The Cry of the Social Worker
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.
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.
For Sandi Hodge
Can you reprimand a messy desk?
it’s difficult with so many new cases
blossoming across the state
you do not want to hurt feelings
but children come first
you think of this as you drive
through snow and ice
you simply cannot afford
to lose any workers
in this challenging, spread out state
are you a judge
you should be in a land of big counties
no public transportation
not a bus or train
just a Japanese vehical slipping
on packed down snow
on a pond near your house
you face it with bravura
what else can you do?
maybe you could hire a jeep
or a Land Rover
better suited to Lincoln’s Hills
you’ve walked up other hills
here and there, Italy, Florida
in the face of adversity
she never gives up
grits her teeth, binds up her heart
and goes forward - like a little dynamo
sometimes she winds up aching
in a hospital or some other curing room
but soon enuf she gets out
to see her three grandchildren
daughter and son-in-law
restoring a house in Alna, Maine
a choice she left behind
but they are young and spry
she’ll wish them well
and go on helping
families who need it
giving good advice
with an innate generosity
that helps make Maine
a more secure place to live
Kendall Merriam, 6-3-2022, Home, Listening to Playwrights on TV
