Dr. Janet Hoult

A poem dedicated to the counselors at Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services Suicide Prevention Center.

If you look at signs on store fronts it’s hard to find a turkey
Or a pumpkin pie displayed without a jack o’ lantern lurking
The goblins and the witches now wear garb that’s red and white
They look more like Santa Claus…a much less frightening sight
But even yet more frightening is the shifting of our focus

Culver City's Poetess Laureate shares a poem in honor of our veterans.

I find that I am doing more meditation than ever. It seems to refocus my mind and provide some relief. Of course, the poetry is a form of meditation for me. I keep on writing. Vice Mayor Mehaul O’Leary brought up the idea of naming me the poet laureate.

The overnight total lunar eclipse, last night and this morning, reminded me of a poem I wrote in April when we could see the eclipse -- the Blood Moon -- and Mars ...

Here are two poems I read at the City Council meeting recently for Suicide Prevention Week. The first was part of the commendation presented to the Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services Suicide Prevention Center.

My friend Zsuzie Kraenz, an Emeritus College classmate, sent this. I thought you might be interested ... This is one of the best explanations of the Muslim terrorist situation I have ever read. His references to past history are accurate and clear. Not long, easy to understand, and well worth the read. The author of this email is Dr. Emanuel Tanya, a well-known and well-respected psychiatrist. A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II, owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism.

Sometime ago I wrote about my knees with reference to Joyce Kilmer's poem, Trees. It also is a reminder that the tree roots can cause injuries that may require knee surgery and/or replacements...!

Here is a poem I wrote a few years ago as part of a series in my memoirs. At the time I was in Beirut, too young to fully understand the political ramifications. Through the years, I recognized how the Arab brethren of the refugees had used and manipulated them. While I was studying for my doctorate at USC back in the 1970s, I saw a film made by a student from Saudi Arabia. Part of it showed Palestinian refugee camps. The accompanying script gave the impression that the Saudis were magnanimous in allowing them to live there. This was nearly 30 years after the partition. Yet none of the refugees was given equal status -- citizenship, education, employment...

[Editor’s Note: Culver City’s poetess laureate, a resident of Motor Avenue, is eager for the city’s promised tree-planting and refurbishing to begin.]