Love Credos


Because you so believe the stark avowals
of love laid bare on moonlit nights will lead
both speakers to a bower safe from the prowls
of sullen moods their later days might breed:
when I, after you speak, still hesitate,
your eyes dwindle to tears.  You, too, soon hush.
And never guess I...once...said what you wait 
to hear; once...to her eyes...spoke with a rush.

You so believe love's touch a flight through tiers
of bright sun rays and white winds, soft as fur.
But, now, I know love's touch is a dark room,
cluttered with unfamiliar furniture,
where I must take only slow steps or doom
my flesh to unhealed wounds and crippling fears.

previously published in BLOSSOMS OF THE APRICOT


​
The Lecture


You lecture well in class.  You clarify
the poem's compressed syntax, paraphrase
the wording in each stanza, pinpoint why
the form supports the content, cite the ways
the central meaning echoes what we know
were the most popular beliefs the year
the poem was written, and, concluding, show
how those beliefs touch our lives. Then you hear
the ten-of bell and watch your students spring
to their feet, grab their hats and coats, and flee
the classroom.  And, glancing outside, you see
the sunlight splash a swooping bluejay's wings
gold-bright...and know no word your students heard
roused what, in you, that flash of sunlight stirred.

previously published in CHOIR OF DAY/NEW AND SELECTED POEMS