Charles Maurin with talent to spare
an etching revolutionaire
His composition - allegorique*
best displays an enigmatic technique
Modesty,
In the valley of life I S.O.A.K
mirrored
in your reflection of feel
resistance rests in the wilderness
but I will not buy her tricks
I am not long for this world
neither am I short
as the mouths of babes call for their supper
I hold the pillars of the earth in each hand
one black, one white
I don't believe in paprika
overkill for one who has no taste
I live for the salt
and lick those painful wounds
I've been peppered by prejudice
and prefer a silence not yet heard
but in it there is a song
no birds can sing it
only a stranger in the ocean's call
she is not a siren or filled with deep red hair
she's smooth and soft as whispers
with a soul that can't compare
I will not lose her to the wind
nor the fire nor despair
I'll reach out to her dainty
and caress what she does fear
It's me who wounds the wonders
as mother cries at night
there's no living in the darkness
when happiness shines her light
'...how do I love thee, let me count the ways.'
- Shakespeare: Sonnet XLIII
He stops to buy her roses and a card
to mark their anniversary.
Strolling absent-mindedly he crosses
to the park and in his reveries he hears
two songbirds singing sweetly in the trees,
a melody that cheers his saddened soul.
He hurries to the nursing home to greet
his darling wife, the half that makes him whole.
He cannot let a day go e'er he sees
her smiling face, that smile of sweet
contentment that illuminates their souls
and redefines their state of grace.
Living on their memories they chatter
like the songbirds, their conversation bright.
He tucks her in and wishes her goodnight,
'God bless, sleep tight, (don't let those bedbugs bite!')
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.