Haverhill

Poet Comeau Reflects on Gun Violence in New Work, ‘Bodies in our Times’

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Haverhill native and poet Raymond F. Comeau, reflecting recently on 656 mass shootings last year, laments the growth in gun violence in his latest poem, “Bodies in our Times.”

Now of Belmont, Comeau is a retired dean and current lecturer at Harvard University Extension School. He is also a trustee, emeritus, of the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace in Haverhill.  
Bodies In Our Times
Every epoch has its bodies
And painters shaping a name
Like Botticelli
Whose bodies helped fashion the Renaissance
And David
Who gave Napoleon’s a noble look
But it’s noticeable
That our bodies have bullet wounds
Especially in crowded spaces
Like schoolrooms and malls
Cinemas and concert spots
Where journalists these days anticipate
AR-15s
And screaming bodies falling in mounds
Do you remember Guernica
Picasso’s painting of rabid war
Not too far from our favorite films
(Like paintings in our times)
Whose tantalizing bullet-sprayed scenes
Are as American as credit card debt
© Raymond Comeau January 2023

Haverhill

Timely Reminder: Poet Comeau Discusses Horrors of ‘Collateral Damage’ During War

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As a Russian poet was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison for reading his anti-war poetry, Haverhill native and poet Raymond F. Comeau brings to WHAV his latest poem discussing “Collateral Damage” during the current wars. Comeau, a former president of the Trustees of the John Greenleaf Whittier Homestead, says his latest work is “written in the spirit of the fighting JGW and William Blake, it expresses outrage and disgust with the idea and practice of collateral damage, and shame that we humans can be involved.”
Collateral Damage
Imagine a boy
Running blindly through rubble
His cranium a bloody mess
Or a mother
Alone against a wall
Who suckles her child
As missiles zero in
And imagine they’re multiplied
Like cancer cells out of control
And disposed of in batches
Like dead cows
Casually in sly official words
Good God we slaughter innocents
As easily as we shave
Even with empathy on our sleeves
And lessons of history in our minds
And in our hearts religions galore
That teach us love
Satan himself will glorify this
© Raymond Comeau 2023

Haverhill

Unseasonal Warmth Good Reason to Reflect on Comeau’s ‘A Sign At Sunrise In A Wells Beach Motel’

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This past Saturday’s unseasonably warm temperatures brought many to recall their favorite summer memories and destinations. Haverhill native and poet Dr. Raymond F. Comeau crafted a beautiful poem in time for the start of last summer, but time and space delayed its publication. This weekend’s reminder presents an opportunity below to travel back in time. Now of Belmont, Comeau is a retired dean and current lecturer at Harvard University Extension School. He is also a trustee, emeritus, of the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace in Haverhill.

Haverhill

Comeau Goes ‘Looking for Heart’ in Latest Poem

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Dr. Raymond F. Comeau, a Haverhill native and poet, is sharing one of his latest works with WHAV audiences in a poem, that in his words, “lets the world know that we humans must do more to help correct the many flaws in our own conduct.”

Now of Belmont, Comeau is a retired dean and current lecturer at Harvard University Extension School. He is also a trustee, emeritus, of the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace in Haverhill. Looking For Heart
On days when my heart seems
As arid as a sponge
I’m tempted to peel my skin away
Down to the ribs
Just to see if it’s there
But I focus despite my shame
On human calamities
(They seem endless once you think)
On children for example
With greedy fingers all over their sex
Or toiling until their hands bleed
Or begging or being sold
Or stolen or maimed
And this helps with getting it back
There’s a church not far from my house
If I open its holy door
And climb the belfry steps
Will I be able looking down
To burst like withering bells
We must love more
We must love more
© Raymond Comeau June 2023

Haverhill

Comeau Reflects on Shared Spring Interests Among Humans, Outdoor Friends in ‘Approaching Rabbit’

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Dr. Raymond F. Comeau, a Haverhill native and poet, notes “Springtime is for birds and flowers, but it is also for humans and rabbits.”

In his “Approaching Rabbit,” Comeau describes a meeting between a human and a rabbit, “to see if there is room for getting along.”
Approaching Rabbit
I saw yesterday through my window
One jump up and another
Run underneath like a clown
Then they frolicked
Around the holly bush
So today before I went in
I took two tiny steps
Toward a rabbit’s black eye
And speckled body
Then stopped
It didn’t move so I took another
Two steps slowly
No movement just a staring
Black eye I waited
Then two more but this time
It scampered about six feet
Away and on to eating
Like me so I went in
© Raymond Comeau August 2021

Haverhill

Poet Comeau Writes, ‘Springtime Isn’t Roses For Ukrainians’

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Spring arrived yesterday afternoon at 5:24 and, while it brings happiness to many, Dr. Raymond F. Comeau, a Haverhill native and poet, wonders aloud how Ukrainians cope after more than a year of war. Comeau, who says the suffering in Ukraine still deserves special mention, offers his latest poem, “Springtime Isn’t Roses For Ukrainians.”  He notes, “All of this does not destroy an appreciation of the scent of spring. Humankind has always been able to find a place for this during periods of stress.”

Now of Belmont, Comeau is a retired dean and current lecturer at Harvard University Extension School. He is also a trustee, emeritus, of the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace in Haverhill. Springtime Isn’t Roses For Ukrainians
What does it feel like
Being Ukrainian
After Putin’s eternal winter
Of unnameable wrongs
I tried an experiment in my room
By lifting my shade and looking out
Then imagining a suitable scene
Like row upon row
Of tiniest feet and hands
Arms and legs
And other parts equally loved
All planted there in a garden
Replacing my lawn
Normally I’m counting daffodils
And crocuses coming up
But if I’m Ukrainian
It’s slaughtered innocents
How will they ever grow
© Raymond Comeau March 2023

Haverhill

On One-Year Anniversary of Ukraine Invasion, Poet Comeau Sees Another Way

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This Friday marks one year since Russia invaded its neighbor, Ukraine, resulting in 7,199 civilian deaths, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The numbers, compiled as of Feb. 12, 2023, include 438 children. Ukraine became independent in 1991 along with all other former Soviet Socialist Republics following the Belovezh Accords, which declared that the Soviet Union ceased to exist. As he has in the last year, Dr. Raymond F. Comeau, a Haverhill native, takes a step back to visualize an alternative with his latest poem, “Ukrainians in my House.”
(a war-time fantasy)

Ukrainians In My House
Are trying on winter clothes
Making meals in the kitchen
Copious with food
And sleeping peacefully in my bed
So when missiles maybe tanks
Blast their tranquil homes
Leaving rubble and wounded children
Screaming for help
They will be ready
(Be sure of that)
With armaments for the cause
To vanquish
© Raymond Comeau January 2023

Haverhill

Poet Comeau Offers a ‘Pandemic Confession’ About Changing Personalities Post-COVID-19

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Editor’s note: Dr. Raymond F. Comeau continues to chronicle the surprise impacts and aftermath of the global COVID-19 pandemic. He tells WHAV his latest, “Pandemic Confession,” suggests “Now is a good time, while the pandemic is trailing off, for many of us to look inward to discover who we have become, and also to plan for our future.”
A Haverhill native, and now of Belmont, Comeau is a retired dean and current lecturer at Harvard University Extension School. He is also a trustee, emeritus, of the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace in Haverhill. Pandemic Confession
A rendezvous with myself
Within walls or by a flower
Is what I need now
Like a hermit taking notes
My time frame is one with Covid
Nimble killer who darkens light
My motto tell the truth
And my questions
Will they lead to a star
You have changed deep down
You can feel it
But have you looked
Have you listened as others hint at
What you’ve become
Have you failed your loved ones
Sidelined your friends
Mourned like a miser
Millions eclipsed
© Raymond Comeau September 2022