
Weekly Gem #127 Drifting Over Poetry
Published 7/23/2017
Location: This 'hidden gem' is located on the west side of Hazel Street N., just south of Stillwater Ave. E, in St. Paul, MN (see the Clue Me! Map). When sidewalks need repair, why not use the opportunity to turn the sidewalk into art? After all, 'It is not carelessness to leave a poem lying around.'
"Everyday Poems for City Sidewalks" is a project developed by Marcus Young, a graduate of Carleton College. Public Art Saint Paul hosts an annual citywide poetry contest to continue to add to the collection. You must be a St. Paul resident in order to submit poetry for this contest.
For a detailed map of the many poems decorating St. Paul sidewalks, and their locations go to:
http://publicartstpaul.org/project/poetry/#about_the_project
To whet your appetite to go find and read more sidewalk poetry ...
A puddle,
where a moth
can shake the sky.
~Kevin Walker
...........
I wanted to tell you the name of the street
where I crashed my bicycle, got my best scar
or how I went walking at sunrise, a treat
to see dawn's great evacuation of stars.
There must be some method, when two people meet,
to explain to each other who we really are.
~Anna Everett Beek
.............
I still look
for your
footprints.
I tell
everybody
this is where
you’re from.
-Ellen Fee
...........
An elder Vietnamese woman
brushes my cheeks with her fingers;
repeating in Vietnamese,
“beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.”
But I don’t know what she thinks is beautiful.
Is it me or what I represent?
The generation of opportunity.
That her generation’s journey was worth it
and the hopes of the passed and left-behind
live on in my generation.
She looks through my eyes like windows
and I look into hers like mirrors.
-Amanda Tran
So, the next time you are walking on any of St. Paul's sidewalks, keep your eyes peeled for words drifting under your feet.
.........
Here's the hidden gem entry from our Clue Me! map.
Clue
Just lying there for anybody to see
Description
Poem on the sidewalk: "It is not carelessness to leave a poem lying around." ~Susan Downing
Why It's Interesting
There are hundreds of poems published in the sidewalks around St. Paul and its suburbs. Keep your eyes peeled for a sudden burst of poetry from right under your feet.