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

Because I’m a senior citizen I’m easily attracted by poems about my brothers and sisters meandering into their golden years. Here’s a poem by Edward Hirsch, who lives in New York, that offers our younger readers a look at what’s to come.

Early Sunday Morning

I used to mock my father and his chums

for getting up early on Sunday morning

and drinking coffee at a local spot

but now I’m one of those chumps.

No one cares about my old humiliations

but they go on dragging through my sleep

like a string of empty tin cans rattling

behind an abandoned car.

It’s like this: just when you think

you have forgotten that red-haired girl

who left you stranded in a parking lot

forty years ago, you wake up

early enough to see her disappearing

around the corner of your dream

on someone else’s motorcycle

roaring onto the highway at sunrise.

And so now I’m sitting in a dimly lit

café full of early morning risers

where the windows are covered with soot

and the coffee is warm and bitter.

Ted Kooser was US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. He is a professor in the English Department of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He lives on an acreage near the village of Garland, Nebraska, with his wife Kathleen Rutledge, the editor of the Lincoln Journal Star.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org),

publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of

Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2009 by Donal Heffernan, whose most recent book of poetry is

“Duets of Motion,” Lone Oak Press, 2001. Poem reprinted by permission of Donal Heffernan.

Introduction copyright ©2010 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.

American Life in Poetry ©2006 The Poetry Foundation

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This column does not accept unsolicited poetry.

Bettie Mae Fikes performing at the Blue Wing Blues Festival in Upper Lake, Calif., in 2009. Courtesy photo.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Blues diva Bettie Mae Fikes, based in Los Angeles but with a large Lake County following, will headline the second annual Blue Wing Labor Day Blues Concert outdoors in the garden from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 6.

The concert promises to be a relaxing and upbeat way to end the traditional end-of-summer weekend holiday.

Born in Selma, Ala., Bettie Mae Fikes was active in the Civil Rights Movement, beginning her singing career with the SNCC Freedom Singers and performing at the 1964 Democratic Party convention in Atlantic City and at various reunions since.

She has graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, Newport Jazz Festival, the Library of Congress, and numerous blues festivals.

Fikes' connections to Lake County are deep, and in August of last year she stepped onto a small local stage with five of her favorite musicians and the house packed with enthusiastic fans. The result was her latest recording called “How Blue Can You Get?”

Backing Fikes on Labor Day will be Levi Lloyd and his 501 Band. This band, well-known throughout Northern California, is composed of Levi on guitar and vocals, Frankie J. on keyboards, Steve Guerrero on drums and the incomparable Robert Watson on bass.

Opening for Levi and Bettie Mae will be Gerald Mathis and Starlight, a Sacramento group featuring Mathis on keyboards and vocals and Anthony Dillard on sax. They brought down the house at the Blue Wing last Labor Day opening for Roy Rogers and his band.

Both bands will perform on the veranda of the Tallman Hotel with the audience gathered in the intimate garden between the hotel and restaurant.

In addition to the music, patrons will enjoy a gourmet barbecue dinner with choice of salads and entrees as part of the $50 ticket price.

Seating is limited and tickets may be purchased directly at the Tallman Hotel, located on Main Street in Upper Lake, or by calling the hotel reception desk at 707-275-2245.

This special event is made possible by the generous sponsorships of Shannon Ridge Vineyards & Winery, Gregory Graham Winery, radio station KNTI (99.5 FM), Allora DaCar Productions and Vintage Antiques and Country Barn Auction in Upper Lake.

Levi Lloyd backing Bettie Mae Fikes at the 2009 Blue Wing Blues Festival in Upper Lake, Calif. Courtesy photo.

Members of the Harbor Village Artists Complex in Lucerne, Calif., present a certificate of appreciation to County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox and Deputy Redevelopment Director Eric Seely at the second anniversary of the complex on Saturday, July 31, 2010. Courtesy photo.

LUCERNE, Calif. – On July 31, in celebration of its second anniversary, the Harbor Village Artists Complex in Lucerne presented the county with a painting and a certificate of appreciation for their support and encouragement.

The painting was done by artist Paula Strothers, one of the artists of Lakeside Art Gallery.

Accepting the award was County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox and Deputy Redevelopment Director Eric Seely.

In presenting the certificate Diana Liebe also thanked District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing for her concept of Harbor Village; Kim Clymire, Public Services director; the county’s parks and recreational maintenance crew; and Jennifer Hammond, senior administrative analyst, for their continued support of the endeavors of the artists of Harbor Village.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The second annual Lake County Singer/Songwriter Festival will take place Sunday, Aug. 29.

The festival will begin at 2 p.m. at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre, 275 S. Main St., Lakeport.

The event is a benefit for KPFZ 88.1 FM and is hosted by the Lake County Singer/songwriters Guild.

Admission is $14, $11 for KPFZ members and children under 11 may attend for free.

Tickets are available at the Lake County Wine Studio in Upper Lake, Watershed Books in Lakeport, Rosa D'Oro in Kelseyville and Marie's Lakeshore Feed in Clearlake.