Immigrants Song
My parents had both immigrated to the United States from Finland and I grew up speaking Finnish with them and my neighbors who were Scandinavians. My mother loved music and taught me the old Finnish folk songs she had learned as a child. I had some voice and piano lessons and loved to sing.
Many of the Finnish families who lived on surrounding farms had immigrated with grandparents. As they grew older and more infirm, they missed their home country.
My mother sometimes took me to visit these elderly folks. I was asked to sing a song or two for them. I would stand at the foot of the bed where these old folks lay and begin my song. Many of them would lay there with their eyes closed and as I watched, they smiled and tears formed and slid down their wrinkled cheeks. I was probably 10 or 12 years old at the time.
As an only child on a remote farm in Cecil County, Maryland, I was a big reader. My father had many books, including the complete works of Shakespeare. I read all kinds of books, but I loved poetry. Caught up in the emotions of singing to the old folks, I wrote my first poem at the age of 12.
Death
How foul a word for them to use
for such a wondrous thing.
For after many years of pain,
to hear the beautiful angels sing.
to stand in midst of heavenly host,
to hear God’s voice and say,
This is my hope, my pride, I boast,
my comfort and my stay.