GlennDalessioPoetry

A contemplative collection exploring class, irony, and the subtle tensions of modern life. In Between Merwin and Greger, Glenn D’Alessio blends social observation with philosophical reflection, offering poems that are both intimate and quietly unsettling.

Glenn D’Alessio

Poet & Author

Glenn D’Alessio lives in West Brookfield, MA with his wife. His first class in poetry was taken
at North Country Community College in Saranac Lake, NY. It focused on the beats. Much more
valuable to Glenn was a class about short stories by Patricia Wiley. He also adopted his first
dog, Seico, then. She was a white dog with a ring around one eye and her tail. During 1971 the
two of them spent summer in a homemade lean-to at Caulkin’s Creek in the Adirondacks. He
has never been without a dog since.
One of Glenn’s most productive periods of writing was last decade. Elroy deserves credit. “My
Hero// My Hero cheers me whenever I come Home/ from whatever day’s stressful complaints/
and paints me an alternative universe/ of tranquil seas and gentle breeze/ so our hearts will ease.”
For a small rat terrier, Elroy was fearless of any dog or person, regardless to size, and was most
gregarious. There was only one exception. “Cameras// Elroy was from/ one of those cultures/
whose soul would be/ snared by a camera’s// shutter grabbing/ feet or eyes,/ so his would go/ to
Elysian fields,// or toward the nearest/ inanimate/ couch or table,/ both totems to protect// his
curly tail/ late behind him,/ not wanting to become/ locked into a box.” This phobia was like
Glenn’s childhood worry that something would sneak up behind him. That’s why he would
circle to unwind himself on landings, and at the tops to stairs. In doing this he could see what
was behind – his winding like Elroy’s tail.
They were both cantankerous, but on a midnight walk in starlight or first thing in the morning
they would strike a balance. Elroy would be on a leash so he wouldn’t get lost and die. Thus,
Glenn considered a little restraint to be for Elroy a “Freedom of the Leash// He pulls and I push./
I’m small, trotting to his walking,/ and I’m in no rush/ when he has to go to work./ We find a
happy medium.” The two of them were like a match made in heaven.