ode to may
queen of months, supremely fair,
cloth'd with garments rich and rare,
none in beauty can compare
with thee, sweet may.
lovely month, thou bringest mirth,
spreadest sweetness o'er the earth,
causest nature to give birth
to fruits and flowers.
thou art lov'd by young and old,
joys for each thou dost unfold;
never shall our hearts grow cold
to thee, sweet may.
by peter burn, 1877
----
greg made us a breakfast of grits (or polenta, depending on whether you are looking at it from an american southern tradition or an italian tradition) which we had with butter, lemon and parmesan (well, greg had hot sauce instead of the parmesan). we also read the poem "the raincoat" from poet laureate ada limon's book
the carrying.
afterwards, we walked along bedford street to houston . .
and met korrina at lafayette to walk together to the tenement museum . .
we were trying to make a 2 pm tour and had to walk quickly . .
but since one of us hadn't had her coffee yet, we stopped at a cafe along the way . .
meeting our guide kojo for the tour titled "a union of hope," about the moore family, black new yorkers who lived several blocks west on laurens street in soho . .
admiring the stairway and bannister which has seen many friends and family members tread its steps since it was built in 1863. many things have changed about the building, but the stairway and bannister have remained the same. kojo had us imagine past residents hauling their water from the outdoor pump up to the floor they lived on. he also pointed out that when it was first built, there would not have been lighting along the hallways once it was dark outside.
they have left several rooms bare so visitors can see the different layers of paint and wallpaper that have been used over the wood slats and brick underlayer throughout the years.
possible artifacts the moores would have had in their home: three small books, two of which were titled
a midsummer night's dream, and
speeches and addresses, by abraham lincoln; a magnifying glass to read the small print in the books; two glass perfume bottles; a spoon; and a chain coin purse.
above is a copy of the census record with information about the moores, superimposed over a map of the street they lived on which was in the 8th ward area of nyc, now soho.
they lived in a rear tenement overlooking a courtyard. joseph was a waiter and later on, a coachman, while rachel took care of the home. they lived with rachel's sister-in-law (a dress maker) from a first marriage and a washerwoman from ireland and her 14 year old son.
looking out on tenements still being lived in . . and modern apartments rising behind them.
a map of the city block they lived on . .
the iron stove rachel would have cooked on, with the foot warmer on its left that joseph would have heated and placed at his feet when driving the horse and carriage on a cold day.
(photo taken by korrina)
i actually have a brass candleholder very similar to this one . . and also similar knitted napkins/wash cloths!
my mother for many years had a pitcher and wash basin that was her mother's, sitting on her bedroom dresser. (would they have saved water from the day before to wash up in, or would they have fetched it just that morning when waking?)
our tour guide is holding up a photo of joseph moore's uncle, aaron huff . .
and a photo of the great, great, great, great granddaughter of aaron huff.
you can read more about the moore family on the tenement museum's
website.
leaving the exhibit . .
via the back stairway . .
climbing back down . .
into the 21st century . .
afterwards, we had to find the remnants of laurens street, which is now west broadway, so we walked west to soho . .
to grand street between west broadway and thompson. the rear tenements could have been hidden somewhere in this little dog park of the grand hyatt hotel . .
walking around the block to thompson street . .
20 thompson . . to the right was a roman catholic church, as shown on the map several photos above. the tenement museum website states that the moore family attended mass at st. anthony's church . . was this the church on thompson street?
or are they referring to st. anthony of padua whose parish was located on sullivan street a few blocks north?
i wonder . .
afterwards at our favorite restaurant . .
saffron rice pudding and baklava . .
heading home . . it was such a fun day.
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