Denis M. Garrison

The Eager Ear

"Don't you
worry yourself.
You'll be fine in no time."
She was so easy to convince,
I wept.

Final Delivery

Until
the mail arrived,
she was a happy wife.
Who knew death came on so little
postage?

To Adelaide Crapsey

You were.
We know because
your hand-carved lines survive.
Poet in, but not of, the dust,
sing on!

Sing on,
sweet golden-throat!
Let fly your lilting lines
and teach us what the silent heart
can't tell.

Give Them What They Want

It is not hard to fool a fool
and he will thank you for the trick.
He'll take the wrong path as a rule.
It is not hard to fool a fool.
Preferring alleys to a school,
a street-wise sucker's proven thick.
It is not hard to fool a fool.
He'll thank you warmly for the trick.

Memento Versificare

No verse is worse than one that does not mean;
to craft a measured line takes more than time.
A poem is revelation, not mere preen.
No verse is worse than one that does not mean
but merely catalogues some sylvan scene
and tickles ears with forced, unlikely rhyme.
No verse is worse than one that does not mean;
to craft a measured line takes more than time.

© Denis M. Garrison