Two Poems by John Henry Galas

A Canoe up the North River

Early one Saturday morning,
In a warm July sky,
We walk up to Mary’s to set up our canoe to the river.
My friend and I would take our supplies to the crust,
And prepare for our adventure.
We would be pushed by the bigger boats,
As a way of giving a nudge to intimidate us.
But we would not falter.
We would travel our canoe up the salty water,
With each of us staying sure in our direction.
If it would not be for my friend,
The road would be too hazardous,
Too lonesome.
We share stories of our kids,
And our lives as kids as we guide pass the rocks.
We know our faults, but we love them anyways.
As the canoe hit rough waters, I wonder if we would make it.
My friend gives me the confidence,
As he leads through the rocks and waves.
Our teamwork saves the day.
Thank you, my friend.

Now the time has past.
My friend is gone.
There are no trips to the North River.
No sense of adventure of present and future.
But what I will honor were those trips,
Where we shared our memories.
All in a magical canoe.

Artwork © Dr. Regina Valluzzi

Down With P.C.

We do our best to love one another,
To respect other cultures and lifestyles.
But what happens when one lifestyle clashes with another?
You can’t do something because we do not like it.
Simple words that have carried tradition now replaced by hate
Forced to hide into nothingness.
Simple acts of kindness are now seen as acts of defiance.
We cannot celebrate because what we believe is what they offend.
Culture clashes have become culture wars.
If we truly want to be a loving world,
We should not only accept new things,
But roll with the punches of what they don’t understand.
Remember we are human and not angels nor devils.
If we truly want to love then we must learn to accept it.
Good or not.

John Henry Galas hails from Plymouth, Massachusetts, is a comic book collector and Boston sports fan, and has Asperger’s Syndrome. “I am very smart, but I was bullied a lot in high school. That gave me perspective on how others felt. I always wanted to help people. On both my Associate’s & Bachelor’s Degrees, I’ve made it with Honors. He has spoken in committees on the subject of Asperger’s.

Art can illuminate even the most elusive and difficult to comprehend ideas. Visual rules and tightly codified visual metaphors help scientists communicate complex ideas mostly amongst themselves, but they can also become barriers to new ideas and insights. Dr. Regina Valluzzi’s images are abstracted and diverged from the typical rules and symbols of scientific illustration and visualization; they provide an accessible window into the world of science for both scientists and non-scientists.