A Poetry in Motion Double-Shot Bonus! (Gershwin and Kuskin)

Back in February (yes, I know it's May), a woman named Brittany e-mailed me. She had been looking for a Poetry in Motion poster and stumbled across my 2007 National Poetry Month onslaught, during which I posted my vast array of posters for all the world to see (and, hopefully, enjoy). She was looking for this one and another one, by Ira Gershwin, which was comprised of the lyrics to a Nat King Cole song.

I gave her some advice on how to obtain them, and she followed it, and she met with success. I asked her, as a favor, to take a picture of the posters she tracked down, so I could put them up here. One month ago, she sent them to me, and I am just getting around to posting them here. Thanks Brittany!

Double-click on the photots to enlarge.

"Love is Here to Stay" by Ira Gershwin:

It's very clear,
Our love is here to stay;
Not for a year,
But ever and a day.
The radio and the telephone
And the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies-
and in time may go.

But oh, my dear,
Our love is here to stay.
Together we're
Going a long, long way.
In time the Rockies may crumble,
Gibraltar may tumble
(They're only made of clay),
But - our love is here to stay.

And I can't resist this. Don't skip it. Here's a clip of Ella Fitzgerald, with Paul Smith and the Count Basie Orchestra, featuring Roy "Little Jazz" Eldridge, performing the song in 1979:



And even though she had only been asking about the Gershwin and the Merwin, she sent along this one as well, by Karla Kuskin. I wracked my brain, but do not remember it, leading me to believe (perhaps mistakenly, that it ran on the subways prior to 1997, when I moved to New York.

The Question


People always say to me
"What do you think you'd like to be
When you grow up?"
And I say, "Why,
I think I'd like to be the sky
Or be a plane or train or mouse
Or maybe a haunted house
Or something furry, rough and wild...
Or maybe I will stay a child."


Karla Kuskin (b. 1932)

According to the MTA website, "The Question" is taken from Kuskin's book Dog & Dragons, Trees & Dreams, although it originally appeared in 1958's In the Middle of the Trees.

Thanks again to Brittany for sending these my way!