Poem

Someone reminded me today that for people living outside the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, my poems aren't easy to find. Sorry! Here's one to celebrate the season. It's more or less the same time of year that I'm working on for "The Golden Chain," too.

Skunk Fever
(revised from Mud Season at the Castle)

Sun heats the tree trunks, and the dry scent
of their hot bark blesses the air.
The deer come down,
thin and rough-coated,
for the swelling buds along the treeline.
I rarely see them, but
their tracks are always just before me
or just after.
Boots slipping on wet browns and grays
I reach the stream, where green shoots
rise like fever.
I never knew how starved I was
till I plucked a leaf, just to savor
the eager green of
skunk cabbage.

Abenaki in Vermont: A resource from the Vermont Historical Society

I was browsing the site of the Vermont Historical Society today, looking for resource material, and realized sadly that the "store" on the site isn't selling the updated history kit that the VHS offered in 1998 on Abenaki in Vermont -- but there are still copies available of the Teacher's Guide that went with the kit, titled: Abenaki in Vermont, A History for Students & their Teachers. It's a good outline for a classroom discussion, and costs only $4 plus postage. A bit more costly ($35), but more recent and more detailed, is the video Abenaki of Vermont: A Living Culture, with its emphasis on contemporary life.