Dr. Max Thaler as poet

My father, Dr. Max Thaler, had been a poet in his youth, and once dreamed of becoming a known poet. But, with the Nazis, his manuscripts were lost, and his language was lost, and very few poems came to light in his later years. Of those poems he wrote & shared in my lifetime, ONE DAY was his favorite, and even at one time was put to music by one of his patients. Beyond that, there were a very few poems written for our mom for special occasions.

Joan Dobbie

The St. Regis River flowed behind our family home, and my father spent his most precious hours out in the boat, rowing, or guiding his small motorboat between lilly pads & rocks. In this poem he describes one day in his life as small town general practitioner.


Max, Angela and Andy 1985


ONE DAY
by Dr. Max Thaler

The sun appeared on the sky
red and fiery
making the clouds aglow
high and low.
The day of work began.
I heard the cry
of a newborn child.
The voice was astounding
and wild.
The mother smiled
her voice was mild:
This is my desire
this is my child --
Then came the old man
with pain in his heart --
His children and his wife
around him prayed:
Gracious God,
don't take us apart!
I came home.
My wife and I
went on the river:
The sky and the trees
above and below
and the water in the middle.
The reality and the reflections
you can't tell them apart
both forming a unifying miracle.

The sun is setting.
The clouds are forming splendid visions.
The hands of the Lord appear on the sky,
the fingers spread apart,
blessing the parting day
and greeting the coming night.

And it was morning
and it was night:
One day

1973






TWO POEMS WRITTEN TO WIFE ANGELA











To Angela, My Wife, For Mother’s Day 1963
by Dr. Max Thaler

I was alone!
Alone with a dream and desire!
Then I met you—
And you ignited the fire!
It heated and melted and bonded together
Our bodies and souls
For ever and ever.
The dreams and desires
Grew bolder and stronger—
They turned into lives—
They were dreams no longer.
Three beautiful girls
And David, our son—
The death threat is gone
And life will go on!
For present and future
Dear Liky, my wife,
With all our loved ones
A happy and purposeful life!

May 12, 1963


My Dear Liky!
(Written for the Occasion of their 50th Wedding Anniversary)
by Dr. Max Thaler

Aeons ago we were a perfect whole.
And when I was born
I got forlorn
My entire desire of mind
Was to look for each other to find
And to be a perfect whole again.
I became father.
And you became mother.
From just two we became
Three, four, five and six.
And we stick together
For ever and ever.
Even Hitler and all his devils
Couldn’t split us apart.
Never! Never!
And we stick together
For ever and ever
Max & Liky

1988