Libby Weber's Blog, page 26

June 5: Craft

It’s pleasurable to take a single word

And craft a couplet that conveys a thought

That won’t seem obvious or too absurd,

And won’t result in language overwrought.

So when a thought’s expressed in prosody

That mimics a vernacular expression,

By means of dictional simplicity,

That stylish choice can cloud lines of succession-

For oh, delicious diction of the past,

Thou still unravish’d lexicon of plums,

Your toothsomeness would make a fine repast

If next to you I did not feel so dumb,

Poor fingers that mus...

June 4: Setec Astronomy

When by the wacky vagaries of fate

You find yourself possessed of evidence

That, generally known, would stir up great

Hilarity and laughter at events-

How difficult it is remaining mum

When you just want to holler from on high,

And bite at probability your thumb,

Thus bidding secrecy a fond goodbye.

Intolerable to have fire within

That must needs suffer from asphyxiation-

To tell is disappointment and chagrin;

Maintaining silence brings no consolation.

Though indiscretions make their cases well,

I hold my...

June 3: Sonnet 154

By means of online dictionaries paired

With equal measures of tenacity

And stubbornness, for five months I have bared

My life in sonnets for the world to see.

Though my ambitions sometimes fall quite short

Of what I dearly hope they will become,

Whether by concepts I fail to comport,

Or elements that cannot make a sum,

I take some pride in the accomplishment

Of tying Shakespeare’s sonnets, just in number,

Though naturally, I cannot but lament

That by his muses I am not encumbered.

Though Shakespeare is t...

June 2: Positive Reinforcement

When stopping silly arguments results

In finding unexpected things to read,

And when returning calls like an adult

To lovely meals with dearest friends may lead,

And sharing supper with a transient

Precedes escaping my rehearsal early;

Instead of grousing, currying content

In dogs, who spread their joy amongst the surly.

Magical thinking, this, to think rewards

Will reinforce unnatural social mores

When really, there is nothing but discord;

We relish turning happenstance to stories.

But is it wise to cen...

June 1: Unmitigated Gull

A solitary gull ignores the water

In hopes that tasty tidbits come his way

From those who crowd the rocks to spot an otter

Along the kelp-choked edges of the bay.

Disdainfully regarding all the squirrels

Whose antic japes delight the human flocks,

He claps his wings, demanding their deferral,

And sends them scurrying among the rocks.

And while the opportunists fight for scraps-

Successful scavengers secure survival-

A mother otter croons while wavelets lap

To soothe her fussy, squalling new arrival.

How...

May 31: Phooey.

One does what one can do, but that is all.

One tries not to leave any in the lurch.

One aims to issue orders not too tall

So that with failure one need not be smirched.

One tries to take account for human needs.

One tries one’s very utmost not to nag.

One to a missing focus must accede,

For work sometimes resembles lollygag.

And yet, when all consideration fails

To bring about a much-desired result,

One should attempt one’s anger to curtail-

Defeat is not considered an insult.

One final drop of patience...

May 30: Night Drive to Camarillo

This journey I am calling quadrupedal

Since over three days it will have four legs,

This scruffy dog I am renaming Wheedle,

For kisses he delivers while he begs.

That dachshund is a desk upon whose back

A halting sonnet I seek to contrive.

The Goodyear grounded under skies of black:

A Giant tethered by the 405.

Of course, sometimes a pithy name reflects

Times that truth fled into cerebral swirls,

So when I saw planes land at LAX,

My brain supplied the phrase “a string of pearls.”

And on such nights I mig...

May 29th: Roughing Up

The final word of my initial draft

Cuts like a fiery sword into my brain,

And in my frenzy I shall seize the haft-

For editing I’ll need it’s blade again!

For even as I celebrate the end

Of that most painful process of producing

Fictional fabric which sharp eyes will rend

Into which criticisms I’ll be loosing.

Such skirmishes do not result in wounds

Excepting those that land upon my pride.

But to my faults I am kindly attuned,

Particularly when my brain is fried.

I’ll let my story sing me off to sleep,

Re...

May 28: Hail to Purple

O tree whose bounteous blossoms glow between

Silver-white brightness of overcast sky,

The sidewalk gray, and foliage of green;

Your vibrancy cannot but draw the eye

In neon violet marching up the hill

Flanking the street, perfectly parallel;

Prolific panicles that gently spill

Scalloped corollas in a silent knell.

These brief, abundant weeks will end too soon,

As fallen flowers wither and turn brown.

How foolish to ignore resplendence strewn

About you when you fail to look around.

It’s easy to take gorge...

May 27: Storied Past

It’s been too long since I have written fiction.

Though sonnets with my talent set align,

I can’t deny my potent predilection

For telling tales of more than fourteen lines.

And so I wrestled with a piece of writing

That previously had given me some trouble,

Whose characters just wanted to keep fighting,

And so my prior efforts I redoubled.

I let myself explore the foolish fancy

Of giving the first scenes a good rewrite.

Though unfamiliar genres can be chancy,

A part of me just knew that it was right.

The...