Ashamed I will no longer be…
Ashamed I will no longer be
To write an older poetry —
I have the right to reach for rhyme
And make the most of measured time —
While looked upon I am with scorn —
And ridiculed — as per fashion —
I recall many others torn
Away from their deep heart’s passion
By an ignorant and cruel crowd
Who spew the usual nonsense
Deriding us; as if license
To judge was just to them allowed.
Now suddenly my sight comes clear:
What motivates these men is fear!
Takes courage to defy the norm —
And courage takes a frightful form.
The boy of words who never had spoken…
The boy of words who never had spoken
Stood at the edge of a universe hurt
And silently wept for dreams become cursed
And daydreams and rainbows all but broken.
Yes. Even these he had barely known — when
Each one collapsed and each one deserted
What had already been a damaged world —
Where it seemed most everyone was no one.
His tears turned to ice — and then to diamonds —
A miracle wrought — and value declared —
Despite the sad stillness of the moment…
For beauty is beauty — never undone —
Nor be so true wonder — the child of care —
These — and love too — eternally present.
Undone remain the greatest deeds…
Undone remain the greatest deeds
That man has in his power —
Unplanted, too, the potent seeds
That yield the peaceful flower —
How long the time before the end?
How short the song we sing?
Until there be no more, my friend,
Of that we dare to dream.
A Poem Certainly Has a Nose
A poem certainly has a nose —
How else to smell a rose so sweet —
As well, it surely must have toes:
Necessity — for one with feet —
Firestone Feinberg is a poet living in New York City.
Featured Image: Still Life by Stone Roberts
