Brief Eden

For part of one strange year we lived

in a small house at the edge of a wood.

No neighbors, which suited us. Nobody

to ask questions. Except

for the one big question we went on

asking ourselves.

                That spring

myriads of birds stopped over

briefly. Birds we’d never seen before, drawn

to our leafy quiet and our brook and because,

as we later learned, the place lay beneath

a flyway. Flocks appeared overnight—birds

brilliant or dull, with sharp beaks

or crossed bills, birds small

and enormous, all of them pausing

to gorge at the feeder, to rest their wings,

and disappear. Each flock seemed surer than we

of a destination. By the time we’d watched them

wing north in spring, then make

an anxious autumn return,

we too had pulled it together and we too moved

into what seemed to be our lives.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2009 by Lois Beebe Hayna, whose most recent book of poems is Keeping Still, Higganum Hill Books, 2005. Poem reprinted from The Greensboro Review, No. 86, Fall 2009, by permission of Lois Beebe Hayna and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. Photo by UNL Publications and Photography.

Connie Wanek is one of my favorite poets. She lives in Duluth and has a keen eye for what goes on around her. Here’s a locked and loaded scene from rural America.

Mysterious Neighbors

Country people rise early

as their distant lights testify.

They don’t hold water in common. Each house

has a personal source, like a bank account,

a stone vault. Some share eggs,

some share expertise,

and some won’t even wave.

A walk for the mail elevates the heart rate.

Last November I saw a woman down the road

walk out to her mailbox dressed in blaze orange

cap to boot, a cautious soul.

Bullets can’t read her No Trespassing sign.

Strange to think they’re in the air

like lead bees with a fatal sting.

Our neighbor across the road sits in his kitchen

with his rifle handy and the window open.

You never know when. Once

he shot a trophy with his barrel resting on the sill.

He’s in his seventies, born here, joined the Navy,

came back. Hard work never hurt a man

until suddenly he was another broken tool.

His silhouette against the dawn

droops as though drought-stricken, each step

deliberate, down the driveway to his black mailbox,

prying it open. Checking a trap.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2010 by Connie Wanek whose most recent book of poetry is On Speaking Terms, Copper Canyon Press, 2010. Reprinted from New Ohio Review, No. 7, Spring 2010, by permission of Connie Wanek and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2009 by The Poetry Foundation.

The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

Local fiddlers Edison Serena and Melissa Mahnke scored well in the Junior Division at the Cloverdale Fiddle Contest. Photo by Andi Skelton.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Members of the Konocti Fiddle Club made a good showing at the Cloverdale Fiddle Contest recently.

Melissa Mahnke scored in the top five with her three tunes and was able to play in the second championship round.

She came in fifth in the junior division, and Edison Serena, who played an excellent round, came in sixth.

The teams of Eleanor Cook and Erin Call, and Sue Condit and Andi Skelton, entered in the Twin Fiddle Division.

The “Cook and Call” team scored very well with much competition, and came in fifth.

Another Fiddle Club member, Annie Perez, came in second in the Young Adult Division, and club leader Andi Skelton, came in first in the Senior Division.

The Cloverdale Fiddle Contest attracts fiddlers from many parts of the state and is well-known for perpetuating the "Old Time" or traditional style of fiddling in America.

All of these Konocti Fiddle Club members are also active in the Clear Lake Performing Arts Symphony and Youth Symphony.

For information about fiddle/violin activities and CLPA youth education programs, call Andi Skelton at 707-279-4336.

Eleanor Cook and Annie Perez having fun and trying out a new twin fiddle technique in the practice area at the Cloverdale Fiddle Contest. Photo by Russell Bishop.

It turns out I was wrong about the show, but right about the McGarrett role, only because O’Loughlin is nothing like Jack Lord in style or spirit. And that’s a good thing, because the retooled “Hawaii Five-O” is a lot of fun, particularly because Scott Caan’s flippant Danny Williams is a great foil for the blunt McGarrett.

This little bit of introspection about my misguided opinion on “Hawaii Five-O” came to mind while listening to CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler talking to the gathering of TV critics for the winter press tour.

By all means, the CBS network is still riding high in the ratings, and Tassler claimed her network has the “five most watched new shows,” but did not bother to name them.

Since I track TV ratings as carefully as my cholesterol levels (which is, to say, not at all), I have no idea where the Aloha State crime show rates, or even where great new shows like “Blue Bloods” or “The Defenders” happen to stand. All that matters is that CBS scores well in most demographics.

So what does the “Eye” network do for an encore?

In a move that does not set it apart from its competitors, CBS sets its sights on a new romantic comedy series entitled “Mad Love,” appropriately scheduled to air the first episode on Valentine’s Day.

In fact, romantic sitcoms on CBS, as of late, are almost as rare as good taste and intelligent people on “Jersey Shore.” But, at least, “Mad Love” has interesting actors who may make a go of this fairly conventional comedy, which would seem more likely to belong on NBC.

Jason Biggs, a hopeless romantic named Ben, is trying to build a relationship with pretty, smart Kate (Sarah Chalke). Meanwhile, Tyler Labine’s Larry, the slovenly best friend of Ben, is the unromantic type who finds himself in a strange, or perhaps strained, relationship with Judy Greer’s Connie, Kate’s roommate.

Connie finds Larry aggravating, which is understandable if you recall Tyler Labine from his role of deadbeat father figure in “Sons of Tucson.” Given that Larry and Connie are incompatible, “Mad Love” works on the comedic assumption that opposites attract. Time will tell if this works for CBS.

An upcoming series that is more fitting in the CBS orbit is “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior,” which, though similar in nature, is not to be confused with “Criminal Minds.” Except it’s more akin to one of the multiple variations of “CSI” than a traditional spinoff.

“Criminal Minds” is about an elite team of FBI profilers who analyze the country’s most twisted minds. The new show stars Forest Whitaker heading up an elite team of FBI agents (so far, it sounds the same) within the Behavioral Analysis Unit that uses unconventional methods of investigation and aggressive tactics to capture the nation’s most nefarious criminals.

Whitaker’s special agent Sam Cooper, a physically fierce natural leader, operates outside the box, unafraid to risk his career while standing by his convictions.

Striving to avoid the political bureaucracy, Cooper has handpicked an eclectic group of profilers to work outside the confines of Quantico.

Janeane Garofalo’s Beth Griffith, strong-willed and outspoken, joins the team from the FBI Threat Assessment Task Force.

The team includes a former British Special Forces soldier, a highly-skilled marksman, and a former convict with a street-smart edge and a calm, Zen-like presence.

“Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior,” which looks like it will be a lot more physical and violent than its namesake, premieres two nights after Valentine’s Day.

Coming later in the spring, the aptly named “Chaos” is a comedic drama about a group of rogue CIA spies in the Clandestine Administration and Oversight Services (CHAOS), not to be confused with KAOS from “Get Smart.”

Much like “Mad Love,” this show looks like it belongs on another network. This is why one critic asked show creator Tom Spezialy why the show was on CBS when it appeared to be more appropriate to FOX, ABC or even FX. His reply was that the show is “intended to be relentless fun, so I would assume if you tune into CBS, you’re looking for fun too.”

Freddy Rodriguez stars as Rick Martinez, a rookie agent who finds that his spy job is eliminated on his first day at the agency.

The calculating mastermind and head of CHAOS, CIA Deputy Director H.J. Higgins (Kurtwood Smith), recognizes Rick’s unique skill set and places him as an unwitting mole inside the department.

Rick ends up working with some bizarre characters, such as the former British Secret Service agent who was deported from the United Kingdom.

Eric Close’s Michael Dorset, who runs the team, is a tactical genius motivated by pure paranoia. Tim Blake Nelson’s Casey Malick, the wackiest of the bunch, has an understated demeanor and the odd ability to transform into a “human weapon,” even though he sometimes falters at an inopportune time.

The CHAOS team combats threats to national security amidst bureaucratic gridlock, rampant incompetence and political infighting.

In the first episode, which doesn’t premiere until April 1, the team tackles a risky assignment somewhere in a Middle East desert, one fraught with danger and comedic situations.

It will be interesting to see if “Chaos” thrives on the CBS schedule. Riding high in the ratings affords a network the opportunity to take a few gambles.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.