Author: Marty Luster

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The Gift

He had spent his youthful summers on Cape Ann,

but life, as it has a way of doing, took him many miles away

to a place where his kids were born and are growing up

not knowing Stage Fort, or the harbor, or the people of Gloucester.

They have never seen the brave souls on the greasy pole

or splashed in the Good Harbor surf, or, until this day, stood

on a rock watching the fishing boats live out the traditions of

nearly 400 years that began on this precise spot.

So he gave his kids a gift, one that they will remember

and cherish and make them think of him well after they

are grown and have children of their own;

a gift that only a parent can give.

On this lovely day in July he brought them to Gloucester

and showed them around and told them stories

of his summers in this place and gave them

a part of his life that they will keep forever.

© Marty Luster 2012

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 “The only alternative to coexistence is codestruction.”

Jawaharlal Nehru

“Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.”
– Mary Oliver

Frenchman’s Pier

How sublime it would be to have lived here as a child;

to amble out on Frenchman’s Pier to cast a line,

or, in the early morning, hear the tide softly

brush the marsh grass of the Little River’s gentle shores.

Oh, what it would have been like to take my skiff

to explore  Susan Point and Stanwood Point

and keep going beyond Biskie Head into the

Annisquam –  and from there  –  from there, anywhere!

A place where I could steer a course in a summer breeze

that never ends and see foreign lands and

mountains and magical islands, all while on

my back, gazing up from Frenchman’s Pier.

© Marty Luster 2012