Hughlings Himwich

M.E. wrote me a poem

I've answered:

a poem is satisfied in it's unwords
and salty skin
it's stricken into knowing only what it is
sickly in the mouths of unpeople
it says
I am
and what I is

It begs for you to come back.
on unknees made of ink.

Humanities 2007/2008

The wise sayings that follow were written by my 2007/2008 Humanities students. At the end of last year I selected from their many wise sayings the one by which I could best remember each.

Truth is unverifiable.  Carlie Weiner

Learn from the past! Then you can survive the wild.  Learn from the wild! Then you can survive society.  Greg Allen

The great hypocrisy is life without passion.  When you don’t care about anything, yet you still hold on to everything.  Lizzie Bergman

If the arrow is motionless, then nothing exists. Rilke Crane

There are apples in the lemon tree.  Anonymous

If you speak to me again of “the way,” I will push you off the nearest cliff, since that will
be my way.  Kyle Leggott

Every thought, every universe, everything is a moment.  Jaksa

What is one?  Helen Wu

The body sees with its eyes, the soul with everything.  Devon Dunn

Effective moral systems require someone or something in a higher position that must be respected and obeyed, so that our inborn desire for our own happiness does not harm others.  Gram Hopwood

The self is experienced only in the present.  When we try to know it, it vanishes.  Daniel Lyle

The task is to find the balance between reason and emotion.  The place to start is self-love.  Desiree Patterson

Time creates, time destroys, time is an endless loop.  Brandon Smith

Beauty, real love, and music are proof to me of the existence of God.  Marlena Livingston

It may be impossible to institute the ideal into an entire society, but each of us can keep the ideal alive within ourselves.  Richard Zou

Duality is not enough.  John Derksen

In the process of dividing the world around us into concrete and narrow definitions, we lose sight of the potential truth, beauty, and knowledge that surrounds us, and in turn, we condemn ourselves to live in a world of empty realities.  Kiana Espinosa

Math can describe nature, but math cannot describe math.  Matt Davis

The very search for truth causes the truth to hide.  Travis Willett-Gies

In anything that matters, perfection doesn’t exist.  Colin Martz

Love, death, society, civilization, God, perfection, ethics, and it goes on.  Ever since humanity invented itself, it has been flapping its arms and kicking itself for not adding wings. Nathaniel Shoemaker-Trejo

I know everything . . . except for what is going to happen next.   Tiffany Perry

Though the world will tell you otherwise, the majority is not always correct and it is not necessary to be resigned to failure or to being average.  Chris McKenzie

Good people do not harbor bitterness . . . instead they forgive and forget . . . because they know that only thus will they themselves be forgiven.  Noel Deis

The master said, “He who has taken time to read the comics each morning will have lived a good life.”  Kyle Cooper

The time before time . . . was bent . . .to touch the time that was . . . and the time that was now touches the present . . . which is also bent.  Svyt Komogorov

It is by means of what we think and what we want that the world takes shape around us.  Wesley Smalls

To know what happened before time began is silly, seeing as before implies chronology, which could not exist before itself.  Connor Stern

Seeing requires your eyes be open.  Yet it makes no difference in the dark.  Rick Feddema

You cannot control what happens to you but you can control your perception of life and this is much more of a reality than anyone else’s account of events in your life.  Shelley Casey

The most impressive virtue of them all: modesty.  Terri Kurtz

Some believe we must give up our bodies to become eternal.  In truth what we must give up is our minds.  Richard Held

Why me, why not a zombie? Hugh Himwich

Don’t follow in the footsteps of the ancient masters.  Seek what they sought.  Basho

That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.  Walt Whitman

Happiness is nothing unless it is shared.  Chris McCandless

For my students . . . June, 2005

Mr. Himwich Remembers            June, 2005

There is a growing legend out there that I am forgetful – and I can hear Addie saying, “You are!” – if I am, and I stress the ‘if’, I want all my students to know that there things about each of you that I will never forget.

I start with Claire, who said to me the most precious thing . . .. that since I don’t have any grandchildren and it is unlikely I ever will, that she and her classmates would be my grandchildren . . . that one comment serves as the glue that has bonded me to this class  . . . imagine, grandchildren as diverse in their personalities and potentials as Clayton and Claire, as Nicola and Nick . . . . and with Claire come Brittany and Nicola . . . I have told Nicola that she reminds me so much of myself when I was an 8th grader . . .  the same happy detachment  . . .  Brittany, you are so determined, so bright, so charismatic . . . . I will remember how wonderfully and how badly you sing . . . . and Sally, I will remember our telepathic link , , , Did you go on that last adventure . . . it’s a tradition . . . . Sally, how many boys are ready to change eyes for you . . .  even now there is a would-be Ferdinand . . . . and Logan, there is no one kinder and more generous than you are . . . . I will remember how each day I would ask you to put down whatever you had in your hand that you were using to beat Clayton and Danny . . . . and each day you would contritely say, “Yes, sir” . . . .  you have grown, Logan, in your ability to read and write . . . you will continue to develop when most others have become set in their ways  . . . . and Brett, I remember your wonderful declamation performances . . . you should look for opportunities to develop your stage talent . . . . and Cookie I will remember your good ideas and your wonderful haikus . . . haikus seem to be a natural mode of expression for you . . . and Shannon, I remember your literary talent and, especially, your insight about Atticus in To Kill A Mockingbird . . . . perhaps Atticus as a boy had himself killed a mockingbird . . . . and Clayton, I will watch with interest your growth as a writer . . . you have interesting, complex ideas . . . I will remember in particular your insight about The Iliad . . . it begins in medias res and ends in medias res . . . and Ari, I will remember your wonderful declamation performances, your natural dignitas, and how you forgave me when you thought I was unreasonable . . . and Marguerite, you are a talented writer with wonderful insight . . . it may be that I really don’t get you . . . but I do love the give and take . . . . and then Lily and Bridget, the two Ariels of our class . . . . (I will get to the Calibans later when I speak of Nick and Nikhil) . . . Lily, you returned to us just in time . . . Your portrayal of Ariel was magical . . . may you too find your Element . . . and Bridget, I release you to the Elements with the great hope that you will return . . . .I remember how you flourished under Miss Haddad . . . . you need more such teachers . . . . and Carli, beyond the potato latkes and matzabrei, we had a deeper connection . . . thanks for getting us to the Holocaust Museum and thanks for your insight about the ending of The Tempest . . . As Ariel is released to the elements so does Shakespeare in the person of Prospero release his hold on life . . . and Catherine, who lights up like a hot, green fuse and makes every day spring . . . I will remember how you hated the books we read and yet had such wonderful insights about them . . . . I remember in particular the day Miss Haddad asked the class to identify the most significant line in a long passage in Black Like Me .. . and you immediately got it . . . it was “I did not like the way he looked.” . . . that insight was typical of many others . . . .  and Lauren, I know now how determined and tenacious you can be . . . you showed me . . . congratulations for taking on Latin grammar with the same determination that you, Mark, Craig, Nick and Nikhil demonstrated in that basketball game at the state convention . . .  and Danny, you and I have battled . . . and we have won . . . . I respect so much your natural inclination for Socratic dialogue . . . and Beth, you are a gifted English student . . . . when you focus your mind and energy, you’re the best . . . . as you become one with the horse you ride, you will become one with the power you possess . . . . and Annie, I will remember your wonderful art and writing, but most of all I will remember how eagerly and deliberately you invited constructive criticism . . . . this is a singular and far-reaching virtue . . . . remember to give me a copy of that last poem you wrote . . . . and Andrew, you have a gift for poetry and a wonderful poetic voice, . . .  I will remember your portrayal of Creon. . . .  and David, for 4 years we have worked together and for the last two we have traveled the same challenging road, sharing disappointment and triumph . . . . it has been a pleasure beyond words . . . .Jenny, I will remember how your simple friendliness and generosity always made my day better, especially on those days when things were difficult . . . thank you, on my behalf and on behalf of the others for whom you have done the same thing . . .  and now the terrible four . . . . you can’t escape me now . . . there is nowhere to hide . . . Nick is our class Caliban, Nikhil our Trinculo and Mark and Craig are want-to-be Ferdinands . . . . the little these last two know of romance would astonish you . . . . Mark, a man of few if any words, and Craig, an overgrown puppy, . . .  and everyone knows, Craig, you are not 6 feet tall . . . .  but I am glad to confess that it was my lucky day when you decided last summer to take Latin . . . Nikhil, what a wonderful artist you are . . . we will all remember . . . . and Nick, despite your monomaniacal demands for attention, and Mark, despite your mumbling, and Craig, despite your malaproprisms, a teacher could not ask for  better students . . . all four of you have made this a special year for me . . . thank you for letting me share your fun . . . and Ashley, you know how lovable and laughable these four can be . . . you whose writing is so pure and natural, who always understand more than I realize . . . you have that light burning within . . . and Addie, our Antigone, the one who gently reminds me of things . . . what a pleasure it has been being with you as you have spread your wings . . . and finally, Dr. B, during these last two years you have grown young with me as we have had to match the wits and vigor of our students . . . . .

and now a Homeric simile for the Class of 2005 --- as one who stands above the steep cliff at Capri where Tiberius had his villa and looks down thousands of feet to the birds of the sea circling below . . . first one and then another and then another mounts the hard current of air and catches the strength of the wind with its wings and rises up and up until, behold, each one soars in triumph above that proud height . . . so do I marvel at the strength of your youth and the goals you have accomplished

If you were truly my grandchildren, and I know I speak for your parents and grandparents who are here today, I could not be more proud of you.

For my students . . . June, 2004

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit. . . . . that is a quotation from Vergil’s Aeneid and means “Perhaps someday it will pleasant to remember these things” . . . and Plato believed that learning was really a process of remembering whereby we seem to learn for the first time lessons we actually experienced in the past . . .  I hope that these memories will be pleasant for you to recall someday and that you will learn from them . . . I could begin by reminding you of my fondness for Chris and how I enjoyed his feistiness, but I rather remember him begging for mercy . . . . I could remember Keith, slyly provoking Chris, who of course would react and be the one blamed, but I rather remember his love of great literature, which blossomed when he read The Odyssey with such attention to the significant detail . . . I could mention how many times a day I told Luke not to lean back in this chair, but I’ll pass by that because I rather remember the two great philosophical poems he wrote at the end of the year . . . remember, Luke, good writing comes from having something to say and YOU DO have something to say . . . and Abe, I will remember the twinkle in your eyes and your comically provocative questions, .. . . . no josh but jostles truth . . . . and Chase, I remember Saturday mornings – one on one we understood each other – and I will remember how helpful you were . . . like On the Day in Old Rome when you helped Alex Rodriguez fire his catapult . . . . and Lizzie, I will remember always the first poem you wrote when you discovered the magnetic board and how your voice grew under the care of Marian Haddad . . . and I thank you for always reminding me of small but important things that constantly escaped my attention . . .  Alan, I will especially remember your report on A River Runs Through It ,  . . . remember the day Paul found a motion all his own. . . the whole class enjoyed the fly-casting exercise . . . and Mitchell, I will always remember your ability to ask fundamental questions that seemed comical to others, but profound to me . . . and Ryan, I will remember how my appreciation of your talent grew . .  I remember you in Charley Brown . . .  how wonderfully talented you are . . . and Devin, I will remember how you asked good questions right from the beginning when you questioned the anti-Semitism in the Grimm’s stories. . . you were right then as you were often on other occasions . . . and Elizabeth Wilson, I will remember the day when I recognized for the first time your poetic insight, there was a sea-change after that . . . the battle of Harry Potter and the dictionaries goes on . . Lauren, I will remember your respectful challenges, especially the time when you questioned the method I was using to interpret poetry . . . that a poem may mean something different to different people, but there is still a way of validating your interpretation by showing how it works throughout the poem as a whole . . . and Madison, I will always remember how determined you were, despite being often mystified by our writing assignments . . . and Paige, yes, I do know you can be mischievous, but I prefer to remember your willingness to revise essays that were already very good . . . the way you went about your work was truly a model for others . . Annie McAllister, one of my best Latin students, I will remember most especially your growing confidence which allowed you to stand before the whole school at Declamation . . . you did a wonderful job . . . . Lindsey, I remember you in the sixth grade, you were in control then and you still are, but best I will remember working with you on your Odyssey story . . .  you had such wonderful ideas, it really helped me envision the last trial of Odysseus . . . Patrick, who rides the dictionaries, I will remember how pleasant it was to chat with you . . . your conversation was whimsical and sophisticated . . . you were never in doubt and only occasionally wrong . . . Do you remember how tough I could be on you? . . . I remember with pleasure how you never held a grudge . . . Alex, grasshopper, so often overwhelmed, so able to meet every challenge, . . . what a wonderful writer you are . . . I will always hear your voice “You need to put more energy into the class”; “you need more sleep” – and I remember how wonderfully mischievous you and Kate and Katherine could be . . .  thanks for showing me those hidden places in the school . . . I think there are a few more you need to tell me about before you leave . . . And Kate, I remember your poetry, especially your Declamation poem, and Katherine, I will remember yours and Alex’s Odyssey video and your strong grip . . . and I know all three of you --  Alex, Kate and Katherine – will remember my counsel – “Accept the consequences!” . . . .and Elizabeth Bobbitt, I will remember the beautiful curl of your writing, especially your short stories, and the strong current of your reading aloud . . .  like a river rushing out to the sea. . . and Maura, I remember your penetrating intelligence and darkly searching verses, especially the last one you wrote for me . .a father’s heart, a trickster’s eye, a master’s mind, a poet’s sigh . . .thank you .. . . and M.E. Cooper, I will remember your wonderful drawing, your playfulness, your lovely poem to me, your love of mythology . . . and Ali, HERE I AM – I know you loved that phrase – you will probably remember it as long as I will remember YOU’RE IN TROUBLE, MR. HIMWICH. . . and Ali, I will remember how finally you listened to me about how to write a formal essay . . . thanks for that insight about Shakespeare . . . and Annie Hicks, born out of time, did we know each other in the sixties?. . . no Albus Cuniculus for you . . . thanks so much for your whimsical insights and for your wonderful drawings . . . and Amy the Proud, Amy the Smart, Amy the Stubborn, . . . Remember the day we spent together studying – that’s when I realized just how gifted you are . . . Ashley, magistra, sodalis, snoopy, what you have given St. Luke’s is beyond measure, . . . da mi basia is never to be forgotten . . .  What great fun it is to work with you . .  it takes three years to build a Latin program, but because of you and your cohorts, we did it in one .. and Elizabeth Lyons, firefly, girl who stares straight ahead into the bright lights, remember when you told me “Don’t let them take Gilgamesh away from us!” . . . I will never forget. .  thanks . . .  and Evans, my prep school mate, things somehow always turned out your way . . . you will be homesick, but you will also love Middlesex, … where no one has yet heard your wonderful reading of Frankie and Johnny . .  and Emily Molina, gremlin, siren, asker of difficult and profound questions like What is genius? And What is poetry? . . . and you were right to not be satisfied with the answers you received . . . you emerged as a poet whom everyone respected . . . and Erica, I will remember your commitment to your beliefs and your family, it was wonderful that you are here to graduate with friends you have had for so long . . . and Cheyney, poet, instigator, writer of wonderfully whimsical verse and prose, you could be so stubborn, you are so talented . . . and Liz Biz, minimalist, the less said the better . . . or so you believe unless of course you’re telling someone that the best four years of his life were spent in first grade . . . and Emily Turner, I will read the other Harry Potter books as soon as they are translated into Latin . . . you, who know me so well, thanks for your generosity towards me and all your classmates . . . and finally, of course, MOODY, MALIGNANT THING, LOUD POET (I never said that despite what Cheyney says), you are a wonderful poet but I have one last piece of advice for you --Don’t write philosophical poetry! . . . . or do I underestimate you! I am sure I am in trouble again . . . and finally, Rosalind, who has always been with us . . . when we remember her, we know that what Plato said is true . . . by remembering we learn . . . .

I want you all to know that the day you leave St. Luke’s you will become my students forever. . . I came to St. Luke’s because of you and the affection I feel for you has only grown with each passing day until now I am barely able to let you go . .  . thank you for making this old man young again.

For my students

I walk with you through every day and  night;

you on one side and memories of you on the other.

For my students

Last night I dreamed of the Limited and the Unlimited and You.  It was as though all the answers to all the questions we have asked over the years were as graspable as wildflowers in an open field. I will not say it was just a dream. I woke up as usual at 3:00 A.M. and went out to stand beneath the night sky with all its wildflowers burning, a full moon in the west, a dying sun. And I knew the dream was true.  And now the stars at my elbow and foot are named for you. 

For My Students

Let not young souls
    be denied the right
To dive like the phoenix
    into the night.

Let not the spring
    and the song it brings
Yield to those
    who no longer sing.

If there is time,
   there is also light –
Let not the young
   be denied their right.

Home

            for my students

Gray eyes,
watch over
these young souls
and test them
so they become
worthy
of the wisdom
within.

Let them find
the flower rooted
in darkness
and a bed
rooted in delight.

Let sirens
lure them out
to sea
with winged words
that bind them fast
and drive them
from isle to isle
from enchantment
to misery

until one so young
should ask of them
a song of no regret.

   

Where the sound goes . . . . .

Where the sound goes . . . . .

                            for my students

Where does the sound go?

The distant bell
the laughter of children

the echo of these words
these tears
that to paper fall
like every drop
of rain

the thunder and crack
of lightning
on a cloudless day

the silent cry of love:
O love, love.

Follow the sound.

Follow the sound
of wind & trees
of every leaf
that falls.

There I will be --
in your heart
and you in mine,
and you in mine.