Kendall Merriam: Portrait of Tombo
Life goes on, violent, sweet
your son, like my brother, Parker
took his own
unaware of the approaching storm
that threatened the Union
my head aches
with a pain
no Tylenol will erase
you loved your family
animals, the Earth
good things
from a family of scholars
how to stand strong
want the best for every creature
a life of good
a life free from threat
Kendall Merriam was born and raised in Rockland. He has a history degree from Gordon College and pursued graduate studies in military and maritime history at the University of Maine at Orono and Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Conn. He received grants to study historical research at Colonial Williamsburg and the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
I may have read some of your grandfather’s books
now faded
from memory
to a life
of chance or change, a diet of plants
an example shining on a hill
from a culture broadcasting truth
for centuries
living a good example
of how life should be carried on
Kendall Merriam, Home, 1/13/2021 6:25 p.m.
Listening to evening traffic.
