Poem Definitions: XI-XV *plus some oldies
XI. LONGING, for Natalie Burton
I witnessed its growth in the sunrise
My own growth seemed mere anticipation
Character tried and in formation
A reformation from my old and wretched self
Back then I was starving
I could see every bone of my soul
Why was the night so deeply carving
Terrors dancing in the the shadow folds?
Will the dawn be bright and warming
Burning all the dross those nightmares hold?
Yes, with the growing twilight I know it will
So in the feast I am feasting now
I feel the longing and tell myself "be still,"
No joy I taste in the dusk lit hours
Can match the sun, Hell's great fright unpower'd
For if demons haunt the shadows
The angelic day will prove to be their blight
And the ghost I seem to be today
Will be at once, full and real and put to right.
XII. CACTUS, for Callie Bunker
All things green are not all kind
No matter how kind you are to them
Or how much you prepare your mind
To nurture a water's rain on them
But this is too much love on a cactus.
You must treat him differently
He does not like hugs
Not even little ones.
(nor set under a professor's tuchus)
He hates crowds
And Succulents tend to be immature
So place him alone in the sunlight
Where he can imagine a desert's night
Then he may, removed from fright,
Bloom desert roses for your delight.
XIII. INSOUCIANT, for Rick Tarango
Don't believe it was easy getting here
To this state of feigned indifference
To convince my self my heart is careless.
Please don't deprive my meaning
When all was clear and bright
When hope with innocence was teeming
To meet and stay with a love sustaining
This calm demeanor was hard won by me
That you may not think you have crushed me
Although that thought is not so wrong.
Never will I show your influence
So believe me insouciant, perfect resilience.
XIV. EARL GREY TEA, for Sandi Dalton
The caramel colour was deepening
Over the clinking conversation
Under the gaze of pastel hats
Before the dames and administration
With in the cozy nestled tea pot
A woman pour her cuppa
And she threw out all decorum.
Watch her lift the cup,
Part her lips,
Drink it black!
A muttering takes the room all anxious
She took it without cream or sugar
"Your majesty, are you unwell?"
She return her cup to the saucer
Amused at the Prime Minister's coughin'
"Oh no, not at all, I was only rooting for Boston."
XV. PROPINQUITY, for Ariel Huckabay
There was something haunting in the prospect
A vague misunderstanding in their eyes
As though gazing they did not see me
But rather dressed me in their own disguise.
That's how I knew he loved me
I recognized my reflection in his staring
And it was the sweetest proof of caring
From G-d who makes all things
And proof of my own fear in sharing
That same same understanding that he craved
O' What bliss to being truly seen!
What delight of unmatched kind!
Only one thing I wish had been,
That I myself had not been blind.
PEACHES, for Sandi Dalton (2017)
"Forbidden!" So I deemed this fruit
The fuzzy sweet nectar
My Mother's hives and shortened breath.
How could I eat her poison?
This "forbidden" was hardly the tempting kind.
I could not kiss her if I ate it,
Would not touch her if I did.
Love sometimes smites a freedom
Because in being bound you are free to love.
Now I am grown
2,000 miles away from home
And in the farm-stands are peaches
Sweet with a distinct creamy odor
But I always take the nectarines,
Because I love my Mother,
How could I eat her poison?
So I bind my liberty to liberally love.
DEVOTION, for Samson Eaton (2017)
I felt it swelling
A thought in the back of my mind
"Prove it, prove that declaration made
By your lips in the music
When the lights were dim."
And what had I said in the darkness
Surrounded by a hundred other men?
"I love you."
And, "How great Thou art,"
"Take my heart..."
"Let me be your hands, & your feet."
Promises which filled my heart with song
That in Solitude I set aside--
To consider all that I wanting, lack--
Lost in the storm of loneliness brooding
Gripping and shoving despised persons aside.
Are my promises empty I made to you?
They still confront me,
"Prove it!" all the words I spoke
But You, You do every word,
Every moment, every day.
And You knew I would betray You,
Foresaw my self-obsession
But still lingers this longing for you,
A desire to fulfill my worship
And return in a reflected action
Of You in all of Your great devotions.
I witnessed its growth in the sunrise
My own growth seemed mere anticipation
Character tried and in formation
A reformation from my old and wretched self
Back then I was starving
I could see every bone of my soul
Why was the night so deeply carving
Terrors dancing in the the shadow folds?
Will the dawn be bright and warming
Burning all the dross those nightmares hold?
Yes, with the growing twilight I know it will
So in the feast I am feasting now
I feel the longing and tell myself "be still,"
No joy I taste in the dusk lit hours
Can match the sun, Hell's great fright unpower'd
For if demons haunt the shadows
The angelic day will prove to be their blight
And the ghost I seem to be today
Will be at once, full and real and put to right.
XII. CACTUS, for Callie Bunker
All things green are not all kind
No matter how kind you are to them
Or how much you prepare your mind
To nurture a water's rain on them
But this is too much love on a cactus.
You must treat him differently
He does not like hugs
Not even little ones.
(nor set under a professor's tuchus)
He hates crowds
And Succulents tend to be immature
So place him alone in the sunlight
Where he can imagine a desert's night
Then he may, removed from fright,
Bloom desert roses for your delight.
XIII. INSOUCIANT, for Rick Tarango
Don't believe it was easy getting here
To this state of feigned indifference
To convince my self my heart is careless.
Please don't deprive my meaning
When all was clear and bright
When hope with innocence was teeming
To meet and stay with a love sustaining
This calm demeanor was hard won by me
That you may not think you have crushed me
Although that thought is not so wrong.
Never will I show your influence
So believe me insouciant, perfect resilience.
XIV. EARL GREY TEA, for Sandi Dalton
The caramel colour was deepening
Over the clinking conversation
Under the gaze of pastel hats
Before the dames and administration
With in the cozy nestled tea pot
A woman pour her cuppa
And she threw out all decorum.
Watch her lift the cup,
Part her lips,
Drink it black!
A muttering takes the room all anxious
She took it without cream or sugar
"Your majesty, are you unwell?"
She return her cup to the saucer
Amused at the Prime Minister's coughin'
"Oh no, not at all, I was only rooting for Boston."
XV. PROPINQUITY, for Ariel Huckabay
There was something haunting in the prospect
A vague misunderstanding in their eyes
As though gazing they did not see me
But rather dressed me in their own disguise.
That's how I knew he loved me
I recognized my reflection in his staring
And it was the sweetest proof of caring
From G-d who makes all things
And proof of my own fear in sharing
That same same understanding that he craved
O' What bliss to being truly seen!
What delight of unmatched kind!
Only one thing I wish had been,
That I myself had not been blind.
PEACHES, for Sandi Dalton (2017)
"Forbidden!" So I deemed this fruit
The fuzzy sweet nectar
My Mother's hives and shortened breath.
How could I eat her poison?
This "forbidden" was hardly the tempting kind.
I could not kiss her if I ate it,
Would not touch her if I did.
Love sometimes smites a freedom
Because in being bound you are free to love.
Now I am grown
2,000 miles away from home
And in the farm-stands are peaches
Sweet with a distinct creamy odor
But I always take the nectarines,
Because I love my Mother,
How could I eat her poison?
So I bind my liberty to liberally love.
DEVOTION, for Samson Eaton (2017)
I felt it swelling
A thought in the back of my mind
"Prove it, prove that declaration made
By your lips in the music
When the lights were dim."
And what had I said in the darkness
Surrounded by a hundred other men?
"I love you."
And, "How great Thou art,"
"Take my heart..."
"Let me be your hands, & your feet."
Promises which filled my heart with song
That in Solitude I set aside--
To consider all that I wanting, lack--
Lost in the storm of loneliness brooding
Gripping and shoving despised persons aside.
Are my promises empty I made to you?
They still confront me,
"Prove it!" all the words I spoke
But You, You do every word,
Every moment, every day.
And You knew I would betray You,
Foresaw my self-obsession
But still lingers this longing for you,
A desire to fulfill my worship
And return in a reflected action
Of You in all of Your great devotions.
Comments
Post a Comment