New Year's Resolution for Detroit

This carved stone medallion is above the entrance to the Belle Isle Aquarium. It depicts the official motto and seal of the City of Detroit, a quote from Father Gabriel Richard after a fire destroyed the city in 1805. UPDATE 1/28/10-The aquarium will be open for Shiver on the River on Sat., Feb 6th, from 10-3. Come see the amazing interior and help get the aquarium reopened!

Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus

We hope for better things; It shall rise from the ashes

I was eleven when I first heard this phrase. My dad told me of the motto and the story behind it when he started a business in metro Detroit. He named it after the phoenix, who was reborn from ashes, because he was inspired by Detroit's motto.

This is the entrance to the oldest aquarium in the United States, modeled after an aquarium in Naples, Italy.

Neptune is ever vigilant, watching for visitors that will someday arrive. The Aquarium was closed by Kwame the corrupt in 2005 as a cost-saving measure. The Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium are doing some great things trying to get it re-opened. This past Christmas I took visitors to the Conservatory. Maybe next year I can bring them to see the fish.

Silver-Lined Heart

By Taylor Mali (www.taylormali.com)

I’m for reckless abandon

and spontaneous celebrations of nothing at all,

like the twin flutes I kept in the trunk of my car

in a box labeled Emergency Champagne Glasses!

Raise an unexpected glass to long, cold winters

and sweet hot summers and the beautiful confusion of the times in between.

To the unexpected drenching rain that leaves you soaking

wet and smiling breathless;

“We danced in the garden in torn sheets in the rain,”

we were christened in the sanctity of the sprinkler,

can’t you hear it singing out its Hallelujah?

Here’s to the soul-expanding power

of the simply beautiful.

See, things you hate, things you despise,

multinational corporations and lies that politicians tell,

injustices that make you mad as hell,

that’s all well and good.

And as far as writing poems goes,

I guess you should.

It just might be a poem that gets Mumia released,

brings an end to terrorism or peace in the middle east.

But as far as what soothes me, what inspires and moves me,

honesty behooves me to tell you your rage doesn’t move me.

See, like the darkest of clouds my heart has a silver lining,

which does not harken to the loudest whining,

but beats and stirs and grows ever more

when I learn of the things you’re actually for.

That’s why I’m for best friends, long drives, and smiles,

nothing but the sound of thinking for miles.

For the unconditional love of dogs:

may we learn the lessons of their love by heart.

For therapy when you need it,

and poetry when you need it.

And the wisdom to know the difference.

The solution to every problem usually involves some kind of liquid,

even if it’s only Emergency Champagne

or running through the sprinkler.

Can’t you hear it calling you?

I’m for crushes not acted upon, for admiration from afar,

for the delicate and the resilient and the fragile human heart,

may it always heal stronger than it was before.

For walks in the woods, and for the woods themselves,

by which I mean the trees. Definitely for the trees.

Window seats, and locally brewed beer,

and love letters written by hand with fountain pens:

I’m for all of these.

I’m for evolution more than revolution

unless you’re offering some kind of solution.

I’m for the courage it takes to volunteer, to say “yes,” “I believe,” and “I will.”

For the bright side, the glass half full, the silver lining,

and the optimists who consider darkness just a different kind of shining.

So don’t waste my time and your curses on verses

about what you are against, despise, and abhor.

Tell me what inspires you, what fulfills and fires you,

put your god-damned pen to paper and tell me what you’re for!