To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time / Robert Herrick

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

Gather ye rose-buds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he’s a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he’s to setting.

That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry;
For having lost but once your prime,
You may forever tarry.

~~
Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
from Hesperides, 1648

[Poem is in the public domain worldwide]

Robert Herrick biography

"To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" read by Zither P. Oxblood. Courtesy Graveyard Poetry.

A Greek Idyl / Mortimer Collins

I.

He sat the quiet stream beside –
His white feet laving in the tide –
And watched the pleasant waters glide
     Beneath the skies of summer.
She singing came from mound to mound,
Her footfall on the thymy ground
Unheard; his traquil haunt she found –
     That beautiful new comer.


II.

He said – "My own Glycerium!
The pulses of the wood are dumb,
How well I knew that thou wouldst come,
     Beneath the branches gliding."
The dreamer fancied he had heard
Her footstep, whensoever stirred
The summer wind, or languid bird
     Amid the boughs abiding.


III. 

She dipped her fingers in the brook,
And gazed awhile with happy look
Upon the windings of a book
     Of Cyprian hymnings tender.
The ripples to the ocean raced –
The flying minutes passed in haste;
Hid arm was round the maiden't waste –
     That waist so very slender.


IV.

O cruel Time! O tyrant Time!
Whose winter all the streams of rhyme,
The flowing waves of love sublime,
     In bitter passage freezes.
I only see the scrambling goat,
The lotos on the waters float,
While an old shepherd with an oat
     Pipes to the autumn breezes.

 ~~
Mortimer Collins
from Idyls and Rhymes, 1855

[Poem is in the public domain worldwide]

Mortimer Collins biography

Between the dusk of a summer night / William Ernest Henley

XXII

Between the dusk of a summer night
     And the dawn of a summer day,
We caught at a mood as it passed in flight,
     And we bade it stop and stay.
And what with the dawn of night began
     With the dusk of day was done;
For that is the way of woman and man,
     When a hazard has made them one.
Arc upon arc, from shade to shine,
     The World went thundering free;
And what was his errand but hers and mine --
     The lords of him, I and she?
O, it's die we must, but it's live we can,
     And the marvel of earth and sun
Is all for the joy of woman and man
     And the longing that makes them one.

~~~
William Ernest Henley (1849-1903)
from Hawthorne and Lavender, 1901

[Poem is in the public domain worldwide]

William Ernest Henley biography

"Between the dusk of a summer night" read by Richard Mitchley. Courtesy Richard Mitchley - Topic.

The Day Charles Bukowski Died / Gary Frankfurth

The Day Charles Bukowski Died

Deidre's nipple pressed against my eye.
still sleeping, the sheets
knotted beneath us.
Julio was upside-down;
his big toe in Deidre's twat.
I raised my lips and suckled,
half hoping she wouldn't wake up.
I got up;
I was still wearing her teddy.

I: went to the john and threw-up,
pissed and threw-up again.
went to the fridge
and grabbed a beer.
drank it in a single gulp,
then grabbed another.
stepped outside and sat on the curb:
Hollywood Blvd.
nursed the beer in the heat.

Two blue-haired ladies
with matching poodles
went by on the sidewalk.
I: said,
"Come on ladies,
I'll do you both
right now."

Even the dogs knew not to
bark.

I: got up and stumbled,
bashing my knee on the curb.
It dripped blood like a bad washer.
went back inside.
Deidre was straddling Julio.
slipped on my boxers and kissed her
hard on the mouth.
went to the fridge
and grabbed the last beer.

I: turned on the game
and flopped on the couch.
The oscillating fan
moved the heat back
and forth.
dozed-off;
dreamed that
Charles Bukowski dreamed that
he was me.

I: said,
"Goodbye, Charles."
And Charles Bukowski said,
"Goodbye, Charles."

---
Gary Frankfurth
November 2009
Georgia, U.S.A.

Gary Frankfurth on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000155604569&ref=ts

[All rights reserved by the author - Used with permission]

Lucky Penny / George J. Dance

Lucky Penny

Hey there, Lucky Penny,
        Shining like brand new.
Hey there, Lucky Penny,
        Can I get lucky with you?

I saw you in an alleyway
        Shining in the sun.
I knew it was my lucky day,
        You were my lucky one.
So many guys had passed you by
        And left you all alone,
But I knew I just had to try
To pick you up and bring you home.

Hey there, Lucky Penny,
         There's so much I'd do
For a Lucky Penny.
       Let me get lucky with you.

I'd wanted you from long before,
       When I was just a lad.
I've had my share of luck, and more,
       But most of it was bad.
Each night before I'd go to sleep
       I'd dream about how grand
My life would be if I could keep
A Lucky Penny in my hand.

Hey there, Lucky Penny,
       Make my dreams come true.
Be my Lucky Penny.

        Let me get lucky with you.

My luck has changed from that day on;
        The good times have been many.
I don't care if my money's gone,
        I only need a Penny.
I never had a clue before
        That life could hold such thrills.
I wouldn't trade my Penny for
A billion brand-new dollar bills.

Hey there, Lucky Penny,
        Thanks are overdue.
You're my Lucky Penny.
        I got lucky with you.

~~
George J. Dance, 2007
from Doggerel, and other doggerel, 2015

[All rights reserved by the author - used with permission]

George J. Dance biography

Passion / Dana Dodd

Panting
Wet with the dew of shimmering sighs
Music sweet and alluring
Holds us in its grasp
As wave after wave of chorusing rhythms
Pound every pure eighth note into oblivion
We lay immersed as each beat splits
Into moonbeams eerie light
Our bodies bathed in sweat
Passion
Hot and beating
Our breaths touching
We drift on a sea of ecstasy

---
Dana Dodd
March 2011
Georgia, U.S.A.

[All rights reserved by the author - Used with permission]