Your favorite blue<\/strong> <\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n Of the larches in Mt. Holyoke\u2019s Prospect Park, Susan Donnelly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A poem from Susan Higgins Donnelly, who wrote, “It occurs to me that you might like to see a new poem of mine, written from a Times obituary of the late Robert L. Herbert (1929-2020), Andrew W. Mellon Professor of … Continue reading
\nhe tells a reporter from The Amherst Bulletin,
\n\u201cThey turn yellow in late October, and when
\nthey get to be about seventy-five years old,
\nthey develop a wonderful bark that looks like
\noval shingles hung one above the other.\u201d
\n
\nNearly ninety, he walks the campus daily,
\nlooking as intent as the much younger man
\nin his obituary photograph
\n–arms folded, trim beard, striped jersey
\nwho might be setting off for some
\nplein air<\/em> work along the Brittany coast.
\n
\nA landmark book, decades of teaching,
\nthe Legion of Honor medal he never wore,
\nall fading as he looks to the window,
\npoints toward Lower Lake:
\n
\n\u201cYou can see the blue reflections as you walk
\nup the hillside from the lake. The blue pops up
\nbetween the tree trunks. This will become
\nyour favorite blue, as it is mine.\u201d<\/p>\n