The OES site for Greenwich Village youth who were leaving the traditional school system was called the Muse School. John Pettinato began the program in the gym at Our Lady of Pompeii. It later moved to St. Patrick’s in Soho, and then to The Door, a youth program which was housed in Chelsea.
For the first issue of the Muse School’s Waterways magazine, Rosa Maria Serrano contributed her poem, The Cold Glass Window
The sound of a fire engine awakens me
from a terrible nightmare.
A quick look out the window calms me down.
Just one look at the moon reminded me
of how much, how much I need you.
I need you like the moon needs darkness,
so it can shine on the dark streets
to guide us while we walk in the parks;
so it can shine on the buildings
and through the window I’m looking out.
I’ve even felt the pains of sorrow
and unhappiness as I look through
these cold glass windows.
The trees, they look so sad in that cold weather;
alone in the dark,
miserably waiting for the warm summer sun.
Just like I await being in your arms some day.
Why is the thought of you always in my mind?
I would wish sometimes I never met you.
But then, I wouldn’t be as happy as I am now,
looking out this cold glass window,
thinking of you.
I began writing poetry in Africa, and published Chrylust (1970) in London. In New York in 1974, during the time of the Scribblers, I read from that book on WRVR, a radio station broadcasting from Riverside Church.
The Scribblers brief existence as a community, attracted poets with a wide range of motives. Some were pursuing writing careers, others wrote out of a need to express.
The breath of the muse gave voice to the poets. I had composed a poem about New York in my mind. First I memorized the poem, then later wrote it down. It began --
New York, you hustling heavy hive
of your insect man’s mortal madness;
Nest of stone, brick, and steel...
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