‘On the Untimely Demise of My Hair’ and Other Poetry by Rob Crisell

On the Untimely Demise of My Hair

In days gone by when life for me looked bright,
And I rejoiced in the clear dawn of youth,
My hair filled my soul with such sweet delight
That soon my locks became my only truth.
Time hurried past as fast as a spring day,
And still I adored my elegant mane,
Until one night, to my utter dismay,
I saw my hairs clogging the shower drain.
Alarmed, I prayed: “Dear Lord, please save my mop
And I’ll atone for my arrogant years.”
Alas, my hair’s retreat refused to stop,
In spite of the use of Rogaine and tears.
And now here I sit, as bald as a pear,
Writing a sonnet on losing my hair.

Petrichor

If this is not a word you know,
You’ll wish you learned it long ago.
Pronounce it just like “PET try core.”
The roots of it will likely bore—
“Petra” refers to rocks or stones,
Our planet’s primordial bones.
“Ichor” stands for sacred blood
In the veins of a Grecian god.
The word’s meaning is more mundane:
It’s the smell of dry earth after rain;
The exhalation from the ground
Of a fragrance profound;
A blend of water, sage, and dust,
An intoxicating, holy must,
The perfume of sacred wine
From a cellarage divine.

Never Trust a Poem That Rhymes

Never trust a poem that rhymes.
It pleases only average minds.
Rhyme is too much. It’s too romantic.
Near rhyme is just as problematic.
It rots your teeth, like candy or cake;
Tacky, commercial, a rookie mistake.
Poets should be sophisticated,
Cynical, sad, and constipated.
Post-modern poems must be dreary,
Sinister, sterile, and world-weary.
Difficult meter or opaque free verse;
Similes used like perfume in a hearse.
Curse words are a necessary evil.
Politics geared toward social upheaval.
lower case, naturally.
Punctuate infrequently
And this can’t be stressed too many times—
Never trust a poem that rhymes!

Rob Crisell is a writer, actor, teacher, and attorney in Temecula. After two decades in publishing, national non-profit work, law, and commercial real estate, he’s now a full-time writer, actor, and educator. He is an outside instructor with the Murrieta Valley Union School District where he teaches poetry and Shakespeare. He also teaches at St. Jeanne de Lestonnac School and other area schools on behalf of Shakespeare in the Vines (SITV). He runs SITV’s annual high school monologue competition, which he began in 2013. Currently, he is playing Iago in SITV’s August production of Othello. He’s the author/actor of Red, White & Bard! A Celebration of Shakespeare in America and Hamlet’s Guide to Happiness: 7 Life Lessons from the Greatest Play Ever Written, one-man shows he has performed for SITV, schools, and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. He’s a graduate of Yale University and George Mason University Law School. He lives in Temecula with his wife and their two children.