OTHER IAMBICS
I Think Therefore Iambic©
The poet has realized that
he has his own way, which is neither
scientific nor philosophical,
of knowing the world."
Jacques Maritain (b. 1882) French Philosopher
THE KYRIELLE
TELL ME THAT I'M BRAVE
Time runs ever faster, faster
Life can be a cruel task master,
and I am but a humble slave
O Kismet, tell me that I'm brave.
So much to do, so little time.
Death takes a friend still in his prime,
a friend beyond my power to save.
O Kismet, tell me that I'm brave.
My lifelong friend is gone, and I
must be content to mourn and cry.
I see the shadow of my grave.
O Kismet, tell me that I'm brave.
William J. Middleton, Ph. D.
Chadds Ford, PA
"Of all kinds of ambition, that which
pursues poetical fame is the wildest."
Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774)
English Poet, Dramatist and Novelist
WORK THIS IN
Another day to change the world,
you prod yourself, lips gently curled.
Without a clue to how, you trust,
Stand firm, and do all that you must.
Of course, one must seek out some fun
to savor at the setting sun,
for nature longs to make us dust.
Stand firm, and do all that you must.
Two opposite-direction goals,
implanted, tire out lesser souls;
a good time and reforming thrust.
Stand firm, and do all that you must.
He mentioned these ideas, how they
confused him when he planned his day.
(Good E. B. White had scholar's lust.)
Stand firm, and do all that you must.
Mary Gribble
San Marino, CA
No man is a hypocrite in his pleasures.
Dr. Samuel Johnson
(1709-1784)
English author, lexicographer and conversationalist
A SHOT OF LEMONADE
KYRIELLE TO THE 85th ANNIVERSARY
OF THE RATIFICATION OF PROHIBITION
JANUARY 16, 2005
In eighteen hundreds, booze and foam
were reasons men were not at home.
In nineteen-nineteen, Pa would grin
at home, while Ma stirred bathtub gin.
In speakeasies, where jazz was loud,
young gangsters burst in bragging, proud,
while beaded flappers blocked out sin.
From our home, Mom hawked bathtub gin.
It was not love of gourmet grub
made folks join an exclusive club.
With World War's end, hoorays were in.
Ma spread the word of bathtub gin.
No chat of Bill or Hillary,
but Ma's renowned distillery
and how to comfort next of kin
with Pa's last drink of bathtub gin.
Mary Gribble
San Marino, CA
"I am ready to meet my maker. Whether my Maker
is
prepared to meet me is another matter."
Winston Churchill (l874-1965)
Statesman and Author
THE PANTOUM
NINETY-THREE
My aging aunt will soon be ninety-three.
She's wheelchair-bound and cannot say her name.
Once she was famous for her artistry.
Is this the price that she must pay for fame?
She's wheelchair-bound and cannot say her name.
She cannot even feed herself her gruel.
Is this the price that she must pay for fame?
The muse of artists shouldn't be so cruel.
She cannot even feed herself her gruel.
She cannot recognize a single face.
The muse of artists shouldn't be so cruel.
Fate stole her fragile mem'ry to erase.
She cannot recognize a single face.
Once she was famous for her artistry.
Fate stole her fragile mem'ry to erase.
My aging aunt will soon be ninety-three.
William J. Middleton, Ph.D.
Chadds Ford, PA
"If you're going to do something wrong,
at least enjoy it."
Leo Bosten
HOLES
A letter wrote itself, entreating you,
as I recall, a score and more ago;
those weary words to our Big Sister, too;
I swore off cigs; there's data you should know.
As I recall, a score and more ago,
it shouted, "Stop now!" if a pen could shout,
I swore off cigs: there's data you should know.
With laughter, both my sisters tuned me out.
It shouted, "Stop now!" if a pen could shout.
Sis Mag could make you laugh until you cried.
With laughter, both my sisters tuned me out.
A hole burned in our hearts when Maggie died.
Sis Mag could make you laugh until you cried.
They pierced her flawless neck so she could breathe.
A hole burned in our hearts when Maggie died.
She left; we stayed and watched our parents grieve.
They pierced her flawless neck so she could breathe.
Next, Baby Sister cheered her with a wig.
She left, we stayed, and watched our parents grieve.
Stop puffing, Baby Sister; come, think big.
Next Baby Sister cheered her with a wig.
I prayed I could my naive sibling touch.
Stop puffing, Baby Sister, come think big.
I said, "Come clean, for you have seen so much."
I prayed I could my naive sibling touch.
And then, her wig and holes gave little fun.
I said, "Come clean, for you have seen so much."
But profits, damn the cost, again had won.
And then, her wig and holes gave little fun.
Those weary words to our Big Sister, too.
But profits, damn the cost, again had won.
The letter wrote itself, entreating you.
Mary Gribble
San Marino, CA
THE HEROIC COUPLET
"There is one art of which every man should be master --
the art of reflection. -- If you are not a thinking man,
to what purpose are you a man at all?"
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
English Poet and Critic
VALENTINE
It was lonely in my house,
No sign of a lover or even a spouse,
So I opened my heart to the church and the town,
With the hope I might find someone of renown.
But before that happened, I needed some pills,
Not for me, but for my little dog's ills.
Inside, of the Hospital, I found this neat blonde;
She was English and Irish from across the Pond,
We soon went to dinner and the days really flew,
And our love for each other just grew and grew.
So when I asked her to be the spouse in my house,
She was first as quiet as a mouse.
But then she agreed to be mine, only mine,
And now she's become my eternal Valentine II.
Harry Letton
The child is father of the man.
William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)
English Poet
~
VERNON, TEXAS-- SUMMER 1938
"Times are hard!" the grown-ups said,
but we still had our beans and bread,
and sometimes for a special treat,
we'd have fried steak or other meat.
My ragged pants were cool and neat.
And who needs shoes to pinch their feet?
For it was fun to hop around
and miss the hot spots on the ground.
Remember old Scoutmaster Brown?
The finest man in our whole town!
He'd take us camping by the Pease
and let us do just as we please.
Grandmother lived in the house next door.
I'd spread the funnies on her floor
and lie there till I read them through.
I liked "Alley Op" and "Chief Wahoo."
And Grandmother had lots of trees to climb,
an arbor with a green grape vine,
and the biggest, sweetest mulberry tree
that ever stained a boy like me.
Remember that sometimes we'd play
"Monopoly"? It'd take all day.
And other games? We played a few --
like dominos and checkers, too.
And was it a hundred in the shade?
Then we'd have some lemonade
and I could drink an awful lot
till my whole stomach was a big cold spot.
"Times are hard!" the grown-ups said.
"Jobs are down! The economy's dead!"
But as for me, I'd have to say
that times were great in every way!
William J. Middleton, PhD
Chadds Ford, PA
"Memory is the receptacle
and sheath of all knowledge"
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 - 43 B.C.)
Roman Orator
MEMORIES
Ages ago one day my parents died,
I touched their box but did not look inside;
Now when my latest castle falls to dust,
They visit me and show me what I must;
Somehow I keep their gentle presence here,
To say a word of grace within my ear:
Or is it that they wish to be with me,
And in that longing come across the sea?
Troxey Kemper
Los Angeles, CA
"If a man really has an idea,
he can communicate it
and if he has a clear idea,
he can communicate it clearly."
Nathaniel Emmons (1745-1840)
American Theologian
PARADISE FOUND
And so my thoughts are all of yesterday
when life was young and heaven thoughts away.
If I could think of it, all mine to claim
and I had thoughts of riches and of fame;
too soon the body felt the strain of age
and knew the uselessness of utter rage,
that all the dreams I cherished would not be
and few there were who chose to comfort me.
I learned the truth that man must walk alone
to seek his way, to find his final home,
a frightening journey with full twists and turns,
until at last the final candle burns
and lights the way ahead where heaven lies,
a Paradise unto these weary eyes.
Janet Parker
Leesburg, FL
THE TRIOLET
"So sad, so fresh, the days
that are no more."
Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)
English Poet Laureate
TRIOLET FOR LOVE
I love you in the brightest light of day.
I love you in the darkest fold of night.