BAY AREA STEW -
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Photo by Weebly.com
Last Summer in Jenner
by Elsa Fernandez
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Ethereal interfusion of blues
flood sunlit skies, gently framing the horizon in a Provencal palette of colors. High on the Jenner bluffs wind eddies of briny air whirl in from the estuary where the river meets the ocean. We walk on the Kortum Trail, grass yellowing in the summer heat, Golden California poppies, bright amid a profusion of violet lupines. Kai lunges to dense rows of blackberry bushes laden with plump Byzantine purple fruit that he so loves. Seal Watch volunteers, alert on the dunes, protect the pinniped pups on the sand, waiting for their fur to grow out, so they can venture into the ocean. I recite Kipling’s poem "Seal Lullaby" stroking Kai’s soft fur, telling him the story of little Kotick, the brave white seal who led his friends to safety. My evenings are cold now, I look for Sirius in the night sky to find my wiihayo haiyu, my beloved winnewa. ________________________ Pomo words: Wiihayo Haiyu = star dog / Winnewa = friend |
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elsa Fernandez grew up in Asia. She has lived in San Francisco since 1970 and never gets tired of this lovely city. She has travelled the world and still gets excited flying back home and to finally land at SFO. Her family is scattered around the world—India, Australia, Dubai, England, Ireland and Argentina. She is a political junkie and majored in Journalism and Political Science. She loves music and plays the piano quite well (one of her dreams was to own a piano bar in upcountry Maui . . . she would probably call it the Maui Moon!). Writing poetry is an emotional outlet for her.
Other works in this issue:
Poetry - Food The Better-than-Sex Blueberry Cake Bay Area Byways Where the Earth Meets the Sky Vertical Divider
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Vistas & Byways Review is the semiannual journal of fiction, nonfiction and poetry by members of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at San Francisco State University.
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Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State University (OLLI at SF State) provides communal and material support to the Vistas & Byways volunteer staff.
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