Letter of Support for U. S. Citizenship

To Whoever is Concerned:
I’ve known them for years,

they laugh a lot, have learned
each other’s language.

I’m already bad at this—
I’ve never done it before.

I’m told to include a paragraph
imagining a future

in which he is deported.
Who am I to say what happens

when the state separates
people who love each other

to different continents?
Plato, the old fool,

said love is the pursuit
of wholeness.

(Rain smashes against my window,
the body of a confused bird.

Look, rain. Look, bird.
I have nothing for you. No answers.)

This is what would happen
if he were deported:

she would break—
not a neat and tidy half

like a sunned apricot.
The word I want is sundered.

The wind is particularly cruel.
I think the rain will never stop,

and when the waters rise high enough,
we’ll all float away,

this letter our paper boat.

M Jaime Zuckerman is the author of two chapbooks, most recently Letters to Melville (Ghost Proposal), as well as recent poems in BOAAT, Diode, Fairy Tale Review, Glass Poetry, Prairie Schooner, Thrush, and other journals. She serves as the associate editor for Sixth Finch and a senior reader for Ploughshares. She grew up in the woods but now lives and teaches in Boston.

Cherry Tree appears under the imprint of the Literary House Press, the publishing arm of the Rose O’Neill Literary House, a cultural center with an almost 50-year-history of promoting the arts. Washington College undergraduates participate in all facets of the production of this print journal, though professional writers serve as genre editors and fill most senior reader positions. Although the journal is still growing, Cherry Tree has already received national recognition. Poems from three of its six issues have been selected for inclusion in The Best American Poetry (2016, 2017, and 2020). Poems have been reprinted on Poetry Daily and Verse Daily and have appeared in the Orison Anthology. Prose has been listed as “notable” in Best American Essays and appeared in Best Microfictions (2020).

Author’s Note: “This poem came to me when I was traveled to a conference in Asheville, North Carolina.  I grew up in Tennessee, and when I took a walk in those southeastern woods, I was flooded with sensory memories of when my mother was alive in my childhood.  The dandelion was a particular memory, and it heightened my perspective of what is a weed and what is something to be treasured.”

Defiance of Dandelions

I see the blue haze they speak of
in mountains of North Carolina,

laced like a veil on tops of trees.
It wraps around me,

a melancholy of my youth
when my mother was alive. 

She used to clang our iron porch bell
calling us home for dinner

from deep in the Tennessee woods.
I’m steeped in these familiar smells

of damp leaves, red clay dirt, a woodpecker
hammering on a faraway tree.

I used to pick these dandelions
from my backyard,

make a wish with my breath
as their cotton mist scattered to earth.

My mother cursed those stubborn weeds.
Today, I bow with gratitude

that they rise each spring
in defiance of our attempted control, 

wild in their consistency
to shroud us in memories.

♦ 

Jennie Linthorst is certified in poetry therapy from the National Federation of Biblio/Poetry Therapy. Her two books of poems, Silver Girl (2013) and Autism Disrupted: A Mother’s Journey of Hope (2011), were published by Cardinal House. Her work has appeared in Foliate Oak, Forge, Kaleidoscope, Literary Mama, Mothers Always Write, Sanskrit, and The Art of Autism. Website: www.lifespeakspoetrytherapy.com.

Delmarva Review selects the best of new prose and poetry from thousands of submissions annually. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, it receives partial financial support from individual contributions and a grant from the Talbot County Arts Council with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council. It is available worldwide from Amazon.com and major online booksellers and specialty regional bookstores. You are invited to the website: www.DelmarvaReview.org. 

 

 

 

Philemon – In Greek mythology, a good old countryman living with his wife Baucis in Phrygia who offered hospitality to Zeus and Hermes when the two gods came to earth, without revealing their identities, to test people’s piety. Philemon and Baucis were subsequently saved from a flood which covered the district.

Philemon Thomas Hambleton, otherwise known as PT, says the 2021 crab season is starting slow. The price tells the story. Crabs are scarce.

“We’re paying $200 per bushel to the watermen,” he said. “$210 for Miles River crabs.  They’re typically a little larger crab. Always been that way. We’ve never paid any higher than this for crabs.  The cool weather’s holding them back.”

Buddy Roe works on the docks and wharf at the PT Hambleton operation in Bozman, at the head of Grace Creek, west and south of St. Michaels.  I ran into him a week or so ago when a waterman brought in two bushels for a day’s work. He told me about the high price.

“Is that for number ones?” I asked.

“They haven’t shed yet this year,” said Buddy. “Right now they’re all number ones.”

That means all the crabs in the baskets are the minimum legal size of five inches or better.

PT said the May shed should be getting underway any day. The shed will bring peeler crabs and the peeler crabs will bring soft crabs.

“The crab season will turn out alright,” he said.  “Once they shed and the crabs get a little bigger.  I’ve seen slow starts and I’ve seen faster starts.  It’ll change.”

PT’s family has been dealing in oysters and crabs since the early 1940s when his father and mother set up a soft crab operation where the business now stands. The docks and wharf, freezers and coolers, and office for the retail and wholesale operation extend out over the creek.

On the shore, a dozen or so refrigerated PT Hambleton trucks emblazoned with big blue crabs share edges of the drive-through area with the pick-up trucks of watermen.

They dock at Hambletons and sell their oysters and crabs to PT.  In turn, he distributes and sells them all over the East Coast, from Canada south to North Carolina depending on the season. His ear is never far from the phone. The season picks up after Memorial Day.

Soft crabs to restaurants in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington DC. and New York City when product is plentiful.  Female crabs to Asian markets in Canada. “They like the females, especially the ones with eggs in them.  They’re sweeter, but they don’t like them if they’re poor.  In Ocean City Asian restaurants, they put steamed females on the buffet lines.”

PT also sells to picking houses throughout the region who pack crabmeat for the wholesale and retail markets.

Hard crabs to all the same places and more including two trucks every day to Ocean City, when the people are there, seven days a week.

You get it – Hambleton’s is a busy place when the season kicks into high gear, trucks and boats coming and going at all hours of the day and night.

“We typically buy oysters and crabs from 40 to 50 watermen. They’re a hardy bunch. I’d put them up against any watermen anywhere.  Hard workers. They’ll outwork most on the East Coast. If there’s something out there to go after, they’re going.”

Watermen provide hard crabs for the fresh market – crab feasts and  restaurants – and the peeler crabs that go into the sloughing tanks on the Hambleton wharf.

“There’s a very good market for soft crabs.  Freezers are what made it.  We used to get maybe $4 to $8 for a dozen soft crabs. In those early days we sold all of them in Baltimore at the market down by the harbor. But there was a lot of loss between here and there. Sometimes they would even send us a bill for crabs that had died, before we had even been paid for them,” said PT.

“My mother started freezing as soon as freezers became available.  My sister and I minded the tanks, getting the soft crabs out of the water and watching for signs the peelers were starting to shed.  My mother – she was a saint – she cleaned the crabs and froze them.

“Then demand started to grow and so did our business.  Soft crabs freeze very well.  They’re good for six or seven months.  Then we started getting $40, $50 and $60 a dozen. We have two restaurants up around  Chesapeake City that buy our last run of soft crabs in the late fall – about a hundred dozen or so – and that keeps them serving soft crabs all winter until the spring when the new ones start coming on.”

PT remembers a time when soft crabs were running strong and demand was high. There were 125 tanks piped with running creek water set up on the shore. “We were getting 100 to 125 dozen soft crabs a night, freezing them and taking them to the city.”

The Hambleton clan and its operation figures hard into the waterman culture of Bozman.  PT’s sons Phil and Todd work side by side with him in the crabbing and oystering operations.  Grandsons also figure into the mix, and the watermen selling to PT are like extended family.  Chandus Rippons, a buyer from Hooper’s Island – south of Cambridge on the Honga River – knew that feeling. He once advised a visitor to not say anything bad about anyone he ran into.  “Around here we’re all out of the same breed of dog.”

PT said he and his wife, Tamra, have four sons and a daughter, four grandsons and a granddaughter, and three great granddaughters and a great grandson. “They all live within two miles of here. The whole family lives here.”

About that name Philemon Thomas. “Our roots go back to England and our people were way high into religion, fishermen. That’s where that comes from.  My father was the first Philemon Thomas, I’m junior, my son Phil is the third and his son, PT, is the fourth.”

When PT started as a waterman as a boy, working nets, trotlines and crab pots as far north as Chesapeake City and south nearly to Cape Charles,  there were only three or four buyers In Talbot County like the Hambletons.  Now, he said, there are about 25.  The Delmarva seafood industry is no small notion. That’s why the health of the waters is so critical.

Dennis Forney grew up on the Chester River in Chestertown. After graduating Oberlin College, he returned to the Shore where he wrote for the Queen Anne’s Record Observer, the Bay Times, the Star Democrat, and the Watermen’s Gazette. He moved to Lewes, Delaware in 1975 with his wife Becky where they lived for 45 years, raising their family and enjoying the saltwater life. Forney and Trish Vernon founded the Cape Gazette, a community newspaper serving eastern Sussex County, in 1993, where he served as publisher until 2020. He continues to write for the Cape Gazette as publisher emeritus and expanded his Delmarva footprint in 2020 with a move to Bozman in Talbot County. 

Rome is famous for its many outstanding architectural features. Caesar Augustus found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble. He began the extensive roadway system that united all of the known world, thus the phrase “All roads lead to Rome.” The grandeur of Roman architecture continued with its numerous magnificently designed and decorated churches.  Roman citizens also are proud of the extensive aqueduct system that brings fresh, clear water from mountain springs to the wells in the City.  Among the other remarkable architectural structures are the celebrated fountains of Rome.

To find two of Rome’s most famous fountains walk down the grand roadway Corso Vittoria Emanuele II from the Tiber River, turn left onto the narrow shop filled streets until coming to Via della Cuccagna, and catch the first glimpse of the Piazza Navona.   In the First Century CE, it was the site of the Stadium of Domitian, where games were held. The elongated oval shape provided a large space that beginning in the Sixteenth Century was the sight of the three large fountains.  First is the “Moors Fountain,” in the center is the “Fountain of Four Rivers” with a copy of an Egyptian obelisk on top, and last is “Neptune’s Fountain.”  Romans loved fountains not only for their beauty but for their utility.  Fountains also were personal monuments to their patrons. Bernini, the greatest Italian Baroque sculptor, was commissioned by Pope Innocent X in 1651 to create the “Fountain of Four Rivers.” The Pope’s family home Palazzo Pamphili faced the piazza.

The four rivers theme is a reference to the four major rivers on the four major continents where Catholic authority had spread. Bernini depicted each of the rivers as powerful male river gods, and with an animal symbolic of each region. The Ganges (Asia) holds an oar because the river was easily navigable. A lion drinking from the fountain can be seen in the crevice. The Danube (Europe), at the left reaches up and touches the Pamphili family crest that bears a dove and olive branch. The Danube was the largest European river closest to Rome. In the crevice between the Ganges and the Danube, facing the church is a horse, symbolizing Europe. At the right, his head covered with a cloth, is the Nile (Africa).  Since the source of the Nile was unknown at the time, Bernini covered the god’s head.

Walk around the fountain to find and truly appreciate Bernini’s creation. On the left is the Nile with his head covered. Winding out into the water, a serpent represents the long river. At the right is the “Rio de la Plata” (Americas). Beneath the seated river god is an armadillo. The river was named Plata (silver in Spanish) to represent the enormous wealth that was to be expected from the Americas. The figure looks up at the church, and seems to cringe. The story told, although incorrect, is that the church had been built by Bernini’s rival in architecture, and Bernini was expressing his astonishment at such an ugly building. The fountain was unveiled on June 12, 1651, to popular acclaim and astonishment.  Next door at the right next of the church is a modern wonder of Rome. Tre Scalini is the home of the most popular gelato concoction. Tartufo is a large scoop of delicious dark chocolate gelato, covered with slabs of dark chocolate, covered with fresh whipped cream, and hiding a Maraschino cherry inside. They can be found all over Italy, but no other can compare.  

The large marble basin and four Tritons of the “Fontana del Moor” were sculpted by Giacomo della Porta (1575) for Pope Gregory XIII. Bernini added the central sculpture of the Moor (Africa) in 1673. Bernini positioned the figure on a large seashell and posed him wrestling with a dolphin. The Moor holds a dolphin’s tale in his hands, and the dolphin’s body twists from behind the Moor’s back and through his legs, and the dolphin’s mouth is a spurting fountain.  Della Porta’s tritons have human bodies with fish tales. Triton was the child of Poseidon, God of the Sea, and his wife Aphrodite, and figures in many Greek and Roman myths.  However, the idea of the human-fish creature had evolved into many tritons, or mermen. Triton, and the multiple tritons depicted here, did carry a conch shell that was used to call up a rising sea or to calm it. 

The base of the “Fountain of Neptune” also was designed by Giacomo della Porta (1574), but was then left untouched. To balance the fountains in the Piazza Navona, a competition was held for the design of the third fountain, the base having been there for about 300 years.  The sculpture of Neptune, the Roman god of the Sea, was added in 1878 by Antonio della Bitta. Neptune holds his trident and wrestles with a massive octopus. The additional eight sculptures depicting hippocamps (half horse-half fish) cupids, walruses, dolphins, nereids (sea nymphs who are the 50 daughters of Nereus and Doris), other sea animals, and monsters were added by Gregorio Zappala (1878).  Each sculpture was selected because its design maintained the excitement, energy, and enjoyment experienced in viewing the other two fountains.  The Piazza Navona remains one of the major gathering points in Rome for dining and entertainment.  It is full of artists and people enjoying themselves immensely both day and night.

Rome does not lack for gathering spots and the “Fontana Trevi” (1732) (86’ high x 161’wide) is definitely a popular destination.  Originally the commission for a fountain went to Bernini (1629), from Pope Urban VIII (Barberini), who did not like the view from his palace window. Bernini made sketches, but the Pope’s war with the duchy of Parma depleted the treasury, and the project went unfunded and unfinished. The project languished until Pope Clement XII (1732) held a competition for the commission which was won by Nicola Salvi. Unfortunately, Salvi died when the project was half finished, and it was completed by the architect, Giuseppe Pannini in 1762. The Trevi Fountain was probably named for the three roads (tre vie) that end at this point and are all related to the aqueduct system of the city of Rome.  The “Trevi Fountain” is attached to one side of the Palazzo Poli. The three large Corinthian pilasters (rectangular columns) that link the two stories of the building were added to support and blend with the impressive size of the fountain. At the top of the fountain can be seen the name of Clement XII Pont Max carved into the rectangle. The larger inscription that stretches across the entire top of the fountain reads Perfecit, Benedictus XIV, Pon Max. At the very top is the Papal Coat of Arms held aloft by angels. There would never be any question about the sponsor of these magnificent public works.

The theme chosen for the Trevi was taming of the waters.  The large central figure is Oceanus, one of the Titan gods who were replaced by the Olympians. Oceanus was the source of all waters, was the great water that surrounded the earth, and was the source for all the earth’s water including wells, rain, and clouds. He rides on a large sea shell chariot drawn by hippocamps and tritons. Carved by Pietro Bracci (1762), Oceanus stands in the niche of a grand triumphal arch. He is the master of all he surveys. The two sculptures in the niches beside Oceanus represent Abundance and Salubrity (Health).  Abundance, at the left, holds a basket of fruit, and from an urn at her feet water pours. Salubrity, on the right, wears a laurel wreath, one of the symbols of Apollo, who among other attributes brings light and health.  She holds a cup of water from which a snake is drinking. In ancient cultures snakes often had a double purpose, and here the snake represents fertility and the mysteries of birth. These two sculptures were carved by Filippo della Valle (1762).

Above the main fountain figures are two bas reliefs. An ancient fountain existed in this location as early at 19 BCE, and was the terminal point of the Acqua Vergine, one of Rome’s major water sources and one that was said to provide the sweetest water. The left relief depicts Agrippina telling the Roman generals where to build the aqueduct. It was carved by Giovanni Grossi.  At the right, maidens show the Romans where to find the water that was the source of the Acqua Vergine.  It was carved by Andrea Bergondi (1762). 

Made famous from the movie “Three Coins in a Fountain” (1954), the “Trevi” is another of the popular gathering spots in Rome, and travelers toss their coins in to assure their return to Rome. The sweet waters of the fountain developed a reputation for healing effects, and the tossing of coins for luck and health was an old tradition. The coins were used to provide for the poor.  A report in 2016 estimated that 1.5 million dollars in coins were tossed into the fountain the year, the proceeds were used to subsidize a food market for the poor.  During the day the square is quite crowded as it is not as large as one might expect.  Restaurants, gelateri, and shops abound in the square and on the three roads that lead from it. Late at night the fountain is dramatically lit, much less crowded, and romantic. Tartufo available does not compare to that at the Piazza Navona, but there is no better place to spend time absorbing the ambiance and beauty of a Roman fountain.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown six years ago, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and Chesapeake College’s Institute for Adult Learning.  She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.