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The Woman in White Marble

Pete Robertson
Poems by Peter N Robertson

Peter Robertson was born in Keene, N.H. in May 1935. In 1942 the family moved to Concord, N.H. while his Dad began his service as a Navy doctor. The family moved to the Portsmouth, N.H. area when his Dad was transferred to the Portsmouth Naval Hospital. In late 1945, the family returned to Keene.

In 1949, Peter became a member of the First Congregational Church of Keene. Later that year, Peter entered Holderness School in Plymouth, N.H., a school of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire. He graduated in 1953 and entered Yale University in the Fall. At Yale, he worshiped at Yale’s Battell Chapel where he appreciated the music as well as noted theological speakers. He graduated in June 1957.

In August 1957, Peter reported to Fort Sill, OK under the Army ROTC program. Completing his training as an artillery second lieutenant, Peter received orders to South Korea where he served in a field artillery battalion. While there, he commanded an observation post very close to the Korean DMZ. On 21 January 1959 at the OP, he incurred an injury that would result in the amputation of his right arm below the elbow at Walter Reed Army Hospital.

In January 1960, the Army approved his request to remain on active duty. Meanwhile, he had met and married Lois Langan, an Occupational Therapist 2^nd Lieutenant at Walter Reed. Thereafter, Peter completed several classes at sundry Army posts. He served in Okinawa, Korea [again], and Hawaii rising to the rank of Major. While in Hawaii, he joined the Schofield Barracks Army Chapel Choir.

During this time, Peter and Lois had two children: Norma Louise and Donald Norris. Then, in December 1972, Peter retired medically from the Army and completed an MBA program at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI.

In 1974, Detroit’s Bank of the Commonwealth employed him. He left in 1981 to take a position with Seattle First National Bank [later Bank of America], focusing on trade finance. Additionally, he joined the Congregational Church on Mercer Island, United Church of Christ [CCMI – UCC] in 1982.

In January 2010, Donald committed suicide, trapped by his alcoholism and depression. He left three daughters. He had earlier divorced the mothers of the girls. From 1999 to her death on 7 December 2014, Lois battled Alzheimer’s before succumbing to an aggressive breast cancer. In 2015, Norma accepted a position with a pension administrator in Green Bay, WI.

Having retired from B of A in March 1993, Peter expanded his involvement with CCMI. He began a 10 year period of service as the church’s treasurer in 1986. Concurrently, he served as Treasurer of the Pacific Northwest Conference of the U.C.C from 1998 through 2006. From 2006 to 2008, he served as CCMI’s Moderator. Later in 2016, he served an additional 13 months as CCMI’s Treasurer.

Tuesday

Sep052017

Denizen

Tuesday, September 5, 2017 at 8:21PM

Divine Denizen below deepest sea,
Eternal Dweller beyond cloudless sky,
Immortal Pacer past horizon’s line,
Why carest Thou for a mere speck like I?

Inhabitant of inner, private space,
Designer of true molecular prime,
Originator of first abstract thought,
Why open for me the vast reach of time?

Being who was ere any epochs were,
Companion of each age that is the now,
Traveler of all eras yet to come,
Why dost Thou me with such rich life endow?

But, lonely life without a start or end
Creates a deep longing for a true friend.

The Not Silent Sea

Tuesday, August 29, 2017 at 7:36PM

Sailing silent o’er the not silent sea
With Sun above tracking course and my speed
‘Til night’s moon takes on the task to watch me,
Waiting for day to break and progress read.
The apparent speed by which the days pass
Seems to accelerate from day to day,
Then decades follow one by one, elapse
With fading memories that do not stay.
Too soon the horizon has come, then gone
Revealing a new vista to explore,
Inspiring thanksgiving in human song
Midst ocean music on a distant shore.
Each of us has to sail this life-long race
That we will win by our God’s loving grace.

Dale Rominger |