Linda Opyr Poet Laureate of Nassau County writes the poem “Williston Park”
“For if anything is capable of making a poet of a literary man, it is my hometown love of the human, the living and ordinary. All warmth derives from this love, all kindness and all humor.”
From Thomas Mann’s ‘Tonio Kruger’
Did you know that Linda Opyr, a resident of New Hyde Park, is Nassau County Poet Laureate and author of seven collections of poetry? Well if you want to meet her she is coming to Clark Botanical Garden Sunday April 21st to run a post-Sandy fund-raiser and to celebrate National Poetry Month.
Dr. Opyr holds a Doctor of Arts Degree from St. John’s University in English and served as Assistant Superintendent at Sewanhaka High School. She is now an adjunct professor at Nassau Community College. In addition she runs a biweekly poetry workshop at Elmont Public Library. Her most recent work is “If We Are What We Remember: New and Selected Poems.”
My plan was to ask her to write a little poem about our town. And if she resists I will ask her how to write a poem and then do it myself!
I will meet Linda at Frescos Creperie and Café at 71 Hillside Avenue. I go to Fresco about once a week to eat yummy crepes and I thought it was a good idea to show her that Williston Park has a bit of “je ne c’est quoi?” But in the event that she refuses and given my 4 PM deadline I thought if best to prepare my backup plan and try my hand at poetry myself! So here goes.
Walking up Hillside Avenue in the Spring
Today is the first really warm day of spring.
I need to rush to the bank before I meet Linda Opyr at Fresco’s
As I walk up Hillside from the tracks I see one of Dr. Paltzik’s nurses and we wave to each other.
Today I wear rubber soled shoes so I do not here the click of my heels against the sidewalk.
It is slightly uphill from the tracks to Chase Bank on Willis Avenue. Just slightly uphill, a pretty easy walk.
I was smart not to wear my coat. It is plenty warm out.
I walk past Harry’s Deli and then past Framing Mantis with the nice photo of Mohammed Ali glowering down at Sonny Liston. I listened to that fight over fifty years ago on the radio. I had a little AM radio the size of a sandwich.
I go past Fresco’s, Not too many people there yet.
I keep on going. Hildebrandt’s is closed , it’s Monday.
I run into John Riley of Grasshoppers Comics and he thanks me for the piece on his store. I ask him to get me in touch with an illustrator to we can develop a comic strip called Williston Park and pitch the idea to my publisher Steve Blank.
I get to Chase Bank and see favorite teller, the Chinese girl. I ask about her daughter who goes to Tufts and wonder how much tuition is. “$58,000 per year. It keeps going up.”
I start to walk back down to my office and pass Luigi Suppa just back from his vacation. How did it go I ask? “I went to Rome and Naples, It rained for 6 days.”
I keep on going. My heels don’t make a sound as I walk. Its downhill so a little easier to walk this way. This is my life. All this walking and doing and writing and seeing people I know and like.
I go past B&P Convenience Store owned by a nice Indian woman named Charu .
I keep on going. Stop into the Village Florist. Larry Kane the owner says “Hi doc, How ya doing?” He is a nice man. He always asks me the same question. Why are you wearing a sweater, it’s hot out here. “I never know what to respond. Today I say “I didn’t wear my coat anyway.” I am now back in my office. I must hurry, I am five minutes late to meet Linda Opyr, our Poet Laureate of Nassau County. Thank goodness I catch her as she is about to leave Fresco. Even poets are busy people these days. I learn that her first inspiration was Dr. Seuss. Her favorite poem is “Neither out far nor in deep” by Robert Frost. She told me you can get inspiration from anything at all, an object, a feeling, a book or another poem. She said some poets like to write in a certain place and others like to get inspiration while walking. She then read to me a pome she wrote about Teddy Roosevelt called “Men of Vision”
And of course I was right to fear she would not write a quick little ditty about Williston Park. She said she needed some time to polish it. Too bad for you. You will just have to take mine as a sad little substitute.
