News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Tuesday December 10th 2024

Carl Peterson Passed Jan. 6, 1912 – Oct. 9, 2014

1.10b Carl photo

By Patrick Cabello Hansel

He who passed the span

From horses to spaceships,

From telegrams to Twitter,

From sitting around the radio

On cold nights, listening

To “Hit Parade” and “Sky King”

To the first black and white TV,

Then color, then laptops,

Now watches you can surf from,

From the “ja” of Swedish

To the “yes” of English

To the “si” of Spanish

All still spoken in his town,

His community, his Phillips.

His hands, trained to mold

Metal to magnificent shapes,

To caress his wife, to

Build his workshop,

His rough and gentled fingers,

That folded in grace

Ten thousand times, that

Ate of the fruits of the earth,

Now lie still.

His eyes, shut at birth,

Then opened to watch

The world unfold

On the farm, to see

A new way in the city,

To behold the fragile

And wondrous hope

Of being alive,

To wink and smile

At friend and stranger alike,

Now lie closed.

His legs, those marvelous

Limbs that took him

God knows how many miles,

His lips, which crafted

Smiles and stories

And blessings abundant,

Will not move.

But his words,

His memories,

The photographs he took

Throughout decades,

The museum of his life

In the old livery stable

Out back have not departed.

They have grown wings!

To soar above Phillips,

To watch the years unfold

To sprinkle sunshine

On all who weep,

On all who wonder.

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