Dogtown. 1931. Marsden Hartley (1877-1943)
Leverett Street
sun struck the rocks gold
unlike she from California
who came
bought the stone home
with its stone steps
to its round
granite porch
halfway up Leverett Street
not understanding
that Mikey was part of the deal
the sea the woods the pits the
right to be private or sociable
the right to ride the road
on a threewheeler
she complained about the bargain
farther up Leverett
they’re having a baby
he beams a smile
who cursed the preschoolers
on his way up the ramp
who did build the wedding cake
four tiered with its circling stairway
who were married
on top of the wooden
wedding cake so huge
the first layer required
a tractor trailer full of pallets
for completion
before the (penultimate) bonfire
~ Melissa de Haan Cummings
Melissa de Haan Cummings majored in French and English Literature at
Bryn Mawr.
She has published poetry in a number of journals. She describes her
interests as including,
“much small boating around Cape Ann, love of Charles Olson,
Hatha yoga practice since 1969.”
Enduring Gloucester 