John Joseph Orsini

ST. LAWRENCE IN AUGUST by John Orsini It is night As I sit inside the summer house High on her red granite shoulder. This mighty daughter of the sea Sleeps a peaceful sleep tonight As summer wanes And autumn's first touch caresses the valley, This summer house fills with subtle scents Of pending change. I feel the river's heartbeat: The rhythmic pulse of life blood Softly surges against the rock -- Against the wooded docks, And I am reminded Of my wife's parents Who's own life's blood was spent To raise this place to what it is That I might teach my sons to swim Beside fledgling ducks and Canada geese, Then years later, Meet them here as men, And know that they will bring Their own sons here to swim And learn the rhythm of the river's heart, And knowing, I am healed. St. Lawrence, August 28, 1998

The Multi-Art Man