Love in your heart isn’t put there to stay. Love isn’t love till you give it away. – Oscar Hammerstein II

It's been a week of hearts, love, and friendship....the perfect conclusion is to present true poems from the heart of two of my students.

Ben celebrates the presence of love/friendship in his life in "City Lights"

"City Lights"

Sitting on top of the city

With the girl of my dreams

The city lights are gleaming brightly

Just like her eyes

She's just as pretty

As the night sky above

I get lost in her eyes

Like I get lost in the stars

The beautiful view of the city life below

Sitting next to the most perfect girl ever

Makes a picture perfect spot

For a picture perfect shot

                                            

                   By Ben Villareal

Sometimes love is just beyond our grasp as Christian expresses in " Love is A Fleeting Dream"

Christian Nguyen.  Love is a Fleeting Dream  I have looked at you a thousand times with the same foolish look. It seems as though from my heart there is something that you took. Why did you mesmerize my mind, tantalizing throughly to the extent of tears? You gave me Hope of placating my serious infatuation, but like a beautiful marble statue, turn me away. Yet I press on, yearning for any chance of interaction. Your smile hammers at my heart. Years have passed, I still feel the unattainable desire. You entice me in my loneliness. I suffer, waiting for my unrequited love to be purged from fountain of reason. Your hair, an ocean of gold, laughs at my poverty in appearance. Reality, my cold master, seems to hound me, turning me back to my monotonous toil. I lose Hope of ever conquering your passion. Yet, you ceaselessly pervade my mind. With your scarlet red lips and charming laugh, I would find my life worth living. You are a fleeting dream, lost in the abyss of time. How can I Hope to love one with a heart of ice. If only the fleeting dream would pass, I would wake anew. Should I give up my love? Your deep blue eyes have lost their luster. Should I turn to you again? You leave me in perpetual despair. Should I leave my love? You don't even know I exist. My love for you may only be a fleeting dream. I'm sure that ALL readers, younger or older, teenager or beyond, can relate to these sentiments..maybe try penning one yourself. COMING UP....LET'S SEE WHAT THE BIG APPLE HAS TO OFFER!

Warning! That teacher may one day be your friend

(or what I learned from

 Friar Lawrence and the Nurse)

(photos from the Frank Zeffirelli's movie)

This week I had the amazing opportunity to view Romeo and Juliet at the Media Theater in Media, PA. It was one thing to have the chance to see a live performance of my favorite Shakespeare play, it was another thing to see it while my students are reading it with Mr. Olivard...and it was the BEST thing because I had the chance to see it due to a friendship with a former student, Deanna Stephan.

I was Deanna's 7th and 8th grade English teacher at Holy Guardian Angels School! I say that with an exclamation point, because I think that's pretty incredible. I remember Deanna back then---I actually remember a really nice writing assignment she composed based on the prop "Describe your favorite walk" when she provided clear imagery about a walk in San Francisco with her parents---the smell of the sourdough bread still comes to mind.......

Deanna, a Central Catholic (class of 1999) and St. Joe's University grad, took those skills and used them as she began her career as an English teacher in the Philadelphia Public School System. She currently teaches 9th and 12th grades at Garnet Valley High School in Glen Mills. When she heard I was on sabbatical, she offered me a day of observation, and a second day of chaperoning the play. Needless to say, I happily agreed.

It got me to thinking about friendships, young and old, and I often discuss friendships and age with my students. Romeo and Friar Lawrence were friends, as were Juliet and her Nurse, with  many years between them. Some of my best friends are people 20 years my junior and 10 year my senior...it's nice. I think we all should be careful not to overlook these surprising relationships in our lives.

Deanna Stephan and me at intermission. We laughed because it looks like the play is Romeo and Deanna!

And the play.....

Well the play (directed by Bill Van Horn) far exceeded my expectations. The cast was wonderful, but let's face it, if the title characters aren't engaging to the audience, then you don't have a play. Romeo was played by Brandon O'Rourke, and a young actress named Lexi Gwynn portrayed Juliet. I have seen many productions, but this was the first I have seen that the actress matched Juliet's age, or at least close to it. Juliet is young (''She hath not see the change of fourteen years") and Lexi, born in 2002, is fourteen. Perfect!

Lexi and Bradon/Juliet and Romeo

(Thanks to Roger Ricker from Media Theater for suppling the picture)

Curtain call (no pictures during the performance)

The characters were in a somewhat modern dress.

Scaffolding was nicely used for the balcony, Juliet's bedroom, Tybalt's perch to watch Romeo at the feast, and the crypt.

As I was walking out of the theater

I noticed a young girl sitting on a stool lacing up her hightops. I wasn't sure, but I thought, "What do I have to lose?" I asked her..."Are you Juliet?" Surely she was! I got a little starstruck and asked for a selfie and an autograph. At the rate she's going, I may have a valuable picture when she makes it big!

Me and Lexi!

BC students, if you are interested in a singing/acting career, check out her website for inspiration. She won the 2015 Broadway World Award as Best Actress for her portrayal of Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker.

lexigwynn.com

So that was my time with Romeo and Juliet, walking in with an old friend and making a new one.

BC students, I can't wait to hear about YOUR R&J experience!

Tomorrow is Stanza Saturday--I have 2 student poems about love <3

"Art thou gone so? my lord, my love, my friend!

I must hear from thee every day in an hour..."

--Juliet to Romeo 

Act 3 Sc 5

Without a doubt, this is one of the saddest scenes in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, because it is, although they do not know it at the time, the last time the two lovers will speak. Romeo has just been banished from Verona for killing Juliet's cousin, Tybalt. He must leave, but he has the assurance from Friar Lawrence that he will be able to return one day to his love. Juliet wants him to write to her every day.

It reminds me of the modern day song, "Daylight" by Maroon 5:

Daylight

Maroon 5

Here I am waiting, I'll have to leave soon
Why am I holding on?
We knew this day would come, we knew it all along
How did it come so fast?
This is our last night but it's late
And I'm trying not to sleep
'Cause I know, when I wake
I will have to slip away

And when the daylight comes I'll have to go
But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close
'Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own
But tonight I need to hold you so close
Ooh whoa, ooh whoa, ooh whoa
Ooh whoa, ooh whoa, ooh whoa

Here I am staring at your perfection
In my arms, so beautiful
The sky is getting bright, the stars are burning out
Somebody slow it down
This is way too hard
'Cause I know, when the sun comes up
I will leave, this is my last glance
That will soon be memory

(A-Z Lyrics)

**************************************************************************************************

The idea of sending letters as a means of communication is slowly fading away; however, in Verona , Italy, the tradition continues. Each year more than 6,000 letters addressed to Juliet pour in from around the world with tales of love and love lost. Juliet has become the go-to-girl as an expert in all things romance.

The letters began arriving in the late 1800's, but it wasn't until the 1930's that Ettore Solimani, the caretaker of Juliet's grave, began to gather the letters and reply to them. Today, the women of "Juliet's Club" answer the letters on a full-time basis. The responses are all hand-written and are answered in the language in which it was written.

Today Giovanna Tamassia is the Juliet Club manager. The pictures show postmarks from around the globe.

With all this faith in Juliet, it makes a person wonder---were Romeo and Juliet real? The Montecchi and Cappelletti families were families in 1302 in Italy. Dante Alighieri was the first person to write about the rivals. In 1530 the novelist Luigi Da Porto continued the story in a book, and that plot was used by Matteo Bandelllo, and that work was translated into French. Arthur Brooke then turned the novel into verse, and THAT was the inspiration for William Shakespeare, who wrote the most famous love story ever told in his play Romeo and Juliet in 1569.

PHEW!

(Who can resist a good love story?)

As a comment on the end of the play (no spoilers--Shakespeare tells the audience what happens in the prologue) I always talk with my students about how a theme can be misunderstood. The two lovers commit suicide so they can be together.

CLEARLY this isn't the answer.

That's why I like the idea of writing to Juliet...sometimes if one is troubled, all it might take is a letter or a kind friend to express one's feelings---in other words, talk about what is on your mind. Sometimes just putting the words out there can be healing.

On that Note, my words and wishes on Valentine's Day day go to all the people in my life (family, friends, students, colleagues) who I love and make me feel loved each day.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY<3

The Juliet Club.” The Juliet Club, 14 Feb. 2017, www.thejulietclub.com/.

Goldberg, Melissa. “Love's Labor.” Oprah, Feb. 2017, p. 24.

Meow..... It all started with Snowball

If I am being honest...

I have to admit that when we lined up to come into the Hemingway House I was just as excited to see the cats as I was to learn more about the author. Obviously other people feel the same way because the first sign posted is :

It was a good reminder, because they are hard to resist!

It all started with Snowball, a gift to Hemingway from a sea captain friend. The cat had the trait of polydachtalism, a congenital physical deformity having extra (in this case) toes. Not all the cats have this trait, but they all carry the recessive gene that accounts for the number of cats walking around looking like they are wearing mittens.

Currently there are 53 free-roaming cats on the grounds of the homestead---and believe me, they are everywhere! My first encounter was in Hemingways's bedroom. As the tour guide was attempting to point out the rare antiques of the room , up jumped not one, but two pet kitties!

The tour guide jokingly said he might as well quit talking because everyone was just looking at the cats and not listening to him! (Guilty as charged....)

This was just the beginning of the cat search, although no real search was needed.

Showing off the toes

I think his name is Harry

Evidence that this is cats' stomping grounds!

 This is Lucille Ball. The tour guide was proud to know that she is 8 months old and that he was present at her birth.

The cats are well cared for with constant health care and vaccinations.

 This guy was in the gift shop--just jumped right up and started his snack. (The cat bowls are for sale, of course!)

She was napping in Hemingway's writing studio, the one converted from the carriage house.

Not sure of his name, but I'm calling him Santiago, asleep, dreaming of the lions..........

Hemingway had this to say about cats:

"A cat has absolute emotional honesty; human beings, for one reason or another, hide their feelings, but a cat does not."

With all the cats in his life, I think we can say this is an expert observation!

I cannot end this blog without paying tribute to the cat in my life...

George

Coming up...it's Valentine's Week, perfect time to review a Romeo & Juliet production!

Also...career spotlight and poems of love and friendship <3

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at at typewriter and bleed."

-Ernest Hemingway

On this Stanza Saturday, I am thinking about my students as I introduce the poetry unit. As I mentioned before, some can't wait to get started while others actually groan.  They may feel that  there will be blood involved in their labors!

Hemingway used the typewriter pictured above, but I'm sure that the type of bleeding he is referring to has more to do with the outpouring of emotions involved, the bearing of one's soul to the world. 

I'd like to share two poems today---one I found on the streets of Key West--literally:

In 6 simple lines this modern-day poet expresses a longing to see Cuba. I hope Jennifer Granada is able to take advantage of our ability to now travel to Cuba to realize her "coffee-colored dreams."

Speaking of Havana, it was very easy to picture Santiago, the protagonist in The Old Man and

the Sea as I gazed out on the Gulf Stream. His loneliness was probably overbearing at times.

The theme of loneliness can evoke powerful poetry. I share with you a poem by my student Eleni.

Alone

By Eleni Geishauser

You kill me again and again.

Your words like bullets,

Your fists like knives.

What have I done to hurt you?

Why do you hate me so much?

I am weak like a lamb,

And as dumb as a ox .

I have nothing to offer,

and yet you find something to take.

No one understands.

I have no one to turn to.

I can not fight back,

And I can not tell.

I am invisible,

But you can still find me.

With no where to hide,

And No one to help me.

I am alone

It is these passionate poems that make me share the pain, but mostly fill me with pride as these compassionate, soulful, joyful, teenagers allow themselves to bleed a little. It is these outpouring of emotions that help transform us as humans....always for the best.

Next week (in light of Valentine's Day), I'll share their ideas on love and relationships.

Until then.......MEOW.......