Adam Ross Kalesperis, Singer/Pianist/Composer

Resident at Westbeth since 2019

WESTBETH: Where the Legends Live

 

To describe this sacred place

     is not a simple task.

We are complex and opinionated

     and bold, and, sometimes …

          burnt

 

For we, each one of us,

     have lived lives of deepest sorrow,

          but also—elevated, unequivocal, indescribable

          … joy!

     (Such is the birthright of the artist.)

 

In my short time here

     (though I’ve waited all my life)

     the legends I’ve met

          are lovely,

               laughing,

                    languishing and

               limericking!

 

How delightful it is

     to have arrived here

          at last …

     I have dreamt and daydreamed

          of a place like this,

               a place on this precarious planet

     that I could call my home—

          here.

          Now …

     Westbeth!

          (perhaps it means West Bethlehem,

               some could say)

 

There’s Suzen snapping photos,

     beautiful black and white

     (the kind that inspire murals, mountainous,

         moments and memories in time)

 

 And Toni capturing cityscapes and skyscrapers,

     always with a lonely Luna, lulling gently

          in the wispy whirling clouds above …

 

Meanwhile, Penny—puppeteering,

     playing parables in her palm

     for people, young, but also old.

 

Across the way—illustrious Ilsa,

     whose poetry pours in elixirs, enchanting

          every reader of her words,

               her wisdom …

               unforgotten

 

And who could forget Eve? Oh, how effervescent!

     (Well, I can’t forget, for Madam, I’m Adam.)

She blesses this beautiful building

     with the gift of song— yes, singing!

     All are welcome, everyone,

          and if they come,

               they come again

                    for more …

 

Everyone here is a legend,

     both those who are still living,

     and those, too, who have gone on …

          as we all will go—

          on and on

     and on and on …

 

Dearest Bob, whom I never knew

     though somehow, yet, I do

          through his unplayed possession—

          my welcoming gift from this beloved place.

He gave to me—a muse!

     his piano (now mine, now ours …

          for what is mine is never mine alone,

               but a gift I give you, too—

                    all of you!)

 

For we, as “legends of Westbeth” understand

     that to be an artist,

          is to share our work, our gifts, our

          talents with the world …

 

That, my friends, is the reason we are here,

     the reason we are legends …

Here in wonderful Westbeth,

     in the West Village of Manhattan

          where the legends live

 

               forever.