"You can't blame gravity for falling in love."--Albert Einstein
I know, it is Valentine’s Day, so I should probably post a sentimental love poem. But I am really pretty pragmatic about the whole romantic love thing. Don’t get me wrong—I admire people who can maintain a long-term committed relationship, and I admire loyalty and respect at any level. But it has been my experience that most relationships are the result of proximity and a desperate desire not to be alone. The poem below, one of the few rhyming poems I have written, and one of the few for the juvenile market, considers how children are taught, even in fairy tales, that they are not complete until they hook up.
BLUE BLOOD
Tree frog on the back door screen,
strangest frog I’ve ever seen--
the back porch light seeps through your skin
illuminating life within.
Aortic arches filter light
against the backdrop of the night,
while renal arches branching, curve
like thin blue fingers through tangled nerves.
Your tiny pumping heart shines through
and your life-blood surges, clear and blue.
Translucent Blue Blood, tell me true,
could you be my prince?
BLUE BLOOD
Tree frog on the back door screen,
strangest frog I’ve ever seen--
the back porch light seeps through your skin
illuminating life within.
Aortic arches filter light
against the backdrop of the night,
while renal arches branching, curve
like thin blue fingers through tangled nerves.
Your tiny pumping heart shines through
and your life-blood surges, clear and blue.
Translucent Blue Blood, tell me true,
could you be my prince?
Perhaps an appropriate challenge today would be to write a love poem. Here is a suggested assignment from "Power Poetry."
"If you’re writing a love poem about someone, chances are they’ve had a pretty big impact on your life. In your poem, compare how your life was before and after this person began playing a role in your life story. Maybe you were going through a rough time and they made it better, or you were always a happy person, but they just made you smile a little wider. Whatever your story, everyone enjoys being told how much they matter, so be sure to let this person know how much they’ve changed your life for the better."
"If you’re writing a love poem about someone, chances are they’ve had a pretty big impact on your life. In your poem, compare how your life was before and after this person began playing a role in your life story. Maybe you were going through a rough time and they made it better, or you were always a happy person, but they just made you smile a little wider. Whatever your story, everyone enjoys being told how much they matter, so be sure to let this person know how much they’ve changed your life for the better."
I want to share one of my favorite poems today: "Blink Your Eyes" by Sekou Sundiata. (Click on the photo of Sundiata to listen.)
I will close today with this:
"Friends can help each other. A true friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself - and especially to feel. Or, not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at the moment is fine with them. That's what real love amounts to - letting a person be what he really is."--Jim Morrison
"Friends can help each other. A true friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself - and especially to feel. Or, not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at the moment is fine with them. That's what real love amounts to - letting a person be what he really is."--Jim Morrison
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