Reading Aloud with Mrs. Hirshler
In an annex of the white house at 25 Bardwell Street
in Lewiston, Maine, Mrs. Hirshler and her students
sat catty-corner while reading aloud from Les Faux-
Monnayeurs or La Divinia Commedia, she in her light
German accent, pausing to eat her diamond-shaped lemon
or almond cookies–fresh from the oven–sipping lapsang
souchong, and to watch squirrels under the birdfeeder.
Never nostalgic for the pediatric practice she left to escape
the Nazis, a widow, eighty, she napped on the Greyhound
going to visit Einstein’s daughter or her sons. One of her
sons found written on a scrap of paper in her phone book:
“Let the merciful interpretation of all things
be the main concern of our life.”
12 thoughts on "Reading Aloud with Mrs. Hirshler"
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Beautiful character sketch, love the last two lines!
The descriptions are stunning, Gaby!
“while reading aloud from Les Faux-
Monnayeurs or La Divinia Commedia, she in her light
German accent, pausing to eat her diamond-shaped lemon
or almond cookies–fresh from the oven–sipping lapsang
souchong, and to watch squirrels under the birdfeeder. ”
Yes.
I love the vivid description! I too love the last two lines.
Thank you for sharing the story and a quote to live by.
Gaby! This excellent poem has touched me & will continue to for a long time. A keeper for me as it expounds God’s Big creation of Love detailed to including as absolutely necessary Mercy. Not heard this this way before. My mind/heart have written many poems, but of them all, i Know 2 were written by my soul. Feels to me like your soul wrote this one in its discerment of a life experience memory of yours. Wonderful images, recounting, characher. Thank you!
Gaby this one ‘s a gem! Agree with Sally and others. Photo adds more depth.
I love how you capture the time and place and the character. Also love those last two lines.
“she in her light German accent, pausing to eat her diamond-shaped lemon or almond cookies–fresh from the oven–sipping lapsang souchong, and to watch squirrels under the birdfeeder.” – Way to set a scene! Just an amazing poem!
Love the tastes, sounds and sights of this poem, Gaby.
You capture this woman beautifully here!
What a careful and loving portrait. The precision of this section is incredibly vivid and lovely to read:
sat catty-corner while reading aloud from Les Faux-
Monnayeurs or La Divinia Commedia, she in her light
German accent, pausing to eat her diamond-shaped lemon
or almond cookies–fresh from the oven–sipping lapsang
souchong, and to watch squirrels under the birdfeeder.
Wonderful portrait. I love the quote at the end. Beautiful!