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Sentimental Song
A pad and pen lie by his side
__This moonless night of fall.
And though he tries to hush his pride,
To only see the tears she cried,
His hands refuse to breach the wall,
__A pithy line to scrawl.
His mind, in angst, replays the day
__And sees the pain she felt.
For he had let a donkey’s bray
Escape his lips without delay,
Not thinking of what pain it dealt
__When he shot out his pelt.
Now deep regret besets his mind,
__For what he did was wrong.
His hands relent and reach to find
The pad and pen they first declined,
To write for her, ten pages long,
__A sentimental song.
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Narcissist
While sitting in a bistro chair
And staring out a window’s glare,
You shift your head and flick your hair
To roving eyes that gawk and stare.
You deign to glance beyond your book
To smile at those who pass and look.
But there is one for whom you care,
The girl whose eyes you also share.
With only her, you spare your view,
A mirrored stamp of one like you.
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Angel L. Villanueva is a poet residing in Massachusetts.
Enjoyed both poems, Angel. Thank you.
Of course the Narcissist prefers the girl who looks like him! The poem is adroit and clever in images and syntax, not wasting a word. I especially like the sparing of his view (which I take to mean he does not look at the girl whose eyes he shares), the better to tempt her to look at him.
I especially liked the second poem, which I read as describing a girl who’s less interested in the figures beyond the window than in the one reflected in the window’s glare, i.e. herself.