My father was a friend of Robert Frost. This time of year, when the daffodils are peaking, Pat and Joan Jenkinson’s retired red gas pump on North Road pops brilliantly against the backdrop of yellow blooms, and as you crest the last hill before Menemsha, you see the ocean sparkling in the distance through tree trunks, and out of the corner of your eye, light gold accents signal that soon the leaves will give us welcome shade and hide the views, and my heart squeezes. Once home, I would run up the hill to tell Dad, and he would recite this poem.
Nothing Gold Can Stay
By Robert Frost, 1923
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
The poem gives me courage and comfort so I can embrace exquisite moments, and brace myself for the fleeting nature of life.
My heart aches with the news of Lori Robinson Fisher’s death from cancer. She was a remarkable and loving woman who reminds me that our words have power, but it is our actions that shape our lives. She took action and made a difference. As a start, there is a meal train sign-up to help the family with meals; make a donation and give them gift certificates.
Pathways was standing-room-only on Friday night. What a treat it was to hear Kate Taylor, Isaac Taylor, and Rebecca Correia, and see so many familiar faces.
This weekend Pathways Arts, at 9 State Road, Chilmark, offers the following:
- Thursday, April 20, 7 pm – 8:30 pm. Season finale of their ocean film series is three shorts and one feature, “My Octopus Friend,” “Forgotten Island,” and “Wonderful of the Coral Triangle.” A scientist will be on hand to discuss the downside of interacting with wild beings.
- Friday, April 21, 7 pm. Free one-hour salsa class with Christina Montoya; no partner and no experience required. Doors open at 6:30 pm. At 8 pm, DJ dancing starts with sounds of salsa by DJ KB.
- Saturday, April 22, 7 to 9 pm, “Evening of Jazz,” with Stan Strickland, Wes Nagy, and Eric Johnson.
The Menemsha Fish Market is back to the seven-days-a-week schedule, open 10:30 am to 5 pm, except Sundays, 12 to 4 pm. Scallop season has closed, but they might still have a few.
Wishing the Rev. Charlotte Wright of the Chilmark Community Church a joyous and restorative vacation/study break. She will be off-Island, and will return April 24 and be back in the pulpit on April 30. The guest speaker this Sunday, April, April 23, at 9 am, is the Rev. Vicky Hanjian, with Molly Sturges on piano at the Chilmark Community Church.
Spring is a super-busy time for many of us, and I hope we are able to pause and enjoy the beautiful moments, and for those of us whose hearts are squeezing with the poignancy of moments, may we sense the warmth of loving and encouraging hearts, and know we are not alone. Please email me any news or topics.
If you have any Chilmark Town Column suggestions, email Claire Ganz, cganz@live.com.