Author: Marty Luster

Boston Waterbus Services’ Knotts Island prepares to dock at Cruiseport to await haul-out at Rose Marine.

JOHN STEVENS

A weathered and ancient stone contains an

elegant epitaph for John Stevens.

It tells about his honest character,

but little about his inner being.

He was a firm patriot and social friend,

a useful citizen and affectionate spouse,

but did he delve into deep philosophies

or have profound, fearsome thoughts about life and death?

His monument tells us he was an

exemplary Christian and tender parent,

but did he ever feel anger or jealousy?

And what, I wonder, did he think of himself?

Or did those questions die with him, and what we

know  and what we remember and what is

important about John Stevens are not his

deepest thoughts, but how he lived among us.

Marty Luster

Click here to read this beautiful epitaph.

The Trumpet Vine

Looking at it now, in late winter light,

it is quite fearsome and frightful.

Although cut back in the fall, it seems

about to devour the house.

Better to remember the spring and summer

when its leaves and pods  create a world apart

and its beautiful yellow blossoms

bring  bees and hummingbirds.

Marty Luster

The Illusion

At mid ebb I was sitting at the side of

a tidal creek along the edge of the marsh

that cushions Essex Bay like a large soft pillow

placed on a  hard granite bed.

The stream was long and snaked off into the distance

reflecting both the border marsh grass and the

thin clouds far overhead.  The stones in the water

were like signposts showing the way to the sea.

What a lovely scene, I thought, how gentle and sublime.

This is the way to experience life; immersed in beauty,

a vision to hold onto – a flashback of the

best there is –  a remembrance of joyful days.

Three hours later, the stream was gone, the rock filled

bed was mud, no more a mirror of sky and grass .

And the rocks, alone and exposed, spoke only of what had been;

my river of peace and beauty now empty.

This must be a magician’s trick, an illusion that

appears and enthralls only to disappear

at the pass of a wand or the murmuring

of some secret and ancient incantation.

But I am the sorcerer. I am the illusionist

who attaches to objects and scenes the word

sublime. I conjure up the images to

be remembered; if not for me, beauty would not be.

Marty Luster

Following a 7 month overhaul in Baltimore, Md, the Coast Guard Cutter Grand Isle and her crew returned to her homeport of Gloucester on Friday.

The Grand Isle is a 110-foot Island Class Patrol Boat.

Major work completed on the Grand Isle included the replacement of one diesel engine, two new shafts, two new propellers, two new rudders, two new stabilizing fins, a new reverse osmosis system (used to turn salt water into potable water), and a replacement of over 530-square feet of the hull. The total cost for the 30-week project was approximately $2.7 million.

“It’s great to have them back,” said Lt. Joe Klinker, the 1st Coast Guard District public affairs officer. “Our cutters provide a persistent presence throughout the maritime domain. With the Grand Isle back in Gloucester, that means one more crew working with the fishing fleets, one more ship protecting the ports, and one more opportunity for someone when they need us most.”

Grand Isle was saluted by a Gloucester fireboat and welcomed by Mayor Carolyn Kirk, District Commander Rear Admiral Daniel Neptun, Sector Boston Commander Captain John Healy, and Commander Thomas S. Morkan as well as the families and friends of the crew.