I seek the thing behind the veil
A shadow – it shimmers, it fades –
O, Veil of Knowledge, in a vision
I see a world of people by a tree
Out of the crowd a friend steps forth
She holds fruit in her open hand
Alas, the image disappears
I rise and decide to eat an orange.
By Patricia Bass
Patricia (McMillan) Bass spent her first ten years in Fairfield, Utah, where she attended a one-room elementary school. Next oldest of five siblings, she had to pursue her goal to be an artist independently. In 1952 she took a job in the cafeteria at Dugway Proving Grounds, a military/civilian base conducting secret tests in the Utah desert. While there, she practiced her art by painting oil portraits of GIs and saved enough for tuition at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She liked Chicago and made it her home. After a career in graphic design, Pat took some college classes for fun. She enjoyed them so much that she continued until, in 2003, she had earned a BSGS from Northwestern University's School of Continuing Studies. Her favorite subject was poetry, especially that of the Beatnik poets, whose rebel writings and actions led to the free styles of today. Her e-mail address: