This week in the "Lyrical Somerville," we present the poetry of former Somerville resident Naomi Feigelson Chase. Naomi Chase’s most recent book of poetry is: "Gittel: the Would be Messiah" ( Turning Point Press Award 2005). An early portion of this novel-in-verse has been published as "The One Blue Thread," #18 in the Flume Chapbook Series. She has published three collections of poetry, 2 chapbooks, and two books of prose. The poem presented "Waiting for the Messiah in Somerville, Mass." was nominated for a PUSHCART PRIZE. To have your poems considered for the "Lyrical Somerville" send them to: Doug Holder 25 School St. Somerville, Mass. 02143

Waiting for the Messiah in Somerville, Mass.

Last night, the first snow fell in Somerville.
Cars in the street, like undelivered bundles,
wait for wool-capped, work-bound men
to shovel them out, set chairs to hold their place.
I sit in borrowed light in this house
that will never be mine,
waiting for a midwife or a miracle.

Next door, behind lowered shades, women watch
the soaps, eating chips, waiting for a prince.
Any time now, he could leap from the screen
into their lives, touch down like Mohammed’s horse
on their stone hearts.

I’d like that, too–to be translated away.
Maybe if I prayed hard to the stone madonna
in my neighbor’s yard, the one in the new blue dress
I saw him paint on her last spring.
Once she was the Queen of Heaven, Goddess of Everything.
She made kings with her hands.
Today, she’s snowed in like me,
only her outstretched fingers visible.
I’d like to see her claim her old place
at the beginning of things,
a new god in her blue eyes.

Everyone’s waiting to be trumpeted into new life
when the old world wears out and dies.
In the desert near Jerusalem,
they build a house for Messiah. If he comes,
he’ll need a place to stay. Some think he’s the Rebbe
from Brooklyn. Rebbe gives no sign.

Once, I lived in a palace where I was caretaker-Queen.
Everything in the house I put in place.
I planted lettuce on cool, wet mornings,
picked berries on hot afternoons.
Even the roads and fields were mine.
That was an Ice Age ago. After the children left,
the king died. I threw his body into the pond,
wasted years sitting there, waiting for him to rise.

Now the only road outside my door is pavement,
leading to more pavement.
My yard is full of salt.

But the Brooklyn Rebbe knows salt melts snow.

—-Naomi Feigelson Chase

The Green Line meeting, twice cancelled, will be held March 14 at the Somerville High School auditorium from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Developing…

Readers of this space were not surprised to learn that one of the founding leaders of the Progressive Democrats of Somerville, Rebekah Gewirtz, is challenging Ward 6 Alderman John M. “Jack” Connolly.  Nor will they bee surprised as more progressive candidates for city offices announced similar bids.

From the ashes of the lamentable Robert-Reich-for-Governor campaign, the city’s progressives have methodically built the strongest political organization in Somerville. 

They have twice competed successfully in the Democratic Ward Committee caucuses for delegates to their party’s state conventions.

In the Sept. 14 Democratic State Primary, their candidate Avi Green beat incumbent State Rep. Timothy J. Toomey Jr. inside the city limits, which brought Green within 500 votes of taking Toomey down.

The progressives’ other candidate in that primary was, of course, Carl M. Sciortino Jr., who defeated the 16-year incumbent Vincent P. Ciampa.

When Ciampa launched his sticker campaign for the General Election it had all the suspense of the Red Sox World Series sweep.

Few expected that. Not us, and certainly not the mayor who personally rousted supported from barstools and couches to vote for Ciampa.

If the progressives ever feared the mayor’s opposition, they have no reason to fear him now. Especially after they pitched that shutout in Ward 5.

Isn’t it interesting that at the moment the mayor has taken control of the city’s police force with allies running both the patrolmen’s union and department itself, he is in severe danger of losing control of his party? 

In the coming months, we look forward to watching this drama unfold.  Too bad the mayor has no challenger—now that would really make the next political season fun.

by Julia C. Reischel

The art installation that has placed Somerville in the heart of national and international media attention was fêted at City Hall Thursday before being taken down for good.

“This will be over very soon,” said Geoff Hargadon, or Hargo, the creator of “Somerville Gates,” which gained international fame last week after being featured in a The New York Times article. “It will have a very short life span.”

The project, a series of tiny orange gates arranged around Hargadon’s cat Edie, was temporarily dismantled on Feb. 24 and transported across town to City Hall, where it were briefly exhibited on Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone’s desk.

It was a very busy and hectic week at the Police Station
this past week – it appears that the chief is resigning, but in order to
collect his full pension he needs to stay on the clock till May – which seems
to be OK with the Mayors office and the Board of Alderman, who went into
Executive Session this past Thursday night to hear this news. It appears that Capt. Bradley will be
appointed Acting Chief temporarily until the State Legislature can approve a
permanent replacement. Maybe the Mayor
will be suggesting some sort of Police Commissioner position? On Friday morning, the chief had the locks on
his office changed; the city took his police vehicle back, along with his badge
and reportedly his gun as well. There
are mixed emotions – both pro and con – about the chief leaving and the way it
was handled by the Mayor. It’s almost
like deja-vu with how the previous mayor handled Pat Scrima and look what kind
of mess that turned into – that we now have to pay through the nose to make go
away.

by Alexander G. Baron

A Somerville-based
company that began as a three-person Boston operation  in 1988 is now the leading waste disposer for
higher education and health facilities in the Northeast.

"We dominate the
market," said Denise M. Hutchins, director of corporate communications for
Triumvirate Environmental.

Triumvirate does a lot
of things–chemical clean-up. technical training, environmental consulting–but
their primary service is the transport and disposal of waste for the higher
education, health care and life sciences industries, which they provide to many
of the big names in health care and every major university in the region,
said Hutchins.