Sea surface full of clouds (first stanza)

by Wallace Stevens

In that November off Tehuantepec,
The slopping of the sea grew still one night
And in the morning summer hued the deck

And made one think of rosy chocolate
And gilt umbrellas. Paradisal green
Gave suavity to the perplexed machine

Of ocean, which like limpid water lay.
Who, then, in that ambrosial latitude
Out of the light evolved the morning blooms,

Who, then, evolved the sea-blooms from the clouds
Diffusing balm in that Pacific calm?
C’était mon enfant, mon bijou, mon âme.

The sea-clouds whitened far below the calm
And moved, as blooms move, in the swimming green
And in its watery radiance, while the hue

Of heaven in an antique reflection rolled
Round those flotillas. And sometimes the sea
Poured brilliant iris on the glistening blue.

The raid

One evening many years ago, I was playing Go at the Korean Club on Lawrence Avenue. I left the club early that night to go home and watch a White Sox game. The next day, I counted myself a lucky fellow upon hearing that the club was raided by the Chicago police. They hauled away 13 Koreans in a paddy wagon on gambling charges. With no windows to the street, I wondered how the police could make such a claim. Later, it came out that undercover officers had been spying on the gamers through a narrow crank window in the alley.

Go is a game of skill; it involves no luck. Technically, gambling requires an element of luck. In essence, a few dollars wagered on Go is akin to a few dollars bet at a bowling alley. The wife of a physicist, a well known Chicago mystery writer, informed Mike Royko of the incident. He wrote a column questioning why the Chicago cops spent so much time hunting gaming geeks while gangs and thugs ravished nearby neighborhoods. Eventually charges were dropped and the club resumed its gaming activities.

Later, it came to light that a Go widow (the wife of a player who stays out all night playing Go) informed on the club in order to get her husband back.

Artist and artist

Author Ames and illustrator Haspiel discuss the fine points of graphic novel collaboration.

From the collection of David Lade, Chicago IL

"Toy Soldier"

Artist: Martin Soto

Medium: Oil on canvas