To a God Unknown

Grief strikes sometimes deeper than tears.
Joseph Wayne comes to believe that a mighty oak tree on his land is inhabited
by the spirit of his father.
When he invites his brothers to settle near him he has no idea that one brother, a
religiously zealous Christian will decide that Joseph's "worship" of this tree
is a pagan sin.
Not only does he move his family away, when Joseph refuses to follow his more
traditional beliefs, but he plans the destruction of the tree, as well.

This rich allegorical story took five long years for Steinbeck to get it how he wanted
it. It was not one of his most popular novels, but I think it could take the prize for the
most philosophically deep. I enjoyed it tremendously as I think perhaps most English
majors would...perhaps religious studies majors, too.
 To a God Unknown has rich well crafted settings and intricate character portraiture,
Steinbeck's main strengths aside from dang good storytelling.

raintreepoet, reporting.

Mind Manifests!

If  changing your mindset changes your reality
(I believe it does) then I nominate "This Land is
Your Land" for national anthem.
I have thought for a very long time how "The
Star Spangled Banner" rattles the drums of war.
If we want PEACE and brother/sisterhood, we
must sing the words of peace for songs are like
prayers and words manifest.
The Star Spangled Banner can remain a glorified
part of our history when war/violence was necessary
to our freedom, but to evolve we must find more
peaceful, diplomatic paths.
Take another look at the lyrics and see what you
think. Can you agree with me? Please write and
let me know.

This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie

This land is your land and this land is my land
From California to the New York island
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me

As I went walking that ribbon of highway
And I saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me that golden valley
This land was made for you and me

I roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
All around me a voice was a-sounding
This land was made for you and me

There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me
Sign was painted, said "private property"
But on the back side it didn't say nothing
This land was made for you and me

When the sun come shining, then I was strolling
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
A voice was chanting as the fog was lifting
This land was made for you and me

This land is your land and this land is my land
From California to the New York island
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me

The Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key

Oh say can you see,
By the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed,
At the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched,
Were so gallantly streaming.

And thy rocket's red glare,
Thy bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through thee night,
That our flag was still there.

Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

P.S. If Woody's words are just too much for you, perhaps "America, the Beautiful?"

raintreepoet. June 2016

A review: The Winter of Our Discontent.

This was the last novel Steinbeck wrote.  He was probably

tired of the blowback by critics; scathed by rejection and

the burning of The Grapes of Wrath, it seems he lost heart.

Steinbeck changed to non-fiction late in his career, perhaps

feeling a measure of safety there.

When he won the Nobel Prize, the judges mentioned

The Winter of Our Discontent, not The Grapes of Wrath.

This made me curious as to why, so I had to read it.

Although I had once owned it as a teenager, I for some

reason never read it. After reading it now I see why; I needed

some more years lived to fully appreciate it.

The Winter of Our Discontent  sneaks up on you. At first, I

thought it was about the common man but deeper in I realized

that Ethan Allen Hawley was an extraordinary character; honest

to a fault, who takes on the pain of Everyman because he trusts

he can endure it.

Hawley’s endurance is metaphorical right up until the end, when

he is in too much real psychic pain even for himself.

As he navigates his life’s losses and contemplates robbing a local

bank to solve his money problems, suddenly fate twists and

robs him of that particular opportunity. His response is to

dive into the deep end and determine his own destiny.

The Winter of Our Discontent has been dubbed a morality play,

But it is so much more contemporary than that. Fascinating!

As I finished reading The Winter of Our Discontent. the first

thought that came to mind was; I hope there is a movie!

If you are in the mood to probe your own values, this is a great

book to read. I highly recommend it.

Raintreepoet, June 2016

In Dubious Battle

Review of:     In Dubious Battle  by John Steinbeck   

Steinbeck's intricately drawn descriptions of a labor

camp being whipped into a frenzy by organizers, Mac

and Jim, make it seem as though Steinbeck was an 

insider and knew exactly what went down.

The power and grit of this story depicting workers'

struggle to get a fair deal from owners/bosses is 

huge and universal as any fight for survival and to 

better one's lot.

Steinbeck's characters are so vivid and colorful,

it feels like the reader could cast the movie!

In Dubious Battle is like a prelude to The Grapes of

Wrath and yet it stands squarely on its own merit.

What a giant, caring heart John Steinbeck had. 

Even though this book was written in the 30s, it

resonates today; Cooperation and team work trump

competition every time.

The volume I borrowed from the Library truly is an

antique. It was published in 1936 by Random House

and sold for $1.95. Wow! An oldie, but goodie.

Remember to take advantage of and support local

libraries. Over and out,

Raintreepoet.

The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck

was published in 1942 in the heat of WW ll,

as European countries under occupation were tossed

 a rescue rope in the form of a

fable written by one of America’s greatest writers.

The Moon Is Down is a masterpiece against

war and oppression and for passive resistance.

We need more literature about peace and this novel

 especially highlights a blueprint for how to

 overcome bullies of any stripe.

Even as an English major I had not known

about this book and that is a crying shame.

The Moon Is Down should be in English and

History curriculums in high school and college

 because Steinbeck’s little novel (only 112 pages)

 became a worldwide phenomenon during the war.

The novel was attacked on its literary merit

and labeled propaganda, but that is moot

 considering the impact it had in European occupied countries.

The Moon Is Down gave them hope and the incentive to resist 

the Nazi evil despite the fact that Steinbeck never identified

 the little village it was set in or who the invaders were

 which made it magically universal.
One thought stood out as theme: "..  the herd men win battles and
the free men who win wars." That, in my humble opinion is why we
Americans have been able to smack down fascism over the last
several wars.

My respect for John Steinbeck and his work continues to grow. 

A writer who was once accused of being a communist and had

 his books burned endured and proved the power of art to heal.

  I highly recommend this little gem.

 I checked mine out from my local library.

Raintreepoet, reporting.

I Met the Devil Once

He had Nordic ice blue eyes

A silver tongue and fine

Bulging biceps and buttocks

And Lordie he could kiss

Of course I did not know

Who he was because he

gave me another name

His tone was so sultry &

sweet-he won my trust

immediately

What a beautiful creature

I thought, as I looked into

his magnetic ice blue eyes

Surely he must be an angel

He seemed to read my mind

as he caressed my ears

with dulcet tones:

I am a Christian, a Muslim,

A Mormon, a Jew

I am anybody you want me

to be- perhaps I am

your own true love

After awhile though

He began to shed scales

Of green and brown and

I asked; Who are you?

He replied, You let me in

Do you regret it?

His Nordic ice blue eyes

turned basalt grey, he said:

We had great sex,

I wouldn’t mind some again

only on my terms, though

When I cried, he cut me deep

with his glare, You’re no

Gloria Steinem are you?

You’re just a soft sniveling bitch
go away, I am done with you!

Devastated, I retreated

Glad to still have my soul

I met the Devil once

He was god-like on the outside,
 but inside he was a small, dark

hard turd… 

You, Me, the Kentucky Derby & the Yuma County Jail

 Every year at this time I cannot get this out of my mind...

It seems like a life time ago that you and I  took a

Handicapping course at

Central Washington University with

field trips to Yakima Meadows, we

learned how to read a racing form,

whether or not to bet on bloodlines,

the jockey or the trainer

Okay, I admit, now, that sometimes I broke rank

and bet purely on a clever name, English majors

are so irresistibly drawn to words…

Here I am listening to the “Run for the Roses”

lead in commentary with rambling

thoughts of how

it once was-the good times-for us

I look at my TV and see a muddy track

You and I know that some horses

actually run better on

a muddy track…I guess

I wasn’t one of them!

Those were crazy fun times

We drug our toddler along and I bet

at the window, with her on my hip

while you slurped suds with your buds

and inhaled those horse smells

all cowboys seem to savor…

The race will be a quick two minutes

But the show is three hours long

on a lazy Saturday afternoon

Suddenly, I am wondering if

you’re hanging out with other inmates

in the Yuma County Jail

enjoying the very same program

I imagine that you’re sharing

your knowledge of horses

and laughing about the  handicapping class

 we took together so many years ago

For a moment you may even mist up-

You never believed for an instant that

I would eventually leave,

you were shocked when

I finally did

You must’ve felt so betrayed

You thought you knew me

You predicted me as a Favorite

You didn’t really know me at all

You were my Long Shot-

when the race was run

and I lost my entire bank

the deal was done

You serving time for outstanding warrants-DUIs

finally my bet is right: I made a decision

to bail, nearly 30 years ago

Here I am-and

there you are, watching

The Kentucky Derby, televised

in different states

I called it, oh so long ago

Sadly, sometimes there is no

gratification in being on the money!

Ironically, Super Saver won,

Devil May Care did not even

Place or show!