Phil Repko Faces Aging Issues, Reprises Poems from His " Bear Fever Anthology"

Editor’s Note: Area writers were invited to submit poetry and/or prose to Studio B Art Gallery’s summer project “The Three Bears.” Writers were challenged to respond to the meanings of the words “bear” and “bare,” the Bear Fever sculptures, or an aspect or theme from the fairy tale “Goldilocks & the Three Bears.” Their poetry and prose responses will be published in coming weeks. We hope you will enjoy the wide-ranging responses to the challenging theme.

by Jane Stahl

Phil Repko shared poetry from yesteryear and today at Studio B Art Gallery's Writers Poetry/Prose Reading & Reception recently.  "Bearing" the challenges of aging was the theme of "Groundhog Day," his current "take" on life.

Groundhog Day
~Phil Repko

I swear I’m not forgetful.
Yes, I know I’ve gotten old.
But yesterday I took my meds --
At least that’s what my mind just said.
The truth may ne’er be told.

Because it’s Groundhog Day
Most everyday round here.
So many things are just the same.
I wave each morning to one same train.
The days just pile up, until it’s clear.

Too many days identical
Placed side-by-side each week
Prevent a one from standing out.
I’m overrun by cheerful doubt.
Quite everything has lost its own mystique.

It's Groundhog day most every day
Once you have hit your mark.
You spend too many days alone.
These days no one picks up the phone.
And even sunshine’s brightness leaves you dark.

Don’t worry about me, the sadness
Is like children underfoot.
You worry you might trip and fall
You dance around them one and all.
Like that! You can’t remember where you put --

Belongingness, and mattertude --
That made a life so grand.
One hour seems like all the rest,
Until you laugh without the jest.
And silence is the joke you understand.

Poems from his  "Bear Fever Anthology" provided yesteryear's "take" on his tenure at Boyertown High School (BASH). 

Let me explain: When English teachers get together, they talk...a lot...and often they share what they've read or written recently. And so, during one get together to celebrate a retirement from teaching of one of their own, BASH English teacher Phil Repko shared an ambitious collection of poems he'd written profiling his teaching colleagues and staff in the spirit of Edgar Lee Master's "Spoon River Anthology"--a collection of poems that collectively narrate the epitaphs--dramatic monologues in free verse--of the residents of the fictitious small town Spoon River. In Phil's 36 poems he endeavored to capture the personalities, peculiarities, and values of those with whom he taught. The Expression's  readers may recognize former English teachers and editors Lesley Misko in "Mrs. Rosenberg" and myself (Jane Stahl) in "Boyerstadtl Jane."

by Phil Repko*

Mrs. Rosenberg

I love to share the story of my life,
Not so much that I wanted folks to think
That I was either somewhat great or less,
But more that I was always cognizant
That I was in stark contrast in this place.
A single child from the heart of Queens
Transported and transplanted to this slice
Of rural countryside when I arrived.
I think I found it formative for some
To be confronted by the differences:
I was not Lutheran or Mennonite or raised
Within a lifetime’s reach of family farms -
Instead I thought I brought a unique view
That made the atmosphere as broad and deep
As possible where Pennsylvania Dutch
Was dominant. I also thrived in ways
That I would not have forecast at the start:
The introverted teacher often stays
Behind the curtain, but I found a way
To stand at center stage and yet remain
A nurturer of talent in most ways -
My students certainly, and colleagues too. 
I championed also those exhausting causes,
Wrestled to the fore, the sensibilities
At culture’s core. I’m proud of where my efforts
Goaded kids: the newspaper, and NHS, and more
To feel they could pursue the largest dreams,
Earn doctorates, run companies, and reach
The highest of their most elusive aims.

Boyerstadtl Jane

I am at one with every inch of earth
That serves as native soil for the town.
As such, I have affinity to spare,
With history, and values, going back
A century or more. I have the bloodline
Dating back to all the founders
And I feel responsible to serve
As an ambassador in any way
That I can do to help promote this town.
You want proliferation of the mascot bears
That dot the sidewalks, storefronts near and far?
You want a celebration of the arts? A book signing?
Perhaps a class or two that doubles up,
Providing education for a talent yet unknown
But also serving as a venue for instructors
Who have moved from formal classrooms.
I can do those things, with help, of course,
From each and every one of you.
That is my gift, I think, to find a way,
For everyone to make a contribution
To a true and worthy aim. Oh, sure,
I too once labored long and hard at BASH,
But now with that time gone, I’ve hit my stride.
I treasure all that’s past, and what’s to come.
“Would you like to help? There’s still much to be done.”

* Phil Repko is a career educator in the PA public school system who has been writing for fun and no profit since he was a teenager. Phil lives with his wife Julie in Gilbertsville and is the father of three outstanding children, two of whom are also poets and writers. He vacillates between poetry and prose, as the spirit beckons, has recently published his first book of poetry Pieces of April and is currently working sporadically on a novella and a memoir.

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