Poems and Letters for Si Wakesberg on his 90th Birthday -- 12/21/03
by Carl Selkin
by Carol Selkin
another by Carl
from Robert & Ruth Baron
from Josette Hontanx
from The Rancoule
family
from David, Ellen, Raizin, Becky
and Amalia
SI
(a foreword to his 90th birthday scrapbook)
By Carl Selkin
A scrappy guy, he keeps poetic time;
He’s recognized as January’s muse
(“Poetic Voices grants a cyber-pass
For those who like their reason with a rhyme).
A connoisseur of painting visceral,
He has been spied in SoHo galleries
Applauding future art celebrities
Whose fame will soon be writ on MOMA’s wall.
He takes his grandkids out to Blue Man Group
And always had an ear for classical
(But asks where is the Cage for Birtwistle).
Loves Mahler, Bach, Schubert and Canteloube.
So here’s our scrap-book to recycle through;
In thirty years we’ll add on Chapter Two.
Written and presented with 90th birthday “Scrapbook” in March 2005
For Simon Byron Wakesberg
December 24, 2003
Written on the occasion
of his 90th birthday by his daughter Carol Selkin
This
is a poem of boundless admiration,
Of
love and gratitude, to my father
Si,
great guide and counselor, whom I’d love even
If
he were absolutely no relation.
,
Once,
listening to you read your favorite poems, I
Understood,
saw, Ozymandius, snowy woods,
Roads
not taken, glittering Xanadu, and
Darting
nymphs chased round a vase by satyrs, fauns:
Art
makes life livable, vibrant, exciting.
During
my school years, I wrote, drew, learned from you that
,
Art,
music and poetry, were tools to know
The
world. Math would have helped, but it was writing,
Not
algebra, in which you excelled, and taught
In
your own way – by example (taking the Lord’s
Name
for your own middle cinched your skill, I thought).
Even
now, what sustains me, what I see is –
Truth
is beauty, beauty truth. This is a gift*
You
gave me, and it is all I need to know.
*cadeau
A ‘Court
Villanelle’ for Si
How can it be that Si is ninety years?
Some say his math is imprecise at best.
I know he’s younger than my youngest peers.
Perhaps his old poetic license steers
Him to exaggerate. But, I contest,
It cannot be that Si is ninety years.
I heard that he reversed time, unawares,
While meditating at a Mahler fest –
But no time warped. He’s younger than my peers.
If only we could patent him! The cheers
Of all those billion people who’d invest.
It cannot be that Si is ninety years.
Some say what makes him young is that he cares
About the world, the arts, his friends. His zest
Rolls back a tercet of his ninety years.
And now he’s younger than my youngest peers.
--Carl Selkin
December 2003
It would not do if you and I
Grasped the past with a mournful sigh,
Or beheld what’s yet to come through dusky curtain or hazy eye.
It is what’s now -- whatever draws nigh --
What forever and now blooms in rebounding ecstasy,
That we’ll take as motto, device and, as one hopes, as battle-cry.
We salute this conqueror, leaving a Bronx of bricks,
Who built his bastion at 10 West 66.
Here, he’s close at hand, governs culture from nearby,
And plucks his deserved desserts from the city’s gourmet artful pie.
Moreover, he keeps us nourished with tales piled high,
With quips and jokes and anecdotes,
All etched within indelible memory.
And more, he plies us with fluid philosophy,
A curriculum of vodka, gin and sometimes rye
So much the better for those special tales -- be they perverse or sometimes wry.
And thus, by example, our curious amicus curiae doth prophesy
What Right, and Truth and Beauty must unimpeachably imply.
Just one thing more…
There is no story from his store
That's been released unburnished, unpolished and unsized.
We all know his way, his stylistic road,
His manner, fashion, technique, and mode,
His personal panache, bravura, flair and sheer refusal to be agonized…
This grace, good taste, smartness, polish, class, and charm unheard,
Is best conveyed by just one word –
We know in an instant when a work has been… well… we call it "Simonized."
So, let’s all toast, raising cups on high.
Let our glasses strike rim-to-rims.
Here’s to our star, our hero, our regular guy,
Good health, good luck, and many happy synonyms,
On this birthday number ninety, Si.
DEUX OU TROIS CHOSES
Que je sais de Si
SI …
Mais quelle élégance !
The name is as
Elegant and élancé
As the gentleman
Mais quelle écriture!
Somewhere between 2 books
Of American lit.
Carefully folded en 4
I keep
The most beautiful thankyou letter
I will ever get!
Mais quel esprit!
His wit
Goes as fast
Oui, va aussi vite que son nom
………………………….SI !
ALORS, ALORS
BON ANNIVERSAIRE Si !
Josette Hontanx 19 décembre 2003
To our dear friend Si,
From the far
west we heard,
Across the ocean the message flew,
And very soon we knew it too,
Happiness even made us sing as a bird.
Had we forgot
that years go by ?
But this came as a huge surprise,
For everyone of us, even the wise,
He is turning ninety, our dear friend Si.
Neither the
distance, nor the time,
Will ever make us forget this personage :
Joie de vivre and kindness are his bagage.
For sure, our friendship is not made of lime.
Dear friend,
what shall we wish you today ?
Friends and family are by your side,
But the French have you on their mind,
We are with you today and always,
And the whole
Rancoule family say :
"Bon anniversaire Si"
The Rancoule family,
14.XII.2003
From David, Ellen, Raizin, Becky
and Amalia
On the bedroom wall of my
grandparents' place, were photographs of their
families left behind in Poland. These photos, and the people in them,
truly looked like they came from another world - as indeed they did.
These people seemed straight out of a Fiddler on the Roof set. What
possible connection could they have to me and my American suburban life
of TV, football, and macaroni and cheese?
But wait, some of the people in the photo were holding photographs - one
was a photo of a young couple and two boys - my grandparents and my
uncles, Si and Joe. And another - a small photo of a baby - my dad!
These photographs inside a photograph were my connection to the world my
grandparents left behind. And that picture held by a woman in a
photograph taken in Poland so long ago was all I would see of my Uncle
Si for several years.
I am grateful we have reconnected for many reasons - among them, the
stories you have told and written which have illuminated the life of our
family from those times. And I am glad that Ellen and our kids have
gotten the chance to get to know you as well.
As you enter your 10th decade you continue to approach life with
vitality. You remain actively involved with family and friends - as
evidenced by the email you sent me last month upon my return from
Shanghai - about your Dutch colleague who was there for a scrap
conference.
Congratulations on your 90th birthday. May you continue to stay active
- in work, friendships, family, and life.
We hope we can be with you to celebrate your centennial.