A Woodland Pattern Poem by Angela Trudell Vasquez

If a neighborhood is lucky it has an anchor

something holding it together.

Riverwest has many organizations

and organic businesses

sprouting, grounded, dug in,

Woodland Pattern Book Center

is one of them one.

But it is special to me

because it’s about books and people

who read:

literature, poetry, politics and art.

It’s about those who admire

those who write and publish.

Well known artists visit,

mingle with aspiring poets, the masses.

It’s a destination, an island of learning,

education, sharing and encouragement

of the written word and understanding

in an age of increasing distractions and detractions.

Not to mention its terrific staff and founders,

Anne Kingsbury and Karl Gartung.

Never mind great old and new artists

haunt its bookcases

alive and dead pleading

buy me, read me, listen.

Never mind magic happens here

oral, written and sometimes

at the hand and pen of a young

Woodland Pattern friend

at poetry camp in the summer

under the tutelage of a real poet and sunshine.

WP is a treasure and it would be

a benefit to Milwaukee and the world

if it stayed ingrained in the neighborhood

feeding us good vibes, acts, images and words

so self expressions can ripple out

from its core affect change.

It is a positive in a world that easily

descends into chaos and greed.

Art lives there and breathes

and so do the people.