Gloucester Alumni

Class of 1937

Gloucester born J.J. COYLE (1928 – 1999) was a successful playwright whose plays were produced on and off Broadway.

He won the Sunset National Playwrighting Award in 1982 for “Wintertime.” Cape Ann and Beyond, his first book of poems, includes “Man At The Wheel,” about the Fishermen’s Memorial. “Pathways (Dogtown)” tells what the playwright learned walking the paths of Dogtown.

Pathways
(Dogtown)

The islanders had built along the shoreline
leaving the center of the island almost virgin
overgrown with tree and brush, an occasional
open area here, a granite deposit there
Pathways cut through the terrqain, offering
a tourist hiker several choices.

A new path is always an adventure.
The first passage is more a reconnoiter
concentrating on direction, orientation,
markers and eventual destination.

The second pass is leisurely and indulgent
allowing time to appreciate the colors, odors,
indigenous flora, local fauna,
the special essance of the place.

Approach a poem like a wooded path
with secrets to impart
one reading will reveal her scheme,
the second will reveal her heart.