Thirty-Seven Enjoys His Bright Midsummer

 

A number poem about someone devoted to persuading people to think logically:

Thirty-seven enjoys his bright midsummer,
Halfway in between his spring and fall.
In every faculty he’s at full strength,
Reasoning adroitly and at length
To challenge the beliefs of almost all.
Yet myths are hard to wake from such deep slumber.

Sing of the love that underlies such labor,
Every thought, fact, instance he can scrawl
Vested in what should be evident,
Enduring source of content and content.
Nor can he resist its siren call.

 © by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: A New Beginning. By Esther Abrami. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/37i.html. For more number poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/numberpoems.html .

Riffs Are Invocations

 

An epitaph for a jazz scholar:

 

Riffs are invocations,
Odes direct to soul,
Brief improvisations,
Each a perfect whole.
Rhythms subtly shift
The syncopated rhymes,
Grace the complex gift
Of this, my own sweet times.
Let me be their chronicler,
Days of seers and signs.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Runnin Partner. By Aaron Lieberman. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/riffsa.html. For more epitaphs, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/epitaphs.html .

Before the Terror Comes the Tyranny

 

A political poem for Bastille Day warning of the dangers of revolutionary chaos:

 

Before the terror comes the tyranny.
A bloodstained flower has roots in bloodstained soil.
Some would steal the fruit of others' toil,
Then claim it as a right of property.
In revolutions, though, if chaos reigns,
Legitimacy is lost, and many will
Look back with less distaste at former ill,
Eager more for order than for gains.
Days of terror yield dictators new,
As the many yield power to the few,
Yearning for the clarity of chains.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Chariots of War. By Aakash Gandhi. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/befor4.html. For more Bastille Day poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/bastilledaypoems.html .

Eventually, You Settle into Love

 

An 18^th anniversary poem:

 

Eventually, you settle into love.
It deepens, fed by subterranean streams.
Given time, it becomes a habitat,
Home, refuge, portion, comfort, fortune.
Treasure it -- you'll know no greater beauty.
Embrace it -- it requires your affection.
Enjoy it -- it thrives on your delight.
Nor will its well within your hearts run dry.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: A Kiss for Amanda. By DJ Williams. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/event6.html. For more anniversary poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/anniversarypoems.html .

Innocence Is like an Open Door

 

A poem for Independence Day (USA):

 

Innocence is like an open door:
Not safe, but requisite to being free.
Darlings of our rhetoric, we wonder,
Evil as the rest but for our words.
Perhaps we know what horrors are in store,
Even as we dream of what might be,
Needing, as we preach and teach and plunder,
Defenses that would Xanadu preserve.
Even so, the freedom we are for
Now stands for all a common legacy,
Called forth by masters tearing worlds asunder,
Embraced by slaves consumed with righteous hunger,
Destined to dispute those whom it serves.
All innocents must keep their hopes at sea,
Yearning for an ever-distant shore.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Just Stay. By Aakash Gandhi. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/innoce.html. For more poems for Independence Day (USA), go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/july4thpoems.html .

Abby Is a Queen Without a Country

 

A name poem for Abby, who has the personality, but not the power, of royalty.

 

Abby is a queen without a country,

Blessed and cursed by destiny to be

Bereft of title, subjects, power, bounty,

Yet reigning in each word like royalty.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: 7^th Floor Tango. By Silent Partner. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/abby.html. For more name poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/namepoems.html .

Fortune Is the Child of the Will

 

A philosophical Father’s Day poem for a divorced and distant father about the relationship between choice and chance:

 

Fortune is the child of the will,

As what one chooses spins the wayward wheel.

The choice determines where the chance will fall,

Hurtling, bouncing like that fickle ball,

Eluding what result would most appeal.

Remember to embrace both good and ill,

Since both are gifts, are one, are you, are real.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Pouring Out. By Asher Fulero. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/fort14.html. For more Father’s Day poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/fathersdaypoems.html . For more philosophical poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems .

Want Is Oft the Windrush of the Will

 

A political poem about immigration:

 

Want is oft the windrush of the will,
Impelling one ‘cross continents and seas.
No barriers can long withstand the wind,
Driving desperate souls to distant shores.
Remember that the wind is rarely still.
Unequal pressures propagate the breeze
Stirred by swirling passions from behind,
Hungry for the hope that calm restores.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Flecks of Light. By The Tower of Light. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/wantis.html. For more poems about political issues, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/politicalpoems.html .

So There You Are, Your Audience Before You

 

A number poem for a folksinger in the moment before beginning her performance:

 

So there you are, your audience before you,
Each quite regular in their attendance.
Very soon, you know, they will applaud you,
Engaged, enriched, sustained by your performance.
Now, however, at the edge of silence,
The moment between potency and act,
You marvel at this window on your salience,
So close to dream it does not seem like fact.
Eventually, you step onto the stage,
Vividly what you set out to be,
Embracing fortune, even as you age,
Not least for the favor of your artistry.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Allégro. By Emmit Fenn. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/sother.html. For more number poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/numberpoems.html .

Maybe in the Grip of Pain

 

A Memorial Day poem about love, grief, and grace:

 

Maybe in the grip of pain
Each moment seems like years.
Maybe there is beauty that
One cannot see through tears.
Remember that it's love that is
Impossible to bear,
As loss would not be torture without
Love to lead it there.
Days of grief are days of grace,
Although quite different on their face.
Yet love is what they share.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Elegy. By Asher Fulero. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/mayb12.html . For more poems for Memorial Day, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/memorialdaypoems.html .

Sally Sings Incessantly

 

A name poem for a woman who can’t help humming the music playing non-stop in her head:

 

Sally sings incessantly,
As though her inner voice
Liked murmuring in melody,
Liked opera sung a bit off key --
Yet which was not her choice.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Cookoo’s Nest. By Nat Keefe and Hot Buttered Rum. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/sallys.html. For more name poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/namepoems.html .

So Many Years! And Now We Take for Granted

 

A political poem, written after 9/11, about the mistake of fighting terror as you would a conventional war:

 

So many years! And now we take for granted

What would have been unthinkable before

The terror that our leader called a war,

And life became more mean, less sure, more haunted.

But was it war? Or was that notion planted

By those who wished their murders could mean more,

Puffed up to fit the oft-recited lore

Of ancient enmities long since recanted?

Oh, do not dignify them with that word,

Or make them larger than they might appear,

Or justify their murders with our own!

There is no quick solution by the sword.

Our only option is to persevere,

Rebuilding bit by bit, but not alone.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Chariots of War. By Aakash Gandhi. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/soman1.html. For more poems about terrorism and 9/11, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/terrorism911poems.html .

Forever Isn't Endless Time

 

A philosophical number poem about the meaning of forever:

 

Forever isn't endless time.
It isn't time at all.
For time's the measurement of change,
Though it be miniscule.

Yet ever means forever true,
Shorn of time and place,
Inserted into everydays,
Xeroxes of grace.

Years wash in and out as we
Experience forever.
A moment is eternity
Rolling on a river,
Still miraculous as ever.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Ceremonial Prelude. By Sir Cubworth. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/fore10.html. For more number poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/numberpoems.html .

The Passion of Love, the Passion of Lust

 

A 33^rd anniversary poem contrasting the sexual pleasures of love and lust:

 

The passion of love, the passion of lust:
How might they lead to the same burst of glory
If each drives the plot of a quite different story,
Resulting in mutual joy or disgust?
The answer is not in the act, but intent:
Yielding or sharing, giving or getting.
The direction of flow determines the setting,
Here, where the consequence shapes the event.
Remember that passion unlaces the heart;
Each touch is a doorway into the soul;
Each slow tongue-kiss renders a taste of the whole,
Yielding up truth as each joy plays its part.
Embrace, then, the person, and not just the flesh,
As one should feel safe in a state of undress.
Reveal not your riches, but to one whom you trust,
Saving for someone you love your chaste lust.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Emotional Love Theme. By Biz Baz Studio. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/thepa3.html. For more anniversary poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/anniversarypoems.html .

Exactly Who Are You

 

A philosophical Easter poem about one way of knowing what one owes others:

 

Exactly who are you? Why are you here?
And what is your purpose? And why should you care?
So what if there's suffering? What's it to you?
The world's not your problem. What more should you do?
Ever the question: What do I owe?
Reckon by beauty, and then you will know.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: A Kiss for Amanda. By DJ Williams. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/exact3.html. For more Easter poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/easterpoems.html .

Perhaps There Is No Richer Ritual

 

A poem for Passover about the endurance of the ritual:

Perhaps there is no richer ritual:
A stirring tale, food, wine, prayer, and song,
Some history -- some real, some mythical --
Soul-seeds sown each spring, who knows how long?
One comes and goes; the memory remains,
Vividly present to each generation.
Enduring by evolving, it retains,
Restores, renews the ID of a nation.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Gymnopedie. By Erik Satie. Arranged by Wahneta Meixsell. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/perh13.html. For more Passover poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/passoverpoems.html .

Signs of Happiness

 

A philosophical number poem listing some signs of happiness:

Signs of happiness: A clear vocation;
Intimacy rooted in relation;
Xeroxed memories relived as art;
Tears that flow from springs within the heart;
Yearnings that yield wine with fermentation;

Faith in oneself, in others, in some purpose
Offering the ruthless gift of service;
Unity of thought, belief, and act;
Relentless dreams that shape the coasts of fact.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Audio and Video Music: Wonder. By VYEN. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/.html. For more number poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/numberpoems.html . For more philosophical poems, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html .

Sing of the Home That You Have Never Seen

 

A poem for St. Patrick’s Day:

 

Sing of the home that you have never seen,
The place your ancestors once called their own!
Play the music of that island green,
And dance the dances dear to those long gone!
Time again to fill their dancing shoes,
Reawakening the ghosts within,
In touch with some incendiary muse,
Channeling the beauty that had been.
Knowledge is not merely of the mind:
'Tis of the arms and legs, the throat, the heart.
Sing, that you not lose your soul to time!
Dance, that you might nurture it through art!
As all your passions quickly become past,
Yet you may give life to things that last.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Runnin Partner. By Aaron Lieberman. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/singo4.html. For more poems about , go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/stpatricksdaypoems.html .

Cheryl, Unlike Most, Has to Decide

 

A name poem for Cheryl, who has inoperable cancer:

 

Cheryl, unlike most, had to decide,
Having inoperable cancer, whether being --
Each moment she was thinking, knowing, seeing --
Remained worth the cure she must abide,
Yearning to know what the future had to hide,
Looking at God's gift horse eye to eye.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Dance of the U-boat. By Aakash Gandhi. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

Note: My website, https://www.poemsforfree.com, is temporarily disabled due to a domain name registration change. To see more of my work, please visit my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@Poemsforfree .

"Purim" Means "Lots," Which Wicked Haman Threw

 A poem for Purim that juxtaposes human intent and God’s:

 

“Purim” means “lots,” which wicked Haman threw,
Understanding thus the gods would choose,
Regarding when to massacre the Jews,
Ignorant of whose intent was whose,
More God's lot than any lot he drew.

 

© by Nicholas Gordon

 

Audio and Video Music: Bucolic Acrylic. By Dan Bodan. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.

 

Note: My website, https://www.poemsforfree.com, is temporarily disabled due to a domain name registration change. To see more of my work, please visit my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@Poemsforfree .