Libby Weber's Blog, page 19

August 13: Protean Valentine

Two gentlemen made fools by love: the first

As changeful as the sea, the other staid,

Whilst constant lovers undergo the worst-

Abandoned, traded, badly-used, betrayed.

It seems a diatribe denouncing love,

How courtliness goes easily astray,

Deserting chivalry, the lack thereof

Turns love to thief and page to fiancee.

But oh, amidst the faithless and the fooled,

Just one would face disgrace and great commotion

Because by selflessness his heart is ruled,

A singular example of devotion.

That’s why my favor...

August 12: *ucking Sonnet

A lexeme nonpareil, though one that’s stuck

With so much baggage there’s a yen to chuck

It out with more archaic words. So cluck

Your tongue no more: it has been struck,

From my vocabulary, I shall buck

The trend to use profanity amok,

As if in time I had become unstuck-

And so it goes, with bravery and pluck.

But oh, to do without: am I a schmuck

Who arbitrarily discards a shuck

That might prove valuable? I have been struck

With crippling doubt, though I’m an honest Puck.

Perhaps no-one will notice what...

August 11: Fair Robin I Love

Salacious language, sex, and Nick at Nite-

Such things were unavailable, forbidden.

Within those boundaries, naught felt as right

As what I somehow sensed was barely hidden;

Beneath those PG rating lurked a power,

Both unrepentant and so full of glee,

That loudly, quickly, joyfully devoured

The boundaries of what I was to be.

For here was cleverness with heart and mind,

Refreshing frankness, virtuosic skill,

Performances whose eras they defined,

And earning their creator much good will.

That shared highs...

August 10: In the Soup

The sign read “Wanton Soup,” clearly misspelled,

Inviting one for dumplings served in broth.

I must confess my appetite was quelled

Imagining the culinary froth

That would be violent soup, like cruelty,

Assembled with malicious unconcern,

Or lewd and lawless soup whose novelty

Entices all to taste and end up burned.

And yet such soup could be luxurious,

So fine of texture, sumptuous of taste,

That first bite could be something glorious-

Perhaps my trepidation is misplaced.

For wanton’s a delicious word,...

August 9: Full of Noises

Past midnight on a muggy August night,

All ceiling fans turned high, windows thrown wide,

The full moon bathing all in silver light,

A silent dog and owner pass outside-

But my dogs think that dog a mortal threat

And with their barking house and home defend

Five seconds later, they’ve cause to regret-

They’re shushed and banished, yet the noise portends

Retaliation from the batty neighbor,

Whose tolerance of dogs is low-to-none,

Arrives in air horn blast, a rattled saber,

But even she has yet to be outd...

August 8: Watching the Watchers

With house lights up, arena stages let

The audience, once settled and in place,

See not just every facet of the set,

But also every audience member’s face.

And with a mustache or a lock of hair,

The seemingly familiar will beguile

And lead one to consider and to stare-

Is that someone I know? And should I smile?

And does the very nature of the space,

In which performers don identities

Like costumes, make it easy to replace

Unknown with known to ease one’s vague unease?

At least it’s possible to take some...

August 7: Jargon Infarctions

When one constructs a mystery or thriller,

Recondite research must be done, because

It’s not enough to know who is the killer,

The reader must believe in what he does.

When injuries occur, make sure you know

If death could follow; if so, why and when.

Or ask a black ops soldier, who can show

You how to kill a person with a pen.

So don’t mistake concussion for contusion,

Ablation for abrasion, reflux-reflex,

Or arthroscope and orthoscope, confusion

Results when words are not what one expects.

You book wil...

August 6: Fancy Plants

Magnolia, crowned with pearly blossoms stands,

With silvered boughs aloft in shapely poses,

Enameled leaves like shining emerald hands,

Luminous flowers’ scent delights all noses-

A striking scion of an ancient race,

Whose forebears predate bees for pollination,

Arboreal epitome of grace,

And source of taxonomic irritation.

But when leaves brown and fall upon the ground,

Their work of photosynthesis will shift

To mischief and creating startling sounds,

Crack underfoot, and clattering adrift.

Though lovel...

August 5: Score

Wherever I go, music follows me,

Accompanying everything I do.

It demonstrates persistent industry,

Enticing me to sing at every cue.

Some other folks have soundtracks of their own,

Observable in how they move through spaces.

And one can never truly be alone

When yours with someone’s music interlaces.

Of course, not everyone on earth can hear

Or thinks such sounds can be a joy to make;

Our sensibilities may yet cohere

Through music loud enough to make walls shake.

So own that composition life provides

And...

August 4: Mind the Gap

Sometimes I wish my brain came with a switch

Designed to lessen mental disarray

By flipping all my thoughts without a hitch

Between transcendence and the everyday.

Thus, in the midst of requisite routine

To wandering daydreams I would be immune,

And while creating, I’d remain serene

Untroubled by concerns most picayune.

And yet, I’d fear to conquer by divide,

Since great plans sometimes come from thoughts amok-

Attempts to segregate my mental sides

Might leave me lost if my switch ever stuck.

One needn’t...