Poetry has always eluded me. I just don't get it. I have tons of literary theory packed into brain cells, but poetry... fuhgettaboutit! Though I did author a couple that got me through college courses, 1) The Slime Queen... "Bury them in Slime, she screamed!" That opening line is all I remember of that. And 2) The Lost Dogs of Phnom Penh... really don't remember any of that one. Both are now lost to the Universe.
In the early 2000s I tried again. What you see below is from that effort. I'm no Allan Katzman, Wallace Stevens, e.e. cummings, or Charles Bukowski (all are favorites) but maybe it doesn't suck that bad !
Oh, and suck or not, all of this is copyright Robin Hohweiler
Morning #2 -NEW! Red sky at morning, Sailor take warning. August in Oklahoma. Mockingbirds are agitated. Probably have babies on the ground. Not a hint of breeze this morning. Strange, weird even. Best part of the day. So far, so good. Someone’s bound to fuck it up.
Morning #1 - NEW! A gentle breath of wind across my face. The bickering of the scissortails in the tall pine. An unexpected stillness of being as I sit out here. My dog lays his head upon my lap seeking my attention. We find a measure of solace together in the predawn gloom. The lack of urgency is soothing. And its coming to an end is too soon.
Sonnet #1 - English form (Shakespearean) Know that you breathe life into me; That the mere sight of you, the thrill of your touch Brings all that my soul desires of thee And lays open my heart for you to clutch.
You're my final thought of the day before I slumber And my first thought of the morning when I awaken. The joy in my heart throughout the day, I strain to cumber. The depth of my love for you, I know I am not mistaken.
Though our history on this mortal plane is altogether brief, There is little doubt for me that we are old familiars intimate. As has been said before by wiser than I, time is a thief. Let us not squander an opportunity to meet at a moonlit gate.
Know that I love you now and tomorrow so as to ensure That despite whatever circumstances our love shall endure.
Sonnet #2 - English form (Spenserian) Dew covers the grass, the droplets too numerous to comprehend. Moonlight from above conveys a carpet of diamonds spread. Silvery light illumes the clearing and betrays two dark paths without bend Moving across from opposite ends, straight and true they tread.
In the center, a larger spot where they meet, no words has been said. Lovers, limbs intertwined, embracing in the cool still of the night, Holding one another and gently kissing, the wet earth their bed. Lost in their moment together as darkness moves toward light.
This moment together this fire between them that burns so bright Is all that matters. Lock it away, my Love, to live in your recollection. A memory to be recalled another day when there's no kindred in sight. For there I shall be again with you in that clearing, imbibing in our affection.
Two souls on a like and yet unlikely path finding one another in indigo. Sharing a moment that stretches in perpetuity and directs us to go.
Note: What follows here is part of a bigger project I've working on since 1988. I really like this one.
Free Verse #1 - Leave Me to Lie Leave me to lie out on the sand-sage prairie. At the end of my Ride, plant me in the ground, With my feet to the west for an Eternal sunset. Place my saddle 'neath my head to rest upon. Set my horse free to wander the Plains. Kiss all the women goodbye and tell them I cared. Use wages I have coming to buy whiskey for my friends. The drunks will toast. The women will weep. The horse will retrace our favorite rides.