Editor’s note: In a sad coincidence, the Herald received an email the morning this poem was published that Joel Fallon had passed away the previous morning at the age of 85. As Benicia’s first poet laureate, Joel established a lot of programs that have allowed poetry to thrive in our community, including this Sunday’s Poets’ Picnic in the City Park, which will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Joel’s family will be present, and people are encouraged to bring their poetry or one of Joel’s poems to read. A memorial is also planned for December. The Herald will have a story on Joel’s life in the near future after facts are gathered. In the meantime, please keep Joel and his family in your thoughts.
The pyramids, the Great Wall of China
and the transcontinental railroad were all
built by sick men with sore backs,
fallen arches, migraines, abscessed teeth.
Guess what—they endured.
They did their job.
So you’ve got the sniffles?
Get up anyway.
Have your breakfast
and go to school.
It’s your turn to endure.
That’s your job.
Joel Fallon was Benicia’s first poet laureate, a position he held from 2006 to 2008.
Do you have insightful, topical or just all around creative poetry that you’d like to share with the Benicia community? Submit your poems to beniciaherald@gmail.com, and they may be published in Friday’s Poetry Corner and possibly online at BeniciaHeraldOnline.com. All ages are welcome to contribute, but the content must be appropriate. You do not need to be a resident of Benicia to submit your poem.
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Joel’s spirit was with his First Tuesday poets at the Benicia Plein Air Gallery reception today, 8/12/16. How we miss him, and will continue to miss him, while so grateful for what he accomplished and how much fun he made it all.
Thank you for acknowledging my dad’s death. He loved people, he loved the ocean, and he really loved poetry. All of things came together in this beautiful confluence called Benicia. My dad was always mindful of the strangers in our midst. Never forget them, he said. Because all of us have been in someplace new and all of us need to feel welcomed. Please hold my family close, especially Carolyn Fallon, who was my father’s partner in everything he did. She’s the one who cooked the food, did the dishes, and made sure there were fresh flowers on the table. Thanks, D’Arcy Fallon
I would like to extend my condolences to you and all family members. I enjoyed your father’s poetry on many occasions. He had a gift and one could tell he enjoyed sharing it with others,
What a giant loss for the Fallon family, the community of Benicia and the Bay Area in general. We were so blessed to have Joel in our lives and will miss him terribly.