Page 12—SUSQUEHANNA TIMES
2 poems by
Letter
Dear Sirs or Madams;
I discern a lack of what
might, by the literati, be
denominated a dearth
of socio-political cognizance
on the part of your
‘Staff.’ As a person
concerned with the possible
repercussions on the men-
tal attributes of the
‘‘average reader’’ of om-
missions, suppressions,
etc., in regard to matters of
weighty import, it behooves
me to come to grips with
this contemporary crisis,
and if possible, to drag, by
force if neccesary, erring
journalism into that grasp.
It has been noted, ‘‘Que
Sera, Sera.’’ But what of
other aspects of our
Help!
Chester Wittell
Christmas
Above the muted tread of hurrying feet
The cold wind sharply whips the whirling snow,
As gaily up and down the glaring street
Laden with gifts the Christmas shoppers go.
Somewhere a raucous organ croaks and caws,
And on a corner with his tinkling bell,
A paunchy and bewhiskered Santa Claus
Anticipates the wonders of Noel.
Is it a sign that we have found the dawn
Whose risen sun illumes the pagan dark?
Or but a proof of reverence withdrawn
To label Jesus with the dollar mark?
We who have faltered where the light is low
Turn to our missals, whelmed by doubt and shame,
To see the lamp thus darkened and to know
That we have worshipped Mammon in His name.
And yet the error, glaring though it be,
Seems softened as the well-wishing once again
Decrees acquital for the fault while we
Speak our brief ode of peace on earth to men.
The Old Year
Adieu, old year! We who once welcomed you
With mummery of paper cap and horn,
Now greet another, young and parvenue,
And mark by resolution duly sworn.
Qur gain and loss; all fruit of toil and wage;
The trolls of hope that loomed but did not last:
Receive them all and add them, page by page,
To the undeciphered volume of the past.
All these, unchanged, again the infant year
Shall bring in models plausible and new,
And you — as other years have gone — shall go,
Bearing the common scripture written here,
To be enscrolled beyond all mortal view,
Where eyes see not and none shall ever know.
existence? Shall these, too,
be obfuscated by an over-
abundace, a plethora, so to
speak, of redundant
(though doubtless recondite
and erudite) and obtuse
polysyllabic Latinisms?
To each his own.
Sincerely,
John E. Rivermoore
[Ed. note: John E.
Rivermoore, a former Sus-
quehanna Times staff
writer, was last spotted on
a street corner in Berkeley,
CA, telling passersby about
Cosmic Awareness of Ne-
thing. This letter, his first
to the Times in several
years, was mailed from
Rising Gorge, Texas.]
Jaycees need your nominations
The Mount Joy Jaycees
are requesting your nomin-
ations for the Distinguished
Service Awards for 1977.
The nominee must be a
male between the ages of
18 and 35. He must be a
resident of Mount Joy or
the surrounding rural area.
The winner will be selected
by a panel of five promin-
ent local citizens.
Special awards will also
be made in connection with
the Distinguished Service
Award. These awards will
be open to any individual
in the community.
If you wish to nominate a
person for any of these
awards, contact Robert
Stoner, 25 No. Barbara
Street, Mount Joy, phone
653-4395.
All nominations must be
received no later than
January 4tt
BY
4
Sharon Gross plays some Chopin
December 28, 1977
Sharon composes con spirito
Mrs. Dennis M. (Sharon)
Gross, of 45 No. Chestnut
St., Marietta, has won a
Certificate of Award from
the National Federation of
Music Clubs for her com-
position for string quartet,
‘““Four Canons for Four
Players.”’
Mrs. Gross composed
her quartet while studying
the theory of music with
Dr. Mary Bainbridge Vyner
at the Lancaster Conserva-
tory of Music.
In the first movement of
Mrs. Gross’ work the
tempo becomes gradually
faster. The second move-
ment is relatively slow. But
the final movement ends
with a rapid tempo, con
spirito.
In addition to studying
composition, Mrs. Gross
has continued studying
piano with Mr. Francis
Welsh at the conservatory,
and also voice with Mrs.
Alcesta Rebman, of Lancas-
ter. Mrs. Gross sang in the
recent production of Hello,
The spirited finale of ‘‘Four Canons for Four Players.”
Dolly! in Elizabethtown.
She has temporarily dis-
continued her studies to
‘to continue having my
family,” which, so far,
consists of herself, her
husband Dennis M. Gross,
and her daughter Lori.
Dennis, a designer, is a
sprint car racer in his spare
time.