HARRY ROMAN
 
 

In the City
Tattoo
Prejudiced People
Dick and Jane, Walt Disney, and Me
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

In the City
 

Among the weeds
and paper litter
still,...
are flowers
to be picked.


 
 
 
In the City
Tattoo
Prejudiced People
Dick and Jane, Walt Disney, and Me

index


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tattoo
 
 

Forearm tattooed
nothing special
no pictures
just numbers.

In the City
Tattoo
Prejudiced People
Dick and Jane, Walt Disney, and Me

 
index


















































Prejudiced People
 
 

Prejudiced people
stare across canyons
foolishly praising themselves.

Why don't they stop
tie ropes in strong knots
and decend the rocky abyss?

In the City
Tattoo
Prejudiced People
Dick and Jane, Walt Disney, and Me

 
index


































































Dick and Jane, Walt Disney, and Me



It was a sheltered life in the late 1940s and the 1950s-the calm before the storm of the 60s. It was the sweet reward for my parents having endured 10 years of the Depression followed by 5 years of war and death. I was the firstborn and oldest male member of my father's family, pregnant with the promise of the first one to go to college. Life truly seemed good, and as simple and uncomplicated as the old Dick and Jane stories I read every day in school. It was a time when everyone seemed to know their place and role in life; and what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Infinitely patient parents on television dispensed morals and explanations for everything from a lost toy to the workings of the stock market. Every night I watched miniature versions of my parents and myself on TV, constantly reminded what was expected of me. I never complained. I was told I was special and I behaved myself

On Sunday evenings, fresh from a warm bath and a big dinner, Walt Disney treated me to the wonders of the animal world, the great folklore and stories of our nation, wonderful cartoons, and special holiday shows. Jimminy Cricket always brought tears to my eyes when he sang "When You Wish Upon a Star". Even he knew I was going to reach for the moon.

Then the 60s came and it all changed. I saw anger in my father's eyes,... and it never left. My passive mother wasn't so passive anymore. She said what was on her mind. Now the television shows didn't always end on a happy note. People blamed Dick and Jane for things I never even thought of, and the stories were. changed. Walt Disney died and along with him went the magic. Life got very complex. You couldn't get the message of life by just hearing the music. Now you had to listen to and understand the words. It stopped being fun. And I didn't behave myself. I started asking questions,... many questions,....hard to answer questions. I doubted if I was really special anymore.
 
 
 
 

In the City
Tattoo
Prejudiced People
Dick and Jane, Walt Disney, and Me

index