems reached some of you.
Of restaurants and murals I sang, of the resurgence
In arts and the city, after what both went through;
Of King-Kennedy Center and public music too
I sang, of tiny libraries and the great out there,
of museums, with our culture’s history to view.
I sang to tidy up and to bring on a better year.
Did you see me on the Internet line perhaps,
or that bookstore, art gallery, authors’ fair,
or behind my typer’s click and clack?
Maybe I saw you, for I was then and there.
But time draws finish lines, and it is stopping my run,
so, hail and farewell, it has been worthy to serve you,
Modesto; I had some muse’s moments in your sun,
even if those who heard me were few.
Remember, every day could use some poetry
if not as spoken or inscribed as words,
as acts of love, to leave some empathy behind,
so that the poetry of compassion can be heard.
As for you and me, dear readers,
it is still a fine thing to be sharing this town.
Perhaps we will meet around some corner,
maybe our trails will cross on our rounds—
and if you would like to hear another look,
I will sing on always in my books.
