Welcome to Poetically Yours. This segment highlights poets from northern Illinois. Today’s episode features Carol Obertubbesing.
Obertubbesing grew up in Union City, New Jersey and saw the New York skyline every day of her life until she left. In 1969, she became part of the first coed class at Princeton University. She said that was the defining event of her life.
The Princeton Alumni Weekly published an article she wrote about her experience as one of the first women to attend Princeton. She returned to Princeton almost every year for reunions and other events and now serves as Regional Vice President for the Class of 1973. In 2019, she organized a national conference held in Chicago to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Undergraduate Coeducation at Princeton. Last year, the University gave her the Distinguished Service to Princeton Award.
Obertubbesing has served on the Board of the Woodstock Folk Festival since 1993 and has organized the festival’s virtual performances for the past two years.
She’s worked in public TV and radio. She was the director of Outreach at WGBH, and at PBS she was the associate director of the Elementary and Secondary Service. She said she is an avid listener of public radio.
Today’s poem is called “The Palace of Wonders.”
I invite you to add to your “Palace of Wonders”
Welcome to the Palace of Wonders:
The sound of the woodpecker when the trees are still bare
The sight of the eclipse that is ever so rare
The dew-coated leaf shimmering in early morning sun
The laughs of children rollicking in playground fun
The song that makes you want to dance
The sparkle of a budding romance
A warm beagle puppy in your lap
The soothing swish of the ocean during a summer nap
The sight of a butterfly in a flowering field
The scent of a hyacinth when the bud is unsealed
The cardinal’s mating call in early morn
The earth inviting us all to be reborn
The grasshopper leaping in his natural disguise
The caring look in your loved one’s eyes
Sunlight dancing on the gentle waves
Stalactite drops in underground caves
Golden prairie grass in late afternoon sun
The twinkling of the stars when day is done
The arrival of the first red robin in spring
Sunset’s golden haze tinting everything
A double rainbow hung across the sky
The blue and green luminescence of a dragonfly
The rising sun spreading light as we wake
The full moon shimmering on the quiet lake
Are they mirages or just dreams?
Face the world as it is not as it seems
Bear witness to the lies people say
Mourn those who die each day
Speak out for peace and justice
Reach out to the weak and helpless
But before nighttime slumbers
Return to your Palace of Wonders
