I just love your poetry, what more can I say? I keep coming back to read the new and re-read the old. Thanks for sharing! ~Shay

I have enjoyed the reading of "Expectation".

In admiration,

Andre Emmanuel Bendavi ben-YEHU

Hello Gene,

Thanks for sharing your poetic talent with another finely-penned write!!


Best regards,

Lance

I must be the odd man out, and I'm not even a man. At least not the last time I looked. Not that I disagree with this poem's loveliness -- all those comments on craft/language -- but to me it is a very sad poem -- (perhaps some reviewers did mention this tone) --- yes, meditative, reflective, but also melancholic. ALways strange to me that the older we get the less we sleep. To me this seems a cruelty, or, to be less histrionic, an unfairness. When our bodies are getting less and less hale, we are less able to use the time in the furiously productive way we would wish when young. On the other hand, maybe it makes sense. We are slowing down, it takes longer to do everything (we don't run marathons; we, say, shuffle down a hall), so I guess we need those extra hours. Also, we're now smarter and wiser, right? So we can do things right the first time -- but wait! didn't we need those hours back then, when we weren't smart and wise? Oh yeah, that's right, we moved more quickly. At this point I should shut down my internal dialogue, or at least keep it internal. At any rate, enough about that. Ok, maybe not. A mind such as yours stays so sharp, so fertile, and thus it seems another cruelty to have all this time to experience ennui. I'm just really pissed about the whole aging thing. Now then, about the poem itself: it is not, of course, devoid of hope. You not only anticipate a future, but a future one can look forward to: with the gentle, clever, grand .....waves, woman, gulls. For some reason, I took the last line as ironic. I mean, are gulls grandly amusing? Isn't that a melancholy line? Or am I just looking at the wrong Rorshaks? Of course I love the ssssssssss sounds, very appropriate -- awash, subtle sound, wave --- I am an alliteration nut -- companionship/clever, and what can be better than grand........gulls? But still, I need enlightenment. Is the last line ironic or not? Are you saying that no matter how sharp we try and stay, that it is hopeless? Gulls are going to be grand amusement? Or am I just not acquainted enough with gull-watching? Maybe what you are saying is that you know how to age gracefully. Whereas I do not. (not that you mention me by name, of course).

Here, I imagine you as Sean Connery-- elderly, but with romance and grace, and a certain, unspoken intelligence. I hope you find what you're looking for. --Charlie

Gene - I've been off line for a while and am trying to catch up with my reading. Enjoyed Expectation and its meditative tone. Love the subtle power created by sound and imagery of the last four lines:

I anticipate a future awash
in the subtle sound of gentle waves,
the companionship of a clever woman,
and the grand amusement of gulls.

That last line takes the poem to an even higher level. - David

At least you seem to "know" yourself, Gene. Thanks for sharing. Love and peace to you,

Regis

There is a real classicism in your writing, and this is no exception. This, like your other work, seems to have been almost carved from wood or rocks and of the earth of your soul. And we are lucky to read it.

... sounds JUST like the midnight "ramblings" of a semi-diurnal man to me.. or woman for that matter... takes one to know one, perhaps!Communing with the gods, intelligent minds and the amused slim-pickings of seabirds in order to high-ace that old insomniac ennui sounds just the sort of dimly-lit gaming table where the welcome brightness of a hopeful dawn rolls in as certain as the morning tides... I like! :)) xx

I'm with Dawn on this one...but in the end it is exquisite!
I always learn so much from reading your poetry...
Cryssa

Sweetly we all journey into the graceful words of your beautiful heart Gene...Your Lovely Poem Gives Voice To the Faith of Hope
Much Love To You Den Brother :)
Peace, Love & Poetry
Embraced~Embrassé
Vickie

home is where sea and land do collide -- and there with sand awash in tide -- shall I regale with the gulls and love of my life -- you have again exceeded my expectations -- rendering tranquility from where it is often difficult to see -- day to day living -- peace and love to you my dear friend -- JMW

Gene,
It's the never say die attitude and positive mood that stand out here; love the Cole Porter line in the second stanza and that romantic soothing relaxing ending. We must be in parallel moods because I'm working on a similar theme right now.
John

I love this piece! I have to tell you that I love theat ennui...it has a special memory for me and every time I see it I smile so thank you..)

Myrna

‘Expectation’ is an ode to the passing years as we sleep less and think more, that is if we think.
As for unruly gods, didn’t God say mankind was made in His image? Than if we are unruly, God is the same. Study the Bible and God’s actions tend to support why man is unruly and many times unpredictable. After all, wasn’t it God that hardened Pharaoh’s heart to Moses’ request to leave Egypt with his people after the Pharaoh had agreed to let them go—not once, but several times. It seems that God was stirring the pot for something He had planned for the future. I have often wondered if a little bit of God exists in all of us and the sum of the parts make up the Whole. Taking my blather (?) into account, I imagine that Heaven might well be a ‘future awash in the subtle sound of gentle waves, the companionship of a clever woman, and the grand amusement of the gulls’ if that is what we aspire to after joining the angels.

Excellent choice of words...
flows so beautifully,
blessings & peace,
Holly

Oh, I love this one: wanting to escape from the coming long darkness. Well done. Beautiful imagery, well done, Gene (love the amused gulls). You soar in these lines of freedom -

(((HUGS))) and love, Karla.

Gene: I think it's the time of year. Hubby and I agreed yesterday that we had achieved a great deal--we managed to stay awake most of the day, and cooked a pan of brownies and ate them all! Good luck with the lady and the gull-buddies! If you can hear the sea, you're doing well, sir--

Sounds like it is vacation time! I recommend Hawaii. My favorite place is at Turtle Bay on the North Shore of Oahu. ~ Sara

It is the nature of the healthy, to fight valiantly that thing called entropy. Ah yes, the beauty of a simply shared life.
Tres good.
Cheers J'nia

This is deeper than a pit of deepy deeping deeps. well done peeps

Oh my...beautiful writing from a very sweet man.....oh myyyyyy, wonderful poem sweet Gene...Hugss,much love too you....have a wonderful and safe day..OK...

Okay...first, Gene, I want to tell you that I had to look up a few words...(yes, I know...I'm an English teacher!)...and after I did, I was able to understand this beautiful and exqusite poem. The last four lines are my favorite. Truly lovely work, Gene.

The sea shore man finds pleasures in the rhythms he understands...
Herman Melville said "when a landlubber goes to the shore he smells the sea...when a seamen goes to the shore he smells home"

Gene,

Very well written verse.

Mary

Oh how beautiful your Expectation is, a true joy to read as I'm sure it was to write. Your imagination is above all others my friend. For you to write this one Gene, you are on a totally different level. Love and hugs, Bonnie