2. Words to a Poet
Avoid stylistic filigree
Likewise undue complexity.
It’s best to aim for clarity
Obscurity a rarity.
Rhyming is not bourgeoisie
At least not necessarily.
Embrace your social pedigree
And let your life be poetry.
3. Sometimes
Sometimes I pull my stockings off to see if I have feet,
And sometimes sample sugar cubes to see if they are sweet;
I sometimes pause to touch my nose to see if it is there,
And sometimes send a text to you to see if you still care.
4. Like a Verse
A pearl can't be cut like a gem
A gem can't be molded like gold
Gold can't be stitched like a gown
A gown can't be worn like a pearl.
Wine can't be held like a rose
A rose can't be folded like silk
Silk can't be formed like a verse
A verse can't be tasted like wine.
Love can't be touched like a hand
A hand can't be felt like a song
A song can't be kept like a ring
A ring can't be treasured like love.
5. Irish Blessing
As the low morning light floods the room in
which you wake,
May you begin your day with thankfulness;
For joy is born from praise
As sunrise is from early rays.
6. Of the Living
Bury me in a graveyard near an old oak tree
Covered with moss and worn-weather bark,
Beneath a granite headstone, rusty with lichen freckles,
And musty leaves damp from the misty air.
For you, an open field on an ocean bluff,
Humble beneath a modest, polished plaque
Where grass is trimmed into an earthy frame
And wide blue sky is filled with stars at night.
Between these two, the wind and rain and summer days
Will clock their pace with passers by
Who register the dates then wander on
Not knowing what our stories are or how our lives are tied.
7. Phileo
Do not begrudge me my humanity
I who am poor and have no gift but this:
The pleasant riches of our amity
Exchanged in texts betokening a kiss.
If man were by his solitude made whole,
If friends were by their absence given speech,
If love confined could satisfy the soul,
Then joy alone would be within our reach.
But joy is not for one; we two must share,
And by that charity enrich our health
As by our wit express such friendly care
That in our anxious poverty find wealth.
So may this poem’s audience approve
These words I share as tokens of my love.
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