You, My Love... a diary in verse (Book) - 5/24/2010 3:09:59 PM
YOU, MY LOVE was a winning Finalist in the Poetry category for the 2010 National Indie Excellence Awards... honoring small presses and self-published authors. (There was just one overall "Winner," and six Finalists.)
an unfinished poem (Poetry) - 12/24/2016 11:19:40 PM
Simply, a love affair with a married woman, that began in Germany in 1965 and carried through to 1970, Denver. (The diary of love poems I published chronicles only the first year and a half of that; but only took 40 years to get it published.)
Poem was oddly written just one month before I found out she had died six years earlier. We had not seen each other nor had contact since 1970, but the memory was always a haunting one: some good, some horrid, but definitely ingrained into the soul. Poem was a reflection of the memory and continued haunting.
We, of course, had separated and gone to other lives... but never fully the same after, nor would be. Our affair was first consummated in Heidelberg; we later had a stolen weekend in Paris. Still, even then, we knew it was "doomed" from the start; she was older, had three children, and I was a pauper. (And still am. But have moved on to other considerations of love and loving. Never touched another woman again, nor desired to. I am now 73 and still alone.) 12-2016.
Time-Thought (Poetry) - 8/14/2012 3:09:58 PM
An interesting and meticulous composition that reminds me of time's fluidity and fragility.
Axilea
On Finding A Strand Of Hair In A Book (Poetry) - 9/3/2011 12:35:28 PM
Passion and melancholy come through forcefully in this poem, Richard.
Love the simple idea of a single hair that releases the emotions evoked by absence.
Time-Thought (Poetry) - 8/31/2009 10:50:33 AM
Richard I found " Time-Thought " very interesting and all so very true! Thank you for sharing!!
Love And Prayers
Always!!
Caravan (Poetry) - 2/2/2009 10:14:58 AM
Richard~!
Great poetic style and verse - excellent!!
Best Always,
Lance
Time-Thought (Poetry) - 2/2/2009 10:13:58 AM
Richard~!
"Time-Thought" is a well-conceived and well-penned write - thanks!!
Best regards,
Lance
Time-Thought (Poetry) - 1/9/2009 7:07:48 PM
Sometimes, if we are fortunate, time will feel as though it is passing slowly, sometimes quickly, but in reality it just keeps relentlessly moving forward, nice write...
Be always safe,
Karen
Time-Thought (Poetry) - 1/9/2009 6:32:01 PM
Sometimes when I close my eyes I can "feel" time rushing past my face like a breeze. Your verses remind me of this, Richard. Thank you. Love and peace to you,
Regis
Time-Thought (Poetry) - 1/9/2009 8:46:39 AM
Nothing defines time like looking at the diminishing sand pile on the top of a hourglass, with quicksand devouring quality.
But if one carelessly crushed it...
Georg
Christmas Card From My Mother (Poetry) - 12/27/2008 7:26:25 AM
It is a wonderful Christmas care, Richard; replete with meaning. Thank you for sharing it. Love and peace,
Regis
Christmas Card From My Mother (Poetry) - 12/16/2008 9:49:14 AM
"Terrified joy" expresses something very strong. And the spiritual message is a universal revelation.
Axilea
Christmas Card From My Mother (Poetry) - 12/15/2008 8:26:16 AM
Excellent poem!
We think alot alike so please when you have a chance, come visit my site.
Yours in Christ,
John Michael Domino
Christmas Card From My Mother (Poetry) - 12/15/2008 2:35:33 AM
Only a good mother could send this card to her child, telling, guiding, with all the words saying "I love you so"
Georg
Poem-Thoughts (Poetry) - 11/23/2008 7:44:43 PM
Passionately written, the kind of passion that is quiet at first, until it finds the right words.
I love the "fatal fragments", they really speak to me!
Axilea
Poem-Thoughts (Poetry) - 11/23/2008 6:04:37 AM
You got me there until you zapped me with Sapho from Lesbos! ! ! Well, nobody can accuse you of not being a romantic one...
Georg
Caravan (Poetry) - 11/18/2008 2:22:12 AM
Effective writing, elliptic and evocative.
" The trial of a thousand
such seasons
never mended..."
these lines have an impact on me.
Axilea
Caravan (Poetry) - 11/17/2008 7:40:26 AM
One does not read your poetry, one devours it ... slowly. You spread your heart so colorfully onto the page and I find myself saying "why didn't I write that?" Beautiful, beautiful! Best, Elizabeth
Love's Goodbye (Poetry) - 11/17/2008 7:36:28 AM
I find myself fixed on this page, unable to move on ... I could consume this piece over and over again. Meant to be read aloud ... slowly ... I would love to own this one! Amazing! Best, Elizabeth
Dawning (Poetry) - 11/17/2008 5:31:52 AM
"...to warm her hands..." and yours...
Georg
For Donald (Poetry) - 11/17/2008 5:30:25 AM
"...there is always something in a wish..." everybody thinks about but no one express it for fear of it being true.
Great write!
Georg
Caravan (Poetry) - 11/17/2008 5:28:28 AM
"...reaching...whispering...to be loved by...yet is never me..." when fall comes it takes with it the cold, and the casual indiference nurtured by the warmth of Summer evaporates and Fall suddenly tells you that the time of solitude is here.
Georg
fragment... (Poetry) - 11/10/2008 12:14:56 PM
Richard,
You have a great talent for the short verse!!
Best regards,
Lance
Love (Poetry) - 11/10/2008 12:13:54 PM
Richard,
Simplistically perfect in every way!!
Best regards,
Lance
Love's Goodbye (Poetry) - 11/10/2008 11:16:36 AM
Richard,
Your pen sings on this write . . . well-done!!
Best wishes,
Lance
Letter: to a Poetry Editor) (Poetry) - 11/3/2008 5:21:39 PM
Harsh and real and certainly true, Richard. I appreciate this meaningful analogy. Thank you. Love and peace,
Regis
Letter: to a Poetry Editor) (Poetry) - 11/3/2008 2:18:45 PM
Richard,
Truly sad; and expressed all so well!!
Best regards,
Lance
Letter: to a Poetry Editor) (Poetry) - 11/3/2008 9:14:08 AM
Well well well! ! ! where you been hiding? that can of humor you only can find under my chair, happy to have stop by.
Now, why is that that editors/publishers tell us of that lack of interest in poetry and because TV in books? who told them that?
Amd yes, everything we ever wrote are our children, so, don't they shouldn't make Daddy unhappy or there's come to be trouble.
Georg
Love's Goodbye (Poetry) - 11/3/2008 6:21:59 AM
Such sadness in this poem, yet perfectly written, blessings, Holly
Letter: to a Poetry Editor) (Poetry) - 11/3/2008 6:19:17 AM
Oh yes, I here you and couldn't agree with you more, blessings, Holly
Letter: to a Poetry Editor) (Poetry) - 11/3/2008 5:28:25 AM
*applause* Sad, isn't it? Got to have money, it seems, to be noticed. Even here ... is this how Plath or Sandberg or e.e. cummings started? How did they get noticed, while we're not?? An excellent letter - I hear you loud and clear!
(((HUGS))) and love, Karla.
separation (Poetry) - 11/2/2008 12:52:11 PM
So true when "love" goes astray (even if it is not the other's fault but rather circumstances beyond either's control). I've been there; in fact, I am there still. Love and peace to you, Richard.
Regis
On Finding A Strand Of Hair In A Book (Poetry) - 11/2/2008 12:50:44 PM
I still have here hairnets that she left here. She had to wear them at the place where she worked. I can completely relate to your sentiments, Richard. Love and peace to you,
Regis
What To Do, In Case of Love? (Poetry) - 11/2/2008 12:49:16 PM
Here is a definition of love that someone gave to me:
"Love has a different tune: I love you, therefore you are free to do as you wish. My love says you cannot do any wrong in my sight. My love says you cannot hurt me for it would not wish to make you responsible for the way I feel. My love says I am here for you if you want me, or I can be gone if that is what you wish. My love does not depend on your performance to exist - it depends entirely on a choice I make, moment by moment. My love accepts that you may even come to hate me for what I am and it is strong enough not to compromise itself to please you. My love cannot be manipulated. My capacity to love is infinite and is not bound by your feelings or desires."
You cannot "love" unless you are truly "there." Thank you, Richard. Love and peace,
Regis
fragment... (Poetry) - 11/2/2008 12:47:37 PM
Most compelling. I can "visualize" and I can relate to what you express here, Richard. Thank you. Love and peace to you,
Regis
Love (Poetry) - 11/2/2008 5:48:25 AM
NICE!!!!!!!!! Liana Margiva
Destiny (Poetry) - 11/2/2008 5:46:58 AM
VERY NICE!!!!!!!!!!!! Liana Margiva
separation (Poetry) - 11/2/2008 5:45:45 AM
BEAUTIFUL, I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! Liana Margiva
Love's Goodbye (Poetry) - 11/2/2008 5:40:01 AM
NICE!!!!!!!!! Liana Margiva
Love's Goodbye (Poetry) - 11/1/2008 5:03:25 PM
You give the reader pause for reflection via your verses here, Richard. Thank you for sharing this offering. Love and peace to you,
Regis
an unfinished poem (Poetry) - 10/24/2008 7:48:06 PM
The atmosphere you create in this poem is very effective and at the same time pervasive. My favorite so far.
Axilea
Midnight, August 4th (Poetry) - 10/2/2008 12:09:31 PM
I appreciate this kind of poetry, Richard. Thank you for sharing it. Love and peace,
Regis
Knowledge (Poetry) - 10/2/2008 12:08:17 PM
Lovely sentiments worthy of reflecting upon. Thank you, Richard. Love and peace to you,
Regis
Love (Poetry) - 10/1/2008 12:03:52 PM
With simple words you have conveyed a complex mystery.
Remembering Eastern Autumn (Poetry) - 10/1/2008 10:29:28 AM
Your verses remind me of my childhood on the northern prairies and in the woods of Alberta, Canada. Autumn is lovely here as well on the Pacific Coast, but fall does not seem to have quite that "crispiness" and the "edge." Thank you, Richard. Love and peace,
Regis
The Wanderer (Poetry) - 10/1/2008 10:27:32 AM
Meaningful reflection of one's "self." Thank you for sharing, Richard. Love and peace,
Regis
Love (Poetry) - 9/30/2008 5:19:05 PM
Love is hard to "capture." This is cleverly expressed and it provokes thought, Richard. Thank you. Love and peace to you,
Regis
Love (Poetry) - 9/30/2008 5:00:21 PM
A concept like no other, yet brings such internal joy, well said...
Be always safe,
Karen
The Wanderer (Poetry) - 9/23/2008 6:24:42 AM
Enjoyed very much..thank you dear man...HUgs....be well and safe
Remembering Eastern Autumn (Poetry) - 9/21/2008 6:00:40 PM
A very good poem,nicely written,take care
Edwin
Knowledge (Poetry) - 9/19/2008 1:24:07 PM
What a lovely poem and wise advice.
an unfinished poem (Poetry) - 9/15/2008 10:11:23 AM
Hi Rick,
very Noir I feel, regretful too. It shares that sense of loss your other poems exude, and as with the others I find I have to work to piece it together, which I enjoy doing when the individual pieces are so pretty and sound so good. Like the way you separate "taste of love / devastating" and "the white pulse / of German wine" -- very evocative.
Maybe you don't mean for your reader to do so at all, but I still, after reading it five or six times, am left with more atmosphere and mood than concrete story, and strong hints of failure/rejection/loss: "An arrow through the heart", and "the candle still burns our fingers", without knowing whether this was a brief affair or a long and deep relationship (I suspect the latter). I don't mind this really, since I enjoy the images that build the mood.
I'm not sure the poem needs "(stately with grandeur, and / a thousand dreams)", since to me the sentence these lines interrupt seems stronger without it. Also "more Grimm / than real" strikes me as illogical, because the grittiness of the original Grimm Maerchen had a reality to them that the Disney and other more modernized versions cannot match, so the Grimmer, the realer, if you follow me, considering we're talking about fairy tales here.
And it's just hit me that "Helen -- Paris" is a clue to adultery/theft and disaster. See how slow your readers can be!
"sipping at the waning glass" seems to sum the poem up somehow, as if the writing of it empties the impulse to do so, as if bringing the event and its surrounding feelings out into the "impossible light" has tarnished or lessened its original magic.
Good stuff Rick!
September, Paris (Poetry) - 9/14/2008 2:57:15 PM
You have effectively recaptured the ambiance and shared it via your verses, Richard. Thank you. Love and peace,
Regis
28 April (Poetry) - 9/14/2008 2:56:08 PM
Fine poetry to which my spirit can relate. Thank you for sharing this gift, Richard. Love and peace to you,
Regis
Sounion At Sunset (Poetry) - 9/14/2008 2:55:13 PM
This is a lesson for me, Richard. Thank you. Love and peace to you,
Regis
Sounion At Sunset (Poetry) - 9/11/2008 8:27:36 AM
Your wrote to me that you prefer direct and simple poetry, but I detect a hint of the intellectual here. It takes a little effort to piece together the pieces of the puzzle. I come away with a sense of melancholy and regret, a wallowing almost in the frustration of not being able to convey what it is that needs conveying, of a frustration with the clumsiness of words, and underneath that some missed opportunity.
I like very much the way break up "While all around, the wind ... [snip] ... the years".
Teach me how to use space like that. The poem looks great on the page.
Peace
Toby
21 September (Poetry) - 9/11/2008 8:21:18 AM
Hello again,
and again this one has this confident space in it, it breathes nicely because of all that white, something I have a very hard time doing for some reason. The poem is simple and elegant and honest. I'm particularly fond of "and streets a faceless maze."
Peace
Toby
13 January (Poetry) - 9/11/2008 8:09:32 AM
Hi Rick,
I've read this a few times now and am most impressed with the shape of it, the way you use line breaks and spaces to enhance its impact. It is an elegant poem but has one weakness to my mind: why is the object of your love suddenly "Enraged?". I can't figure that part out, except that rage is passionate, and the poem is about passion. I am left to assume something you were doing was a source of frustration, as is often with case with men and their refusal to love unconditionally and courageously, but deduce this from my own experience and not from any of the poem's actual content.
Peace
Toby
Sounion At Sunset (Poetry) - 9/10/2008 4:51:48 PM
Great write! I don't know about the style, but I love the poem.
Sandie Angel :o)
Sounion At Sunset (Poetry) - 9/10/2008 4:40:48 PM
Through your words a world once alive and vibrant again comes to life, nice writing...
Be always safe,
Karen
13 January (Poetry) - 8/16/2008 8:49:00 AM
Richard, based on 13 February, I'd say you have a winner
with your diary in verse. -gene.
Destiny (Poetry) - 8/14/2008 7:33:18 PM
I agree with that!
I've had the pleasure of having a beautiful soul near me, going well for 41 years. I grew up in Kansas. Manhattan/Ogden area.
Happy writing.
Linda
21 September (Poetry) - 8/14/2008 1:29:10 PM
Concise but so descriptive -- especially liked the lines:
"the naked sheets and pillows
neither soft nor warm...
without you"
Loved that play on words.
21 September (Poetry) - 8/14/2008 12:08:17 PM
A very heartfelt, descriptive piece.
