Where Will You Find Me?

Where will you find me as years go by?
     Will you think to look in the shadow
      of a mystical mountain?
Named and renamed for the footprints
     and feathers of those who came first,
Or in the pastures that
       silver seed sustains.
Will I be among the laughing and smiling,
     breathing in warm afternoons
     or hidden among new family
  along a ravaged coastline?
Where will you find me as years go by?
     amid the vanguard dazed
by natural disaster or within the warm
     wind that pushes healing and implodes
the will of ancestors.
Will I be hidden and forever lost,
     like the poems that weave through
     my leaking imagination at night.
Where will you find me?
     Or rather,
Will you find me
                       as years go by?

Name It

I learned about two types of lava from a Hawaiian when visiting the Islands about 30 years ago.  He said that there are two words used to describe the two types.  "Ah Ah" is used when mentioning the sharp rocks you walk over with your bare feet.  "Pa hoe Hoe" is the term for the smooth lava that hardens like glass.  The words are onomatopoetic. That is, they sound like what they describe. When people walk over the rough lava they constantly exclaim "Ah Ah" because it hurts to walk on those blunt, jagged surfaces.  On "Pa Hoe Hoe" they say nothing; they just walk.
This metaphor can be applied to people as well.  Take the last two presidents, which word slips off the tongue easier Obama or Trump?  Which word has an abrupt sound?
It's fun to make that comparison but what does it really mean?  Do we dare judge people by the sound of their name?  Hardly.  But might there be something more here?
Names do carry the baggage of connotation.  People who have dropped one name or reinvented themselves for a film or singing career would be the first to agree.  This is what fuels the American story.  From Gatz to Gatsby, to Madonna to Common, the name's the thing.
In my view it takes a special kind of person to change his/her name.  Numerous examples abound, and aside from those skirting the law or wishing a complete re-boot to their lives, most name changers seem to have a sense of self that leaves little room for low esteem.  At least that's the impression that people like Muhammad Ali and Madonna give.  This quality, I suppose is to be admired.  It's the calling card of an extraordinary persona.  But it must be backed up with true talent or intellect, or a skill set that supports that identity.

What if the trend were reversed?  What if people began to add on more names?  The interest now present in having a DNA analysis shows that people are increasingly interested in learning about their roots.  For every identity in our genetic make-up we could add a name.  For example, the folks who share a combination of European and Mid-Eastern or African heritage would have a couple of new palettes from which to choose.  Of course we'd have to do some serious research to make sure what we are borrowing from or newly adopted cultures makes sense and truly represents a homage to a culture with which we share a bond.
A caveat:  When tattoos became popular, many people inked themselves with characters from Chinese or Japanese or other alphabets that appeared aesthetic.  Unfortunately some of those folks were sold more than a tattoo.  Their bodies were giving off other messages because of inferior translations!  What was supposed to be taken as a message of peace or love for all mankind was actually a statement about one's low intelligence in one case.  Not the kind of message you want to broadcast.  But that's the price of inauthenticity.  Our names are gifts that were given to us.  Best not to return them.

A Foolish Wind

Some years ago I was part of a 4-man show about the life of Woody Guthrie.  I did spoken word selections from Woody's writings and a duo of musicians played his songs.  I'd punctuate the guitar music with harmonica occasionally as well.  Our 4th man was an old friend of Woody's named Ed Robbin.  Ed had the distinction of being the guy who first put Woody on the radio at station KFVD in Los Angeles.  A writer and activist, Ed had dabbled a bit in directing plays and drama workshops.  It was with that in mind that I once invited Ed to accompany me to a play one evening in San Francisco.  After the production concluded the director invited the audience to remain after and come down to the first few aisles and meet the cast and discuss the play.
Ed nodded that he's like to stay.  I'm purposely leaving out the name of the play and any of the cast because that's not what matters.  What matters is what Ed did and said.  After taking some questions, the director introduced the actors and then asked if there were any more questions or comments.  Ed raised his hand and was recognized.  He slowly stood up.  Here's the picture: Ed was about 75 then and had a full head of gray/silver hair.  He wore a seaman's cap and his sharp features were set off by his olive skin tone.  He looked like somebody.
"You're all very good," he said to the actors and the director.  "But the play doesn't say anything.  A play has got to say something.  This play doesn't say anything."
Then he nodded to me and we exited our theater.

I tell this story because it has helped me many times in teaching a play.  One of my favorite plays to teach was "Inherit the Wind," by Lee and?  The play, which centers around the famous Scopes
"Monkey Trial" is loaded with meaning.  Briefly, it's about change and the battle between those who believe in Creationism vs. those who argue in favor of Evolution.  Aside from the obvious religious issues present, the play cleverly dredges up many other types of faith and evolution.  That's where social change or even revolution come in.
At one point in the play, Henry Drummond (Clarence Darrow) is talking about the tradeoff that happens when we are in the middle of social change. He says:
     "Progress has never been a bargain. You have to pay for it.  Sometimes I think there is a man who sits behind a counter and says, "All right, you can have a telephone but you lose privacy and the charm of distance... you may conquer the air but the birds will lose their wonder and the clouds will smell of gasoline."
I'm reminded of this quote every time I think of the dilemma of the cell phone or the consequences we have inherited by our use and dependence of the automobile.
No wonder that living off the grid has become so popular these days.
"Inherit the Wind" is loaded with profound ideas that, if nothing else,  it makes people stop and think.  And then there is the origin of the title itself.  What it means to inherit the wind.  Actually the full quote there is:
                              He that troubles his own house shall inherit the wind, and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.
                        -Proverbs 11:29