three poems and an essay: Larry Jacobsen

Three Poems

 Wind

The wind roars up the valley

tearing and ripping

     at tall trees

bending before its relentless might

sapping my will to resist

Huddled before its onslaught

I yearn for home

My dog leans against me

bewildered by the gale's sudden fury

      eyes meet

                   pleading

                              What now?

~~~~~~~~~~

Snowflakes

Awareness steals into my being

Who, where, what, am I?

I seem but one of many

in my descent from the infinite

I dance lazily down

sometimes wafting back up

in swirls of random energy,

then downward again

Where am I going?

Then joining the ocean

there is no longer

     an I.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Frame

Unyielding frame of brass

what memories are buried in your alloys?

Do you recall a time when you were joined

by hellish heat in some fiery cauldron?

Your antique shape hints of lovers

soft images once nestled within

your sculpted edges, now gone

What histories do you recall?

Did part of you once dangle

from a mother's neck

enclosing the image of a boy

now disappeared into manhood?

~~~~~~~~~~

essay removed by request (14 June 2014)

~~~~~~~~~~

3 poems:
Used by permission of the author
From: "sfumato" Shoreline Writers' Chapbook series, issue 11, c2011
Posted with  permission of the author. All rights reserved.
(The Shoreline Writers' Society meets on the 3rd Sunday of every month at the
Port Moody Arts Centre , 2425 St. John's St., Port Moody, BC.)

~~~~~~~~~~

also from Larry Jacobsen

JEWEL OF THE KOOTENAYS: THE EMERALD MINE

Soft cover, published, approx. 352 pp. 8¼ x 10½, 

published by, and available from, Salmo Arts and Museum Society, 

 104 - 4th St., Salmo, BC, V0G 1Z0

from: Sultan Minerals review:

"...Tucked away in the West Kootenays, the well-known Emerald mine operated under three different owners, between 1905 and 1973. Now for the first time the history of this mine has been compiled in a book.

Author Larry Jacobsen, himself a former miner and Canex employee, is uniquely qualified to write this book. He worked at the mine for a short period in the 1950s, and it was some former colleagues who sold him on telling their stories.

The book is richly illustrated with hundreds of photographs, with some in colour, as well as a number of diagrams and maps, which all help to bring the mine and its people to life..."

 read the complete review at Sultanminerals.com
 

To book a workshop, learn more about Mr. Jacobsen's presentation or book a school visit, please contact him directly: starrider@shaw.ca. 

Mineral resources Education Program guest speakers program.  Mr. Jacobsen's school presentation is free. He asks that each school purchase two books for the library.

about Larry Jacobsen

Larry Jacobsen came to Canada as a baby in 1929, the third in a family that eventually numbered 12 children. After growing up on farms in BC and Alberta, and deciding that farming was not for him, he embarked on a nomadic career that would eventually include 46 different employers, some of which he worked for several times. He had brief spells in logging (before power saws), sawmill work and diamond drilling, before becoming an underground "hard-rock" miner for 13 years and following that up with heavy construction work. At age 51 having used up nine lives and gone to night school for an MBA, he switched to consulting and worked for another 56 companies in construction, energy and mining.
 Mr. Jacobsen now lives in Port Coquitlam, B.C. He retired for the last time at age 78 (from paying work). Jewel of the Kootenays is his third book.  
Biography condensed  from:  Mineral Resources Education Program

~~~

update September 2012: Larry Jacobsen newest book "Salmo Stories" is now available

from Kootenay Planet: "Author and former miner, Larry Jacobsen, interviewed over 100 previous and present residents for their family’s stories of life in this small mining and logging town from 50 – 120 years ago. This book will leave the reader with a sense of just how tough men had to be to survive in a wilderness community far from family, friends, and access to common amenities. This applies even more so to the women, for many of them bore a load equal to or even greater than that of their menfolk. Hear how one lady once tried to kidnap a former “Golden Gloves” boxer at the point of a rifle to liven up her stagnating party—care to try that today? This free event is open to the public. Refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library"