Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. Photo by UNL Publications and Photography.

In our busy times, the briefest pause to express a little interest in the natural world is praiseworthy.

Most of us spend our time thinking about other people, and scarcely any time thinking about other creatures.

I recently co-edited an anthology of poems about birds, and we looked through lots of books and magazines, but here is a fine poem we missed, by Tara Bray, who lives in Richmond, Virginia.

Once

I climbed the roll of hay to watch the heron

in the pond. He waded a few steps out,

then back, thrusting his beak under water,

pulling it up empty, but only once.

Later I walked the roads for miles, certain

he’d be there when I returned. How is it for him,

day after day, his brittle legs rising

from warm green scum, his graceful neck curled,

damp in the bright heat? It’s a dull world.

Every day, the same roads, the sky,

the dust, the barn caving into itself,

the tin roof twisted and scattered in the yard.

Again, the bank covered with oxeye daisy

that turns to spiderwort, to chicory,

and at last to goldenrod. Each year, the birds —

thick in the air and darting in wild numbers —

grow quiet, the grasses thin, the light leaves

earlier each day. The heron stood

stone-still on my spot when I returned.

And then, his wings burst open, lifting the steel-

blue rhythm of his body into flight.

I touched the warm hay. Hoping for a trace

of his wild smell, I cupped my hands over

my face: nothing but the heat of fields

and skin. It wasn’t long before the world

began to breathe the beat of ordinary hours,

stretching out again beneath the sky.

Ted Kooser was US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. He is a professor in the English Department of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He lives on an acreage near the village of Garland, Nebraska, with his wife Kathleen Rutledge, the editor of the Lincoln Journal Star.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org),

publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of

Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2009 by Donal Heffernan, whose most recent book of poetry is

“Duets of Motion,” Lone Oak Press, 2001. Poem reprinted by permission of Donal Heffernan.

Introduction copyright ©2010 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

American Life in Poetry ©2006 The Poetry Foundation

Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This column does not accept unsolicited poetry.

Only last January, Steve McPherson, president of the ABC Entertainment Group, was informing the gathering of the nation’s TV critics for the winter press tour that he acknowledged indirectly that success in programming comes not just from stability in a schedule, but the willingness to gamble when necessary.

At the time, he said the network was “going to continue to be ambitious,” adding “that’s where we succeed.” On the flip side, he also noted that “where we have been derivative and played it safe, I think we fail.”

When the TV critics’ summer press tour rolled around, Steve McPherson was nowhere to be found.

Similar to a missive from the politburo, only days before the start of ABC’s portion of the press tour, a statement on behalf of the Disney/ABC Television Group tersely announced that McPherson submitted his resignation as president and the company accepted.

The second sentence of a three-sentence paragraph quoted McPherson as saying “I want to thank the wonderful team of individuals who have worked with me throughout my time here and wish them nothing but the best.” This is Hollywood-speak for “I am being pushed out the door but I will say something short and sweet because I need to work in this town on some production deals.”

Naturally, ABC did not want TV critics resorting to wild conjecture about what went wrong.

Kevin Brockman, communications director, quickly announced at the start of ABC’s press tour presentation that the brief statement of McPherson’s departure “still holds” and that was all the company was literally “going to say on the subject.”

ABC had no interest in entertaining questions from pesky journalists. Just in case his point wasn’t clear, Brockman went on to say that ABC gave a statement and that “we really have nothing more to add.” And, poof, McPherson became a nonentity assigned to the industry gulag.

Thrust into the new job as president of ABC Entertainment, Paul Lee, formerly the head of the ABC Family network, had to put a good face on his elevation to his new post, and in the process came across as composed, unruffled and knowledgeable.

Saying he had only been in the job for 36 hours, Lee apologized in advance “if I don’t have all the answers to all the questions.”

Lee expressed his philosophy of creating “brand-defining, network-defining, ground-breaking shows” which involve “quality storytelling” and “brand equity.” He also expressed his desire to “take some risks, make some great shows, have some surprises and still do it to a defined target audience.”

Left unsaid is that Lee inherits a fall schedule heavy with new shows he did not personally arrange.

At least for now, the McPherson era lives on with several new fall shows.

“Detroit 1-8-7,” fittingly enough, is a drama about the men and women of the homicide division in the Detroit Police Department.

The damaged and driven Detective Louis Fitch (Michael Imperioli) is a wily veteran who is the most respected man in the division. Fitch’s new partner, Detective Damon Washington (Jon Michael Hill), finds his first day on the job is a trial by fire.

The old-timer is Sergeant Jesse Longford (James McDaniel), who struggles with his impending retirement. The streetwise, smooth-talking narcotics undercover cop John Stone (D.J. Cotrona) is clever and quick with a smile, which comes in handy as he is partnered with the sexy Detective Ariana Sanchez (Natalie Martinez). Expect some combustible conflict and sexual tension with these two.

Heading up the division in “Detroit 1-8-7” is a strong-willed single mom, Lieutenant Maureen Mason (Aisha Hinds), who struggles to balance home and work.

Michael Chiklis, who made his mark in “The Shield,” heads up an unusual family in the drama “No Ordinary Family.”

Chiklis’ Jim Powell feels disconnected from his workaholic wife Stephanie (Julie Benz) and two teenage children.

To encourage family bonding, Jim decides the family will join Stephanie on her business trip to South America.

When their plane crashes in the Amazon River, they survive and soon come to realize that each member of the family starts to show signs of new, unique and distinct super powers.

The central premise of the show is whether their newfound abilities will finally bring them together as a family or push them further apart.

“Body of Proof” is a new medical drama which stars Dana Delany as Dr. Megan Hunt, a brilliant neurosurgeon whose career is turned upside down when a devastating car accident puts an end to her time in the operating room.

Megan resumes her career as a medical examiner after botching a surgery in a serious manner. Her medical instincts remain sharp, but she develops a reputation for graying the lines where her job ends and where the police department’s begins.

Dr. Hunt’s methods are unconventional and she ruffles a lot of feathers. Jeri Ryan plays the role of her boss, Dr. Kate Murphy. “Body of Proof” may prove to be a female-centric drama.

The unique legal drama “The Whole Truth” chronicles the way a case is built from the perspective of both the defense and prosecution. Showing each side equally keeps the audience guessing.

Maura Tierney stars as Kathryn Peale, the deputy bureau chief in the New York State District Attorney’s office. Rob Morrow, starring as Jimmy Brogan and a friend of Kathryn’s since their days at Yale Law School, is one of New York’s rising criminal attorney stars.

These evenly matched lawyers fervently pursue their competitive streaks in the courtroom. The fact that “The Whole Truth” is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer is reason enough to expect some good things.

I haven’t quite figured out what “My Generation” is all about. It seems to be a mockumentary, in that it follows what happens to a group of high school students in Austin, Texas 10 years after their graduation.

The program revisits former classmates as they return home to rediscover that just because they’re not where they planned doesn’t mean they’re not right where they need to be. “My Generation” appears skewed to the younger demographic.

ABC’s only new comedy for the fall is “Better With You,” about a couple that have been dating for nine years.

Jennifer Finnigan’s Maddie and Josh Cooke’s Ben know each other inside and out, a relationship marked by contentment and affection.

Suddenly, Maddie’s younger sister, Mia (JoAnna Garcia), who has been dating Casey (Jake Lacy) for seven weeks, announces they are getting married and having a baby.

The news throws Maddie for a loop, but the girls’ parents, Vicky (Debra Jo Rupp) and Joel (Kurt Fuller), couldn’t be more pleased. “Better With You” explores the comedic side of three very different relationships intertwined in one family.

Hedging their bets on the fall schedule, ABC has already announced three midseason replacements shows, “Happy Endings,” “Mr. Sunshine,” and “Off the Map.”

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

At the recent gathering of the nation’s TV critics during summer press tour, one scribe had the temerity to ask Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment, if there is a downside to having so much stability at the top.

But after answering that stability is a good thing, Tassler, in reference to the fired ABC honcho, lamented, “Damn it, he got out of doing press tour.”

Participating in these press conferences can be vexing or annoying. After all, who wants to answer questions about the dearth of acting roles for pre-operative transsexuals, leprechauns or one-legged kick boxers?

Maybe the actors on CBS programs aren’t truly diverse, but Tassler told critics that there is a “real diversity in terms of source material for the new shows.”

For the fall season, CBS has the first show ever based on a Twitter feed – that would be “$#*! My Dad Says,” which actually turned into a funny book of a young man’s remembrances of his profane father’s uncensored views on life in general.

CBS also turned a pitch for a reality series about two Las Vegas attorneys into a scripted series called “The Defenders.” I guess this is CBS’ idea of breaking out of the shell of conformity.

At the risk of sounding old, I always liked Jack Lord as the no-nonsense Steve McGarrett, leader of an elite unit of the Hawaii state police, in the classic series “Hawaii Five-O.” His trademark “Book ‘em, Danno” was the iconic parting words to the latest scofflaw hauled off to the joint.

For some unfathomable reason, CBS thinks a reboot of “Hawaii Five-O,” set to a contemporary take about a new elite federalized task force cleaning up crime in the Aloha state, is a terrific idea. Well, maybe it is for viewers with no recollection of a vintage show that managed to showcase the most appealing scenic elements of the islands paradise while scraping the ugly underbelly of the criminal world.

Alex O’Loughlin’s Steve McGarrett is not, as they say, your father’s McGarrett. Yeah, this guy is young, sexy and hunky – antithetical to Jack Lord.

Now McGarrett is a decorated Naval officer-turned-cop who returns to Oahu to investigate his father’s murder and stays after Hawaii’s governor persuades him to head up a new team.

What appeals to the new McGarrett is the ability to run a unit with no red tape and full blanket authority to hunt down the big game.

Joining McGarrett is detective Danny “Danno” Williams (Scott Caan), a newly relocated ex-New Jersey cop who prefers skyscrapers to the coastline.

Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim), an ex-Honolulu Police detective and former protégé of McGarrett’s father, is wrongly accused of corruption and relegated to a federal security patrol. Chin’s cousin, Kono Kalakaua (Grace Park), is a beautiful and fearless native, fresh out of the academy and eager to establish herself with McGarrett’s elite squad. Her gorgeous presence alone guarantees a truly different “Hawaii Five-O.”

Speaking of Hawaii, it is fitting that Tom Selleck, once of “Magnum, P.I.” fame, stars in “Blue Bloods” as the patriarch of a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement.

Selleck’s Frank Reagan, the New York Police Commissioner, heads both the police force and the Reagan brood. He runs his department as diplomatically as he runs his family, even when dealing with internal politics. His eldest son Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) is a seasoned detective, family man, and Iraq War vet who on occasion uses dubious tactics to solve cases.

The sole Reagan female in the family, Erin (Bridget Moynahan), an assistant district attorney and newly single parent, also serves as the legal compass for her siblings and father.

Jamie (Will Estes) is the youngest, fresh out of Harvard Law and the family’s “golden boy.” However, unable to deny the family tradition, Jamie gives us a lucrative future in law and becomes a newly minted cop.

Jamie’s life takes an abrupt turn when he’s asked to join a clandestine police investigation that even his father knows nothing about, and one that could impact the family’s legacy. “Blue Bloods” seems like the apt title for this police procedural.

Whether “The Defenders” is better as a scripted series will be anyone’s guess. Two colorful Las Vegas defense lawyers have plenty to work with in Sin City.

Jim Belushi’s Nick Morelli is the hard-charging type who is still focused on repairing a fractured marriage to his estranged wife and remaining a presence in the life of their young son. Meanwhile, Jerry O’Connell’s Pete Kaczmarek, whose passion for the law is matched only by his love of fast cars, beautiful women and expensive clothes, is often busy cruising the Vegas Strip of his latest romantic conquest.

Joining these mismatched partners at the firm is new associate Lisa Tyler (Jurnee Smollett), an enthusiastic attorney looking to put her exotic dancing days behind her.

The first casualty of the CBS fall season is likely to be “$#*! My Dad Says,” because people will probably forget that it is supposed to be pronounced “Bleep My Dad Says.”

William Shatner stars as Ed Goodson, an opinionated dad who relishes expressing his unsolicited and often wildly politically incorrect observations to anyone within earshot.

The most frequent recipient of his rants is son Henry (Jonathan Sadowski), a struggling writer-turned-unpaid blogger forced to move home when he can no longer pay rent.

Trapped by misfortune in his dad’s home, Henry knows the verbal assault will not abate and there is no escape. “Bleep” should have been on Showtime, if for no other reason than to escape network censorship.

“Mike & Molly,” a rather predictable sitcom, may be another candidate for early elimination. That would be regrettable since it stars real people, not the skinny model types who proliferate on screen.

This is a comedy about a working class Chicago couple who find love at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.

Officer Mike Briggs (Billy Gardell) is a good-hearted cop who sincerely wants to lose weight, while taking a lot of ribbing from his fast-talking wise guy partner (Reno Wilson).

While speaking at an O.A. meeting, Mike meets Molly Flynn (Melissa McCarthy), an instantly likable fourth grade teacher with a good sense of humor about her curves.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

Last January, the big talk during the FOX TV network portion centered around Simon Cowell’s surprise appearance before hordes of scribes to end all speculation about his future on “American Idol.”

At the time, Peter Rice, chairman of entertainment, called Cowell “irreplaceable,” before remarking that it would be “incumbent upon us to make sure the show remains vital and entertaining and compelling.”

Let’s face it, with or without Cowell, FOX has a lot riding on the future of a franchise which factors mightily in the network’s competitive edge.

In the recent summer gathering of the wretched press corps, FOX Chairman Rice and Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment, managed to open their press conference with a head-on response to the news about Ellen DeGeneres’ departure from “American Idol.”

Unlike Cowell, DeGeneres did not appear on stage for a bombshell announcement; that cat was already out of the bag.

Rice reported that DeGeneres “wasn’t comfortable” and didn’t feel like the show was “a good fit for her.” He said he tried to persuade her that the show “would be different in the future, but ultimately we came to an agreement that we would begin to look for new judges.”

Knowing that this revelation would be equivalent to tossing red meat into a cage full of lions, Rice observed that disclosing DeGeneres’ exit would create “another round of speculation about who would be replacing Ellen and who would be replacing Simon on the judges’ panel next year.”

Then he claimed that no one has signed a deal yet “on either side of the camera to join ‘American Idol’ next year who wasn’t on it last year.”

Adding more layers to potential speculation, Rice told everyone that wildly inaccurate information is floating around, but he doesn’t want to speculate about the panel of judges for next year and won’t answer questions to that effect. Naturally, about half the questions that followed involved some variation of enticing the type of speculation the chairman so deftly sought to avoid.

For the time being, we’ll just have to settle for breaking news to emanate from the “National Enquirer” or gossip on Twitter.

So let’s move on to what is knowable about the fall schedule.

FOX would love to find the next “Glee,” but that could be a tall order. Meanwhile, a provocative soap opera set against the backdrop of big Texas oil can’t quite figure if its title is one word or two.

“Lone Star,” as it was billed at one panel, is found to be “Lonestar” in other printed press releases. I’ll stick with “Lone Star” because that is more fitting for Texas. In any event, the primary character is either Robert or Bob (James Wolk), depending on where he decides to spend the night.

Robert/Bob is a charismatic schemer who has meticulously constructed two lives in two different parts of the Lone Star state. In Houston, he is married to Cat (Adrienne Palicki), the daughter of Clint (Jon Voight), the wealthy patriarch of Texas oil family.

More than 400 miles away in the suburban west Texas town of Midland, he plays the perfect boyfriend to sweet, naïve Lindsay (Eloise Mumford).

In Midland, he’s conning local investors out of their savings. In Houston, he schemes to deplete the family business of its riches. All the while, he has to deal with his con artist father (David Keith), while keeping a suspicious brother-in-law at bay. “Lone Star” will test how Robert/Bob keeps his secret lives from unraveling.

On Tuesday nights, “Glee” will anchor the evening schedule as the lead-in for two new comedies.

“Raising Hope” follows the Chance family as they find themselves adding an unexpected new member into their already terribly flawed household.

At 23 years old, Jimmy Chance (Lucas Neff) skims pools for a living, parties every night and still lives at home with his family, including his daffy grandmother (Cloris Leachman), his mother Virginia (Martha Plimpton) and father Burt (Garret Dillahunt).

Jimmy’s life takes a drastic turn when a chance romantic encounter with Lucy (Bijou Phillips) goes awry once he discovers she is a wanted felon.

Months later, when Jimmy pays a visit to the local prison, he discovers Lucy gave birth to their baby, who he is now charged with raising. At home with his new daughter, Jimmy finds his family is less than enthused about the new addition to the household.

Burt and Martha were teenaged parents who never knew anything about raising a child and have no interest in trying again. Meanwhile, Jimmy figures if he can work up the nerve to ask the sardonic checkout clerk Sabrina (Shannon Woodward) on a date, he might get some help.

On the other hand, Jimmy’s cousin Mike (Skyler Stone) is only concerned about how the baby will impinge on everyone’s social life. “Raising Hope” will seek laughs in the immensely challenging world of parenting.

Just reading the show description about “Running Wilde” should be enough to realize this show is wildly inspired by “Arrested Development.”

Suspicions are confirmed when realizing that writer-producer Mitch Hurwitz, the creator of “Arrested Development,” is behind this new comedy starring Will Arnett, another veteran of “Arrested Development.”

For his part, Arnett fits perfectly in the role of Steve Wilde, a filthy rich, immature and spoiled playboy trying desperately to win (or buy) the heart of his childhood sweetheart, Emmy Kadubic (Keri Russell), a socially conscious humanitarian who is on a crusade to save an indigenous tribe in the Amazon rain forest. The son of an oil tycoon, Steve hasn’t had to work a day in his life and always gotten everything he’s wanted except the woman he loves.

Emmy, the earnest do-gooder, is happy to live in the jungle with her 12-year-old daughter Puddle (Stefania Owen), who would like to experience a normal childhood in a normal place.

When Wilde Oil’s expansion into the rain forest threatens her adopted tribe, Emmy decides to attend Steve’s self-thrown “Humanitarian of the Year” award ceremony in hopes of convincing him to help her cause, and also because she may still have a thing for him.

Steve is unwilling to put his meal ticket in jeopardy, but he can’t risk letting Emmy slip away again. With Emmy committed to doing good for nothing, and Steve being a good for nothing, “Running Wilde” will look for the laughs as a mismatched pair tries to reconcile their differences.

In case you forgot, “Glee” is the network’s premier show, and for that reason FOX announced that a very special “Glee” will air following Super Bowl XLV on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011, and the musical series will make its spring premiere on Wednesdays following “American Idol,” which we can speculate will have a panel of judges made up of Madonna, Lady Gaga and Billy Idol.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The fifth annual Old Time Bluegrass Festival at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park near Lower Lake is coming soon.

The annual event – to be held on Saturday, Sept. 11, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. – will present the best of American roots music being performed at the park on Highway 53 between Lower Lake and Clearlake.

Tickets will be available at the gate for $20, but advance tickets can still be purchased online for just $15 each.

Go to www.andersonmarsh.org to secure your tickets to this great event presented by the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association and sponsored by numerous businesses and individuals.

The day’s line-up includes musicians John Reischman and the Jaybird Trio, Bill Evans and Megan Lynch, Rita Hosking, Anderson Family Bluegrass, Fur Dixon and Steve Werner, Pat Ikes and Bound to Ride – with many other regional and local favorites.

There will be activities for children; art, food and craft vendors; a beer and wine garden; musicians’ workshops and fiddling and clogging demonstrations.

This is a family-friendly event that is ADA accessible and children under 12 are free when accompanied by an adult.

For more information call 707-995-2658 or go to www.andersonmarsh.org.

Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. Photo by UNL Publications and Photography.

I’d guess there are lots of people, like me, who sometimes visit places which in memory are hallowed but which, through time, have been changed irreparably. It is a painful experience but it underlines life. Here Carl Little, who lives in Maine, returns to a place like that.

The Clearing

The sunbox lies in pieces,

its strips of aluminum foil

flaking away to the wind,

tanning platform broken up

for kindling. Planted grass

sprouts where the path once

sharply turned to the left

circumventing underbrush,

there the man (a boy then)

stumbled on beauty’s wrath:

pale sisters yelling him off,

scrambling for clothes to cover.

All has been cleared, thick

cat briar raked into piles

and set ablaze, invincible

ailanthus stacked for dump.

All’s clear and calm save

his childhood rushing head-

long through tearing thickets,

and the sisters, barely glimpsed

against reflective flashing,

laughing after him, then

lying back to catch

all the sullen autumn sun they can.

Ted Kooser was US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. He is a professor in the English Department of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He lives on an acreage near the village of Garland, Nebraska, with his wife Kathleen Rutledge, the editor of the Lincoln Journal Star.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org),

publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of

Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2009 by Donal Heffernan, whose most recent book of poetry is

“Duets of Motion,” Lone Oak Press, 2001. Poem reprinted by permission of Donal Heffernan.

Introduction copyright ©2010 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

American Life in Poetry ©2006 The Poetry Foundation

Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This column does not accept unsolicited poetry.