hawkdrummer1
Well-Known Member
Well done, Tork. Thank you.
Rita-
When you wrote the poem "I Did Not Know Chris Street-the Man", I was teaching a death and dying unit to my West Branch Middle School students. I used your poem as an example of how ordinary people use poetry to express their most sincere thoughts. I took the first line to mean you had never met Chris Street.
Later, when one of our students died, I came to a different understanding of the first line. "I Did Not Know Chris Street-the Man" might refer to the way that we do not know the adult that a deceased child would have become.
My son's friend died a couple of weeks ago, and your poem came back to me, but I cannot find a complete copy. Do you still have a copy that you would share with me?
Thanks.
Jim Calkins
Iowa City
Jim --
I found the original poem, and finally figured out where I scanned it to. The poem is attached.
What I was trying to say in the poem regarding "the man," was that everyone knew him as an athlete, but I felt that it was the kind, caring person that he was that set him apart. He truly sounded like a great guy. What a loss.
Rita Urban Jelinek
The last comment at the bottom makes me sick to my stomach
The last comment at the bottom makes me sick to my stomach
The last comment at the bottom makes me sick to my stomach
The LA Times keeps this article in their collections. I have gone back to read it so many times.
Laughter Leaves an Entire State : The Death of Chris Street Turns Iowa Into a 3-Million Member Family - Los Angeles Times