His village
is
a plantation
of privations,
where
a variety of
sorrows grow.
Love
like corn
lives
within
a pale cover.
Pain
is buried
in the furrow
of misery.
Moneyless Majhi
plods miles
with
his stiff spouse
on his shoulder.
Here
to live
is to burn
like dried cow dung.
First printed in The Literary Hatchet
The motion of the tides and movement therein beckons on to me,
Silent as it moves over the oceans width, gentle as a wind from the sea;
A mystery is the future of our passing lives, only a semblance of what’s to come,
Through the miracle of our own emotion, or the brilliance of the setting sun,
For in the time it takes to aim at a star, we may only get to the moon
The passions of hope to a child is measured in an instant of time,
A sound so soft is the prodigy of ones time, making faith in our own religion…
Captured is the sight of a comets storm, or the twinkle from centuries past,
Yet the wisdom we gain from our dark privations is held in the semblance of space,
But we reach in thought to a billion years like the measure of a second past by
Look to the wisdom in the extent of our lives, and relinquish all that’s gone before,
Our strongest belief is held deep in the heart, like that which shone from a star;
So bright the light that beams through darkness, over oceans deep and wide
But held secure waits the aspect of a man, and the realm of his wants and desires;
For in the time it takes to aim at a star, we may only get to the moon
The banner of red, white, and blue,
Is a beautiful sight, ‘tis true.
Endeared by many, scorned by some,
Its place in history securely won.
Under this banner many proudly serve,
From duty they are sworn to never swerve.
In distant lands, away from those dear,
Overcoming hardship, privations, and fear.
Some may still ask why they go.
Why do they such devotion show?
“The answer is simple,” they proudly say,
“We would never have it any other way.”
For Kenneth Koch
We met each other in Smyrna
Birthplace of Seferis
Walked all the day together around Ephesus
Admiring the antiquities
And chatting about the troubles of a new era
We came from different worlds
I with a youth full of privations
You with the clamor of Beatnik days
What makes a poet a poet?
You said with your ironic smile
The pain or joy of living?
Now that you are no more
It's boring sometimes
To live after you
Life! That little trick of substance
Curiously expressed with such a short word
In all mankind's languages
2008
Time Thieves
By Rick Rucker
We steal all the Time we can,
When I’m with You, I’m Happy Man!
Life attempts to keep us apart,
But it can’t defeat a Burning Heart!
The warmth of your Embrace,
Worth any privations I must Face!
Enveloped in your Loving Arms,
I lose myself in your Charms!
I know I keep You out too late,
To save Me from a Lonely Fate!
After I steal your sleep, I am sorry,
But, when holding You, and looking at the sky, so starry
I can’t help myself,
You help me put Loneliness on The Shelf!
Soon, we will have our own place,
Where we can wake up, face to face,
Star-crossed Lovers, for all Time,
Sharing a Love, so Sublime!
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