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.
