Victor Howes, 1923-2018

With great sadness and a heavy heart, we say goodbye to Victor Howes. Victor passed away on January 1, 2018, at the age of 94. All who knew Victor remember his kindness and generosity, his good humor and his erudition.  He served many years on the Board of the New England Poetry Club welcoming new members and facilitating writing workshops. He regaled us with stories about the Club’s founders, Robert Frost and Amy Lowell, and members Ann Sexton and Robert Lowell, among others—he was the dear memory keeper for Club. Victor will be sorely missed.

 

RELIC

by Victor Howes, from Thoughts after Spenser: Collected Light Verse, 2017

 

I found a faded King, a King of Hearts,

Between the pages of a borrowed book,

A frayed, worn King, a played-out playing card,

Lost in the shuffle, hardly worth a look.

And with a flip, I flipped him on the face,

This player King, who by convention took

A player Queen, but fell to player Ace.

What glory now, without the servile pack,

The Jacks who followed suit, the cardboard crew

Who honored him? What hand had he been dealt

to live, outlive those other kings who knew

His rank, however keenly they had felt

His rivalry? They left before he came

To this sad pass. They knew it was a game.