.
Heavy Excess
a plea from the human realm
I must flee this land where feelings choke,
Unrope attachments that were tied in love.
Through halting rites of passport checks I grope.
My bulky baggage makes my body slope.
I’m strapped to grief, this loss, this toss and turn,
This dream-smashed heartache widening heartbreak’s scope
That churns me, tears me up and turns me down
With knuckled hand-luggage that’s hard to drop.
You have had this happening to you,
Have gripped the ticket and ignored the cost,
Have seen the Earth’s black turmoil flame and burn,
Had tormenting fears of dropping down.
Please, to help me cope,
Help me unfist this hollow grasp of love,
Let me borrow your resilience,
Your excess, hard-earned, past experience,
And let my yearning, earth-crashed soul get lost,
Transported in your massive heartfelt hold,
To glide on airborne hope
Towards a firm home-heaven forged in gold.
.
.
Catch the Wind
Sometimes I chase at words to hold their meaning
And clasp their sound outright in one closed hand,
Then, leaning closer, squint onto my open
Palm to thumb and strum them on demand,
As though I am a spring bird feather-preening
The muted archeology of “then,”
The sensuous development of “now,”
And thereby to the airborne future bow
As though I bend to pick up and to save
Fresh wild-toned petals from a breeze-blown grave.
.
.
Damian Robin is a writer and editor living in the United Kingdom.
“Heavy Excess” is an apt comparison and term for the crushing inner sadness of a lost love. The mental baggage indeed can weigh one down and sits heavily on the mind until one can free the mind with hope for a golden future. “Catch the Wind! reminds me of the American song, “Try and Catch the Wind.” In essence that is what poets are trying to do and that comes across beautifully in your poem.
To ALL SCP Readers,
I was just informed today that Damian Robin passed away yesterday. I was unaware of his condition; but rereading the above poems, the lines seem ominous. In fact, Damian had an unusual flurry of submissions in the last month or so, and I have two more posts with his poems scheduled over the next month.
Damian has been an SCP contributor since October 2012. He will be greatly missed! He was a good friend too. Though I never met him in the flesh, I certainly did in the spirit. He was a man of extraordinary character and wit.
The Society of Classical Poets sends its condolences to his wife, Katya, and children.
https://classicalpoets.org/damian-robin/
-Evan Mantyk
SCP President & Editor
I knew Damian only through our Zoom sessions. I remain in awe of his talent and wit. Memory eternal.
This is heavy news. The poems above take on a whole new complexion, especially the second half of ‘Catch the Wind’.
Rest peacefully, Damian.
I read the sad news before reading Damian’s beautifully written poems. It made me appreciate more fully every heartfelt word. To me the poems speak of the angst of life and the hope vested in the hereafter. Both poems are written as only Damian could write them… with a wise eye that offers enlightening viewpoints full of spirit and that extra something special that turns heads and touches hearts. Damian will be sorely missed. My condolences to Katya, his children, and to all his friends and family.
I’m so very sorry to hear this sad news. Damian was a formidable poet (as both of these moving poems demonstrate) and clearly a man of great principle. He will be greatly missed.
I also did not know Damian well. I only shared a few emails with him about SCP business mostly and, of course, I saw him on Zoom. Somehow, though, I have also come to know this caring poet through his poetry. He was engaged, concerned, and polite. He was a mensch… the best that you can call any man. I know that he will hear our goodbye. To his family… I am so sorry for your loss. And to you, Damien, we will all be along shortly.
May he rest in eternal peace.
Having read “Heavy Excess,” I was going to say it is one of Damian’s very best poems. The working out of the baggage-and -air-travel comparison is adept and touching. I notice that Damian never uses the word “plane” here; that is reserved for the “eternal plane,” the destination one hopes to reach. That concept was important in “The Straight Fishing, Straight Talking Jiang Ziya,” published just last month. And now I look forward to Damian’s last poems yet to be published, as Evan says. Condolences to the poet’s family, and may he himself rest in peace.
Wow. Rest in peace, Damian.
This strikes a very profound note, especially when one reads imagining that he knew he was in his last days on earth. May he rest in peace in his “firm home-heaven forged in gold.”
I have also enjoyed a long, often serious but also often entertaining correspondence with Damian over the past several years, our last exchange taking place on June 27 and my last email to him sent just two days ago, to which I would have ordinarily expected a prompt reply. Although we shared some health issues in common, I, too, have been caught by surprise at this sad news.
I was, in fact, considering a trip to England late next spring and was hoping to rendezvous with Damian (along with several other SCPers) while there.
He has been an unmet friend whose unique, complex and creative poetic voice will be missed.
Beautiful poems, dear dear Damian. They bring me tears. Fly free now.
Awesome, RIP! I love the poems and the picture is a priceless match.
Powerful notes to accompany an exit and powerful to see a man’s poetry continue its life after him. I’m a relatively new member of the SCP and now have missed the chance to converse with Damian in this life. May he rest in peace.