The Tookany Review
Fall/Winter 2005 Poetry written by Cheltenham Adult School Workshop Participants
poems
In this issue
Jan Felgoise
Edited by Deborah Fries
At this
time, the Tookany Review
is only accepting the work of
writers who are enrolled
or have been enrolled in
Cheltenham Adult School
writing workshops.
For
more information about
writing workshops offered by
the Cheltenham Township Adult School, contact:
Cheltenham Township Adult
School
1414 Panther Road
Wyncote, PA 19095
Phone: 215-887-1720
Jan Felgoise
Two poems
Good Old Friends
Good old friends are different
From good friends.
They knew you when
There were no pretensions
And you were pure in heart.
If flights of fancy caught your eye
You hadn't taken off, then.
It's only as years slipped by
Did you subtly add layers to your mask
Which are all but invisible to them.
They don't hear the affect in your voice
Or your blasé attitude, if you react.
What they see is what they want of you,
That same endearing friend from youth,
Who was the most trusted and
Shared their deepest secrets.
Through the passage of years
Nothing seems to dim that delusional feeling
Of profound friendships.
Devotion
I like to hold your hand and make a
connection
That ties us together
And melds our hearts closer.
We, who are such opposites, need binding.
I, the fun-loving optimist, and
You, the serious pessimist,
Each view the world through our different prisms
Refracting our mindsets' approach to life.
Yet, we work so well in tandem --
I, the feeling and flighty one,
You, the rock of practicality,
Adjust our first reactions to the needs
Of the other with such little effort --
Which demonstrates our love
And devotion.
Janet Goleman Felgoise raised her family in Huntingdon Valley and has been a resident of Abington since 1988. Her first career was teaching Social Studies and English in the Cheltenham School District. Currently she is an attorney specializing in Family Law. Her great passion is working as a mediator, promoting this alternative dispute resolution to litigation.