BEAUTY, a poem

 

How can a woman

become more beautiful

with the passing

of the years

You did

 

Perhaps, I am seeing

what I want,

the illusion of love,

the delusion of age.

The reason doesn’t matter

 

Perhaps, I should wallow

in the pleasure

of what life

has brought me,

lovely you

 

TRYING, a poem

 

Denied the gift of genius

by genes or just circumstance,

the ordinary poet or writer

relies upon a muse, education,

experience and extensive reading

 

Attaining rare greatness

demands skill and focus

and of course, achievement

Yet the great are shadows

of the fulfilled genius

 

Success for the majority

requires a willingness to work

without the acclaim of others,

but with the pleasure of trying

to achieve creative moments

A suggestion: try my novel, THE TRUCKERS, on Kindle

 

 

 

PURE PLEASURE, a poem

 

Moments of pure pleasure

that really thrill our lives

are ephemeral treasure

never to be forgotten

 

Some are planned

some are not

the sensation may be grand

or at the very least nice

 A suggestion: try my novel, THE DREAM DANCER, on Kindle

 

END of MY TRAIL, a poem

 

Worn and so exhausted,

yet still stumbling onward,

near the end of the trail

of a very long life

 

Through the many years

the journey was fueled

by curiosity and pleasure,

with a strong, energetic body

and no all-consuming heartaches

 

Sweet memories endure

despite the flawed body

whose certain destiny

is sickness and then death,

perhaps an afterlife

 

A suggestion: try my novel, THE DREAM DANCER, on Kindle 

 

ONE NIGHT

          She knew with a glance

          she had found romance

          she would seize her chance

          before the night was over

for a lovely phallic dance

          There could be no regret

          She would never forget

          her uninhibited pleasure

of a joy beyond measure

          a memory to treasure

          When her body grew old

          in bed alone and cold

she would long to dream

of that romantic flight

          lasting for just one night

MY DAY, a poem

          

         What is there

          to say

          nothing happens

          in my day

          Evenings are much

          the same

          no one else

          to blame

          Treasure pleasure

          in taking

          life’s measure

          ignore the aching

                   (Aug. 22, 2017)

A suggestion try my novel, BEN CONNOLLY in the PARIS COMMUNE, on Kindle

SLOGGING & PLEASURE IN READING and WRITING

I was plodding through a novel about farm families living in an isolated mountainous area of North Carolina when I happened to see SOYLENT GREEN, the 1973 film that envisions an overpopulated, squalid Earth. That prompted me to read MAKE ROOM! MAKE ROOM! by Harry Harrison, the novel, which inspired the movie.
It is disappointing to put down a book after reading 100 pages or more, to decide that it is not worth going on that the process is a chore rather than a pleasure. I had been slogging through the farm-family novel waiting for lightning to strike, for the work to come alive. If I hadn’t picked up Harrison’s novel to read a few pages out of curiosity to see whether it was well written or just a potboiler, I might have soldiered on reading in unending detail about every aspect of the lives and labors of Nineteenth Century farmers. But Harrison caught me, the pleasure of sailing rather than slogging kept me reading his book to the end.
The word pleasure stuck up like a snow-capped mountain in my mind as I considered the two novels. Having experienced kidney stones and a couple of other awful agonies, I often said to my wife, Rae, that the absence of pain is pleasure. Googling pleasure, I immediately came across Epicurus, the Greek philosopher, and was shocked to discover he said the same thing over 2,000 years ago.
At any rate, the role of the writer is to deliver a pleasurable experience to the reader. Sometimes that thrill comes after I have forced my way up hill through some heavy words and sentences. And, sometimes I just can’t go on, the writer has failed me, has failed to provide a twist that interests or a view that inspires.

Next time, I will discuss Harry Harrison’s novel MAKE ROOM! MAKE ROOM! and SOYLENT GREEN, the film it inspired.

A SUGGESTION: my novel, OOOEELIE, is well worth reading. Free on Kindle, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, and Apple.