Beauty

. At Matins’ hour, the middle of the night,I woke, and soon found I was not alone;A man who seemed past sixty to my sightThis sentence said, and sang it in good tone:O threefold God on the eternal throne,To be content and love Thee I have cause:My trifling youth is...

.For all my lifeI felt alone---Out on the road,As well as home. I saw couples With children near,Filled to the brimWith sweetness dear. But then it came,This life in me.I am “with child”---Now all can see. It’s in my walk,My softer voice,My warmer hand, My surer choice. I sleep so...

. Part II of the Coffee Trilogy. (Part I can be found here.) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.    ---John 1:1 A light without a shadow could exist like a lonely star in lonelier space; a shadow though,...

. Today I spied you, red in beak and claw.You perched atop a roadside pole to dineOn scaly prey with silver skin, pecked raw—A mullet dish of thrashing flesh; a fineBeachside feast; a smorgasbord of sweetAnd briny meat with spiny, hairbreadth bones,All talon-torn by hunger bared and wild.I gazed upon...

. I asked the moon, "Do you feel all alone?" She said, "I have no time. I've lots to do. To all the stars, I am a chaperone. Tonight I'm in good company with you." I asked the moon, "Do you begrudge the sun?" She said, "my heart's devoid of...

. Six hundred years before Old Sarum fell, the might of Rome faced down the Gallic tribes on earthen ramparts between circles scribed, intent to bring rebellion to the quell. Caesar himself came out to face the Gauls but Vercingetorix had scorched the land and left the Legions without ground...

. One Fate Ecclesiastes 9:1-6 Shall I portend, and shall I explicate What eyes can see themselves, ere they go blind? The moral and sagacious of mankind Know not a whit what destinies await, For to the hand of God they are consigned. Who knows what fortune then shall arbitrate,...

. Prayer Of people who pray, Routinely or not, He wonders what the case is. Are they of belief Prayer has an effect, Or touching all the bases? . . Opinions in Fact Some folks voice opinions So matter-of-factly They seem to think everyone Reckons exactly. . . Decisions in...

. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5FdfL8sVRM Like Abelard and Heloise Like Abelard and Heloise This woman has the gorgeous mind. Her touch of tenderness and ease Calms the ravages I find. Her cheeks are one dear downy bed For my sore heart to rest upon, And the sultry words she said Vanish but are...

. Like a bell struck in the clear night, A voice that no one hears Tells me to leave my bed and write With ink distilled from tears. The stars exert their influence, The moon shines white on black, The planets weave a circle dance Around the zodiac. Bent under...

. The first soft days of Springtime greet my eyes __Like a young girl’s face smiling fresh and clean, The sunlight falls, like hope, from cloudless skies __Upon a budding world, all tender green; But sweet, sad odors drift upon the breeze, __That seem to carry my soul far away,...

. The Tale of Governor Do-as-I-Say-Not-as-I-Do-som It’s funny how Democracy In many states now colored blue Produces rank hypocrisy, A birthright of the privileged few. And there we notice Gavin Newsom Imbibing wine for all to see, Complicit in a maskless twosome Inside a swanky eatery. But this is urban...

. We’re poets first-and-foremost and agree that meter, rhyme and rhythm oft are spurned; the plethora of poetry we see is free verse and should frankly be returned to sender if an emo, teenage brain or lovesick chump composed the referenced work whilst classicists are grappling to regain elusive words...

.  Brush with Shame In reference to “Couple accidentally paints over $500,000 artwork,” Ben Cost, New York Post, 4/3/21 The whole world over they are in a stew: Our artists and creators share the view That “artwork” they create or else display Is “hands off”—there’s just nothing else to say....

. O Spring, you’re such a tease, Fickle as a good-time lover; Temptingly, you hover Warm against my cheek, Windless, save a zephyr; And oh so soft your whisper Of promise, only to hide Away again. I seek, Not to find. Your breeze Blows hot, then cold. Decide! . ....

. Martyred daughter of a libeled Czar, You for whom St. Basil’s bells have rung, Condemned to die dishonored and unsung, Yet gentlest of the Romanovs by far In silent black-and-white forever young. It seems your life was but a royal dream Of gold tiaras wrought by Cartier And gilded...

. Poet's Note: These poems are non-autobiographical. . When Love is Lost To see the summer sun and wish for rain; To smell the springtime flowers and wish for snow; To wake at dawn and wish for night again; To trade today for dreams of long ago. To grieve the...

. You meekly poke your purple heads Through stubborn clumps of snow That yet persist in fallow beds Though balmy breezes blow; First to hail the waxing sun, First to scent the air, First to paint the lifeless dun With a stroke of flair. So unassuming, small, and frail, Yet...

. Who took the years? Who stole the time away? Where did it go? I just don’t understand. There were so many things that I had planned, Such clever dialogue I had to say. Have I been written out of my own play? The years seemed plentiful as grains of...

. I wish I could build me a magic machine, A magic machine that would last, Till the octopus sings and the Orca grows wings, And the lowly worm ceases to cast. I’d fashion the walls out of wonder and trust, The floors out of paper-maché, The roof a fine...

. Horace, in your guide to painting poems, Bid a poet paint in synchrony. Carve, in sandy caves where writers roam, Ships ensconced in loam and birds at sea. Horace, sir, you broke me at hello. Genius, wit and art---tall cups to fill. Poet’s charge is flow, I know. I...

. Is poetry that’s free as free as all That?  Surely it’s the poet who is free Or not.  He makes the choice to make a sprawl Of words (and punctuation?) dribblingly Straight (straight?) along the right-hand margin, or Elects to wander from that side to God Knows where.  Then reeling like a...

. Though many scores were lost, those that remain May well be thought the richest heritage Ever bequeathed by one blessed human brain: Incomparable gems on every page, Now reverently passed from age to age, But when the ink was fresh how roughly tossed Aside as passé! And who now...

    . Dusk Till Dawn  The ocean rainAnd sleep played me—A willing pawn.I dreamt of youFrom nautical duskTill nautical dawn. . . Love Is More We shall be soul mates tillThey etch our names on stonesOr let our ashes flyFor love is more than justThin skin and brittle bones. ....

. excerpted from the sonnet sequence Philip, Prince of Greece and Great Britain He wore a white gold crown wherever he Was living, Denmark, Greece, and also here In Scotland and in England.  Like a spree Of happiness, he was a musketeer Of royal beauty whose blond diadem Was full...

. Night Verses The airy rush of thoughts today The evening breeze has whisked away. The wind that spoke to me in wings Has flown and left old, scattered things. Some small and faint discarded words Remain like fragile bones of birds. I gather letters from the ground, Recall their...

. Cherry Blossom Viewing Like someone else, in unaccustomed dress, I choose that silken smoothness graze my skin __As fragile branches effloresce, Revealing vernal consciousness within Of transient white or pink I can caress With fingers titillating opaline Just opened buds exploding as they tease __My sight. They tremble; I...

. We stick to what we know, what we can touch, Hold in our hands; unable to foretell What lies ahead, denying Time with such Abandonment, pretending we are well Aware of the truth, we close our eyes To reason, snapping pictures of the here And now, though, all the...

. Ballade of Prayer to Our Lady (in the voice of the poet’s mother) by François Villon (1431-1463), from French by Joseph S. Salemi Lady of Heaven, who holds earthly sway And reigns as Empress of the hellish deep, Receive me, one poor Christian, as I pray That I may...

. Rededication The sullen days of winter Remain a galling splinter Within my thickened skin, So let the games begin! Though I’m inclined to focus Upon the blooming crocus, The loom of April fills My mind with daffodils. With every spring, an Easter, But will it bring me feast or...

. If He came now, God’s only Son, To save a world that’s come undone Would we continue to defy His truth, to stoke the ruthless lie That claims His name is not the One? His Word torments the twisted tongue With light that blazes like the sun; Would we...

. The world is full of suffering and pain; We wait in fear for death to walk our way; We look for anyone that we can blame Projecting fear and hate along the way. Where fear has entered, love can never be And with it, peace of mind is gone...

. “The strife is o’er, the battle won”—18th c. Hymn As hapless hope and hopelessness collide The mid-day sun looms black above the cross; A dies irae bearing bitter loss Where life and death each breathed their last, and died. With undried, grief-wept tears creation cried As God’s pure gold...

. Praise Him for the lightning in the gale,For balmy winds, for crystals in the snow.Wonder at the gaudy peacock’s tail,Observe how huge the elephant can grow! The turtledove, the maculate giraffe,The leopard’s feral stealth, the eagle’s wing,The neighing of the horse, the dolphin’s laugh;The joy in God which once...

. Sonnet 181 Jesus had suffered more than we can tell, But when released, His soul at once aspired To save the just, whom their long wait had tired. See Him descend to Limbo’s dreary hell In search of those who early served Him well And, ages since, His coming...

. I’ve had a nightmare! Let that just man go! You’re right that he’s done nothing wrong. They’re wrong To want him dead. No, nothing you could write Above his head could possibly undo Your guilt. He’s innocent, however long You try to wash your hands of him. That rite...

. Behold the Queen of Heaven weeping, seeping __Tears that rend her heart and ours. As one __Who mourns she grasps and clasps the seeming-sleeping, __Pierced, and bloodless body of her son. A body void of God’s expired breath; __A pietà of human flesh and bone __Where heaving, grieving love...

. She burns to bear his burden (take the weight) But he is far beyond her guiding reach. Beyond her soothing arms, he meets his fate. Her heavy heart has nothing left to teach… For these are not his first steps; they’re his last. His skin (once kissed and dressed...

. The Lovely World Behold the frozen, flaxen fields at morn– The tall grass shining on the hills of clay Which sunlit wisps of winter frost adorn In dazzling white, as for a bridal day. An air of holy wantonness imbues The outspread earth which, quiet as a nun, Displays...

. For the Birds The cardinal in his bold, red cloak; His wife so subtle, so bespoke. In complimentary blues and grays, The raucous jays---they have their ways. And in the trees, the chickadees! Their song is always sure to please! There at the feeder, every morn, Sunflower seed mixed...