Robert Ludden Poet Free verse

This Too Shall Pass

There is an unseen magnet in the lure 
of solitude.  I seek it hungrily.
In it, I draw down silence as
a cover, insulating truth, but I
deny the need for joy.  For as a boy

I sought too often, all the places that
my friends avoided, sanctuaries that
would give the groping spirit in the heart
of me some rest.  Of all my friends it was
and still remains, the best.  Yet finally

as age invades this shell, the mind
has learned to swim in consciousness,  
to question and to laugh,  
to know that truth alone, while still supreme,  
will reach about in love, 
and also with the cosmos that it rules, 
may celebrate its restless peace. 

I chase down thoughts, and wrestle with them now..
I make them work; they may not get away
with merely tantalizing fantasy.
They are the mortar of a spirit house
I'm building from a curious design
some spirit architect passed on, 
but it is mine and will bring smiles, I think, 
at its grand opening.

The years are good,  the friends as well, 
for as they came along I saw at once 
that they were not a mirror for my greed 
nor just a sounding board for some vain homily
my ego had prepared-
no they were sons of God!  
I laughed again, 
but now the joy is sung in concert, 
in a universe without an end.
              ~

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Charlotte Puddifoot July 22, 2012 at 4:15 AM 'this too shall pass' one of my fave sayings when I'm having a tough time! haha just read debbie's comment - she's tried to get me to write them as well but no go, sonnets frighten me for some weird reason lol and I think I'm lazy too! but I've forced myself to tackle different forms, because before I came here all I'd ever written was free verse, I had no idea what a tanka was or anything before coming here! but yes I agree, poetry is best when it's natural and unforced, and restrictive forms and syllable counts are a bit limiting... Robert Ludden July 22, 2012 at 8:22 AM I can write them, and have done so. I do not fear them, but like you, I am somewhat lazy. The free verse form fits best what I usually want to say, or can say, so I lean to that. I agree with you that others are restrictive, but of course Frost and many others handle them easily. So I can't criticize--just accept.

Debbie Guzzi July 12, 2012 at 6:12 PM WONDERFUL write..loved the use of enjambment!! [Thank you so MUCH for telling me about the Macronic Element...LOL..odd to be doing something and not even know there's a name for it, I have a few more ones using more than one language if you'd like there titles?} I think you should try a modern sonnet like the ones Cyndi does, also I can give you a reading list of poets you will like, here.. Light & Love Robert Ludden July 12, 2012 at 11:40 PM By all means, send the reading list, Debbie. I have written sonnets and like them, but poetry must be natual for me, and the free verse form lends itself best to my inspirations. Calculated poetry is harder, and I am naturally lazy! :-) Thanks for the praise.