Poem of the Week

November 9: Even When There’s Little Choice, We Choose

November 10: Fifty-Eight

November 11: Proverbs for Legislators

November 12: Proverbs on the State

November 13: Searching for Significance

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Proverbs on the State

November 12, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is politics in honor of Election Day (USA), which falls on November 8.

Today’s poem is a set of proverbs on the nature of the State.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

1. The end of the State is security: of property and person; from conquest, injury, hunger, exposure, and injustice.

2. To obtain security, citizens cede a portion of their liberty. This "social contract" is agreed to every time a citizen recognizes the legitimacy of the State.

3. States are legitimate, therefore, to the extent to which they provide security.

4. States rule through violence, either exercised or threatened. The degree of violence varies inversely with the degree of legitimacy; that is, the more security a state provides, the less violence it needs to rule.

5. States are also, and paradoxically, instruments of oppression, enforcing laws and practices that transfer wealth to the ruling class.

6. These contradictory visions of the State--as provider of security and as oppressor--are and have always been simultaneously true. The tension between them is played out in every decision, act, and pronouncement of government.

7. A state that is too oppressive loses legitimacy so completely that no amount of violence can prevent its overthrow. A state that is too just loses the support of the ruling class, which engineers a change either in policy or in government. Thus all states exist somewhere on a continuum between these two extremes. This is true regardless of their form of government.

8. The advantage of democracy is that the regular replacement of government by majority rule mitigates oppression. The disadvantage is that weak governments may fail to make citizens sufficiently secure.

9. To survive, democracy must provide enough security to make the relative weakness of a divided and restrained government worth the increase in liberty and justice. Otherwise, citizens will be willing to cede additional liberty in return for additional security, and democracy will fail.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/statpr.html . For more poems about politics, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/politicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Politics.

November 7: Elections, as You Know, Are Bought and Sold

November 9: Even When There’s Little Choice, We Choose

November 10: Fifty-Eight

November 11: Proverbs for Legislators

November 12: Proverbs on the State

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Proverbs for Legislators

November 11, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is politics in honor of Election Day (USA), which falls on November 8.

Today’s poem is a set of proverbs for legislators.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

1. Law is a necessary evil.

2. Pass as few laws as possible, consistent with the demands of justice and the maintenance of order.

3. Where custom is sufficient, there is no need for law.

4. Do not pass laws that cannot, or will not, be enforced, for such breed contempt for both the law and the State.

5. Penalties must be minimally sufficient to deter infractions, given adequate enforcement. Less renders the law ineffective; more inflicts unnecessary pain.

6. There is an inverse proportion between the severity necessary to deter infractions and the certainty of punishment.

7. Enshrine your principles in constitutions, codify your common sense in laws, and leave the rest to regulation.

8. Even more than on your wisdom, the legitimacy of the State depends on your integrity.

9. In public life, integrity requires not only an honest heart but an honest face.

10. Your primary object must always be not the satisfaction of your constituents but the continued legitimacy of the State, for upon that depends the welfare, even the survival, of us all.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/legipr.html . For more poems about politics, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/politicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Politics.

November 7: Elections, as You Know, Are Bought and Sold

November 9: Even When There’s Little Choice, We Choose

November 10: Fifty-Eight

November 11: Proverbs for Legislators

Fifty-Eight2

November 10, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is politics in honor of Election Day (USA), which falls on November 8.

Today’s poem is a number poem about someone for whom the joy of life is motivation for political action.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Fifty-eight comes often to the table,

Intent on the conundrums of the day.

For her the chance that there she might be able

To shape the world for good in some small way

Yields pleasure that no hunger can allay.

Even as she yearns for peace and justice,

In her the simple moment brings delight,

Gift of being, palpable and lustrous,

However strewn upon the field of night,

The reason and the rage for doing right.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/58b.html . For more poems about politics, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/politicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Politics.

November 7: Elections, as You Know, Are Bought and Sold

November 9: Even When There’s Little Choice, We Choose

November 10: Fifty-Eight

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Even When There's Little Choice, We Choose

November 9, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is politics in honor of Election Day (USA), which falls on November 8.

Today’s poem is an Election Day poem about the preciousness of the right to vote.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Even when there's little choice, we choose,

Lest we lose the habit of our duty.

Ever tempted to the rite refuse,

Come the day, we recognize its beauty.

There is no greater dignity than this:

In each an equal sense of sovereignty,

Ownership not easy to dismiss,

Nothing less than what makes people free.

Do, then, exercise this sovereign right

As though it could be lost, as well it might,

Yielding in small steps that few can see.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/evenwh.html . For more Election Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/electiondaypoems.html.

This week’s theme: Politics.

November 7: Elections, as You Know, Are Bought and Sold

November 9: Even When There’s Little Choice, WeChoose

Monday, November 7, 2016

After All, the Market Runs on Greed

November 8, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is politics in honor of Election Day (USA), which falls on November 8.

Today’s poem is about the shortcomings of a number of political choices.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

After all, the market runs on greed,

The sunlight of this social ecosphere,

Self-adjusting as supply and need

Set prices to the tune of hope and fear.

The state can intervene, of course, but then

The Capitol might well outgreed the Street,

Playing games with games beyond its ken,

Positioned where the votes and money meet.

What to do? We've tried Utopia,

A nightmare far, far worse than any dream,

Strangling the source of cornucopia,

Sacrificing millions to a scheme.

We are born into a world of sin,

Which if we just accept, we die within.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/after3.html . For more poems about politics, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/politicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Politics.

November 7: Elections, as You Know, Are Bought and Sold

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Elections, as You Know, Are Bought and Sold

November 7, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is politics in honor of Election Day (USA), which falls on November 8.

Today’s poem is a poem for Election Day about campaign contributions.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Elections, as you know, are bought and sold

Like favors from a well-proportioned whore.

Each scandal is a tale often told,

Creating a brief sigh, and nothing more.

The problem is systemic, deeply rooted

In our view of speech that should be free.

Our courts say even money can’t be muted,

No more than words in our democracy.

Dare we try to limit the expense,

And muzzle those whose PACs are a pretense,

Yielding time to all sides equally?

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/elect3.html . For more poems about Election Day, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/electiondaypoems.html.

This week’s theme: Politics.

November 7: Elections, as You Know, Are Boughtand Sold

Saturday, November 5, 2016

You Never Thought that It Would End This Way

November 6, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is death, in honor of the transition from Halloween to All Saints’ Day and then to All Souls’ Day, which is the Mexican Day of the Dead.

Today’s poem is about death as a fitting end for love.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

You never thought that it would end this way,

Yet such an end does not at all seem strange.

If love is true, then death must make the change,

Ending love by taking life away.

Yet though our love is over, mine will stay,

A triumph over death I will arrange,

Rechanneling a fate I cannot change,

That we might still on fields of fancy play.

You never thought we'd share such months of pain,

That you would die in agony, while I

Would be as much a nurse for you as friend.

Yet I would live the whole thing through again

Just once more to look you in the eye

And tell you, yes, this is how it should end.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/younev.html . For more poems about death, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/deathpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Death.

October 31: In Memory of Those Who Died

November 1: Here’s a Little Ditty

November 2: I Am the Mirror of Our Love

November 4: Every Time I See My Pansies

November 5: There Is a Residue of Hope

November 6: You Never Thought that It Would EndThis Way

Friday, November 4, 2016

There Is a Residue of Hope

November 5, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Today’s poem is to a deceased father about the end of grief.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

There is a residue of hope

In every act of grief,

A beauty at the source of pain,

A truth that brings relief.

Mourning is a morning song

Sung just before the light,

Though little else is visible

To those that watch the night.

And all our tears must turn to grass,

And all our sorrows be

But dissonance that we'll resolve

In some new harmony.

And all our pain must shine upon

The meadows of our grace

That you might share our happiness

And lend our light your face.

Ah, Father! Yes, the music plays

As we dance in the sun,

For dawn returns the joy of life,

And we must all dance on.

Ah, Father! Yes, we must dance on

And leave you far behind,

Though love undo the dying day

And comb the rising wind.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/residu.html . For more poems about death, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/deathpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Death.

October 31: In Memory of Those Who Died

November 1: Here’s a Little Ditty

November 2: I Am the Mirror of Our Love

November 4: Every Time I See My Pansies

November 5: There Is a Residue of Hope

Every Time I See My Pansies

November 4, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Today’s poem is about a daughter who remembers her dead mother when she goes into in her garden.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Every time I see my pansies

Vivid in the golden sun,

You are with me in my garden,

And I am once again a child.

Vivid in the golden sun,

Their beauty brings me close to tears,

And I am once again a child

Learning to assume your grace.

Their beauty brings me close to tears

As I join hands with you in love,

Learning to assume your grace,

Dancing to your inner music.

As I join hands with you in love,

You are with me in my garden,

Dancing to your inner music

Every time I see my pansies.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/everyt.html . For more poems about death, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/deathpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Death.

October 31: In Memory of Those Who Died

November 1: Here’s a Little Ditty

November 2: I Am the Mirror of Our Love

November 4: Every Time I See My Pansies

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

I Didn't Get a Chance to Say Goodbye

November 3, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Today’s poem is from a caregiver to the one he or she cared for.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

I didn't get a chance to say goodbye

To you, to tell you that I loved you, to say

What now must be one long, unbroken cry

Of pain, now that at last you've gone away.

I cannot tell you what a joy it was

To be the one to tend you in your need.

The burden was a gift, for giving does

Not burden one who loves, though loving bleed.

I wish I could have been with you when you,

Perhaps aware, perhaps not, turned towards death

Alone, with no one there to wonder to,

To share your fear, your hand, your one last breath.

I wish, I wish, I wish . . . but it is done,

And now I must surrender what is gone.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/ididn3.html . For more poems about death, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/deathpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Death.

October 31: In Memory of Those Who Died

November 1: Here’s a Little Ditty

November 2: I Am the Mirror of Our Love

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

I Am the Mirror of Our Love

November 2, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Today’s poem is about the impending death of a pet.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

I am the mirror of our love,

And you its brazen fire.

To me our love is merely joy;

To you it is your breath.

I am the marker that must move;

You, the fixed desire.

You are what I most enjoy;

I am life or death.

And now you must be put to sleep,

And I remain awake

With years of love ahead of me,

And many pets to go.

But I'm the one who can't help weep

While you, just for my sake,

Come rest your chin upon my knee

And beg to share my woe.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/iamth2.html . For more poems about death, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/deathpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Death.

October 31: In Memory of Those Who Died

November 1: Here’s a Little Ditty

November 2: I Am the Mirror of Our Love

Monday, October 31, 2016

Here's a Little Ditty

November 1, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Today’s poem is about how one dies again as friends and family die.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Here's a little ditty for

A sailor lost at sea,

An Irishman, most sorely missed

By friends and family.

He'd reached the prime of life when he

Encountered Davy Jones,

And now all that is left of him

Are tears and scattered bones.

He lives in those he left behind,

His loved ones and his mates,

And as they die, he'll die again,

Conjoined with many fates;

Until at last his being, with

A brief, unuttered sigh,

Will yield its presence peacefully,

And bid the world goodbye.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/heresa.html . For more poems about death, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/deathpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Death.

October 31: In Memory of Those Who Died

November 1: Here’s a Little Ditty

Sunday, October 30, 2016

In Memory of Those Who Died

October 31, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Today’s poem is about the insoluble mystery of death.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

In memory of those who died

We weep and walk away.

Tears run into swollen streams.

No trace of us remains.

Even those who grieve are gone,

And those that grieve who grieve,

And those whose lives are ravaged by

A frantic urge to be,

And those who wander silently

Among the empty rooms:

Immortality is theirs,

Though they must vanish, too.

We bear astonished witness to

The passage of the soul.

No bridge exists that can connect

Our passion to the whole.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/inmemo.html . For more poems about death, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/deathpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Death.

October 31: In Memory of Those Who Died

Witches Wail and Werewolves Howl

October 30, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is Halloween, which falls on October 31.

Today’s poem is a Halloween poem about how children love scary things.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Witches wail and werewolves howl,

Ghosts say "Boo!" and monsters scowl,

Jack-o-lanterns grin all night

As children shiver with delight.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/witche.html . For more Halloween poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/halloweenpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Halloween.

October 24: Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches

October 26: Halloween’s a Sudden BOO

October 27: Hobgoblins Say “Hop”

October 28: How Can Normal, Rational People

October 29: How Might a Spirit Settle in the Wind

October 30: Witches Wail and Werewolves Howl

Saturday, October 29, 2016

How Might a Spirit Settle in the Wind

October 29, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is Halloween, which falls on October 31.

Today’s poem is a Halloween poem about how wandering spirits might find peace.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

How might a spirit settle in the wind?

After death, how might a soul find peace?

Love lasts long after lips and laughter cease,

Leaving only memories behind.

Out of longings, one might linen spin,

Weaving well the welkin edged with fleece.

Each spirit must from wandering seek release,

Else ever through the weary midnights wend,

Not resting till love's angels dark descend.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/howmig.html . For more Halloween poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/halloweenpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Halloween.

October 24: Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches

October 26: Halloween’s a Sudden BOO

October 27: Hobgoblins Say “Hop”

October 28: How Can Normal, Rational People

October 29: How Might a Spirit Settle in theWind

Friday, October 28, 2016

How Can Normal, Rational People

October 28, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is Halloween, which falls on October 31.

Today’s poem is a Halloween poem about how irrational fears are still alive and well in rational people.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

How can normal, rational people

All lust after ghosts one night,

Like the moon on some church steeple

Luring demons to its light?

Old fears lie buried in our pleasure,

Words sealed in a midnight grave,

Each a truth that we must treasure,

Eerie horrors our hearts crave.

Nor should we all our passions pave.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/hallow.html . For more Halloween poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/halloweenpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Halloween.

October 24: Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches

October 26: Halloween’s a Sudden BOO

October 27: Hobgoblins Say “Hop”

October 28: How Can Normal, Rational People

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Hobgoblins Say "Hop!"

October 27, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is Halloween, which falls on October 31.

Today’s poem is a children’s Halloween poem about hobgoblins.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Hobgoblins say "Hop!"

So rabbits hop.

Hobgoblins say "Stop!"

So rabbits stop.

Whatever hobgoblins say,

They do.

Wouldn't you?

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/hobgo2.html . For more Halloween poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/halloweenpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Halloween.

October 24: Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches

October 26: Halloween’s a Sudden BOO

October 27: Hobgoblins Say “Hop”

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Halloween's a Sudden BOO

October 26, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is Halloween, which falls on October 31.

Today’s poem is a poem about children on Halloween.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Halloween's a sudden BOO!!

And just as quick a scream:

Laughing in the scary dark,

Loving friendly fright.

On Halloween, ghosts are true;

Werewolves leap from dreams.

Every spirit in the park,

Each zombie, T-Rex, witch, or shark,

Needs to squeal all night!

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/hallo2.html . For more Halloween poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/halloweenpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Halloween.

October 24: Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches

October 26: Halloween’s a Sudden BOO

Monday, October 24, 2016

Halloween Wraps Fear in Innocence

October 25, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is Halloween, which falls on October 31.

Today’s poem is a Halloween poem about the holiday’s therapeutic effects.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Halloween wraps fear in innocence,

As though it were a slightly sour sweet.

Let terror, then, be turned into a treat,

Lest it overwhelm our common sense.

Our nightmares are the founts of fancy whence

We draw upon the monsters we would meet,

Eluding horrors we cannot defeat,

Enjoying the parade of our pretense

Now ranged across the night in our defense.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/hallo3.html . For more Halloween poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/halloweenpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Halloween.

October 24: Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches

October 24, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is Halloween, which falls on October 31.

Today’s poem is a Halloween poem about how one cannot help but feel fear.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Have no fear of goblins, ghosts, and witches,

And skeletons dancing to macabre tunes,

Lifeless zombies wearing bloodstained britches,

Lighted pumpkin heads in darkened rooms!

Oh, have no fear of werewolves, vampires, ghouls!

Wean yourselves from superstitious fears!

Even though at times we all are fools,

Each whistling a happy tune that cheers

No one, as we still our screams and tears.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/haven2.html . For more Halloween poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/halloweenpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Halloween.

October 24: Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, andWitches

Savor the Sweet Taste of Simply Being

October 23, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is joy.

Today’s poem is about the joy of simply being alone with oneself.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Savor the sweet taste of simply being,

Indulging in the luxury of rest,

X-ing out the voices that complain

That doing something useful might be best.

Yet what could be more useful and more freeing?

Feel the quiet ecstasy of seeing.

Open up a room within your breast,

Untenanted but for a silent guest,

Returned because you are alone again.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/savort.html . For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Joy.

October 17: Sing, My Loved One! Sing of All the Glory

October 18: Grace

October 19: There Is No Substitute for Lifelong Longing

October 21: Hooray! Hooray! The Time Has Come

October 22: Some Sing Silently, Which Is All Right

October 23: Savor the Sweet Taste of SimplyBeing

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Some Sing Silently, Which Is All Right

October 22, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is joy.

Today’s poem is about the need to sing throughout one’s life.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Some sing silently, which is all right.

The point is just to sing, aloud or no.

Music dances on the edge of night,

Turning into grace one's weal or woe.

So sing, no matter in a minor key,

And make of grief a monument to love.

For loss would not be loss unwillingly,

Although the pain excruciating prove.

Take from life the only thing that lasts –

Its music, which remains within the heart.

Gather up your sweet and bitter pasts

And sing with passion, if with little art.

So may your days and nights be filled with song,

And music keep your love for living strong.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/somesi.html . For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Joy.

October 17: Sing, My Loved One! Sing of All the Glory

October 18: Grace

October 19: There Is No Substitute for Lifelong Longing

October 21: Hooray! Hooray! The Time Has Come

October 22: Some Sing Silently, Which Is AllRight

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Hooray! Hooray! The Time Has Come

October 21, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is joy.

Today’s poem is about life as a joyful dance.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Hooray! Hooray! The time has come

To dance, to dance till day is done!

You've learned to dance the proper way.

Now dance! Now dance throughout the day!

The lovers twirl around the floor,

Round and round, then round some more.

With graceful steps they do their duty,

Making life a thing of beauty.

Round and round and round they go

Until at last they start to slow;

Then slowly, slowly round and round

Till one, then both, are in the ground.

The dance is done, the dance is over,

The two have turned to grass and clover.

Dancing did as dancing does.

But what a lovely dance it was!

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/hooray.html . For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Joy.

October 17: Sing, My Loved One! Sing of All the Glory

October 18: Grace

October 19: There Is No Substitute for Lifelong Longing

October 21: Hooray! Hooray! The Time Has Come

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

The Universe Is like a Symphony

October 20, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is joy.

Today’s poem is about how joy comes from within.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

The universe is like a symphony

Which you can make as lovely as you please.

Your days are just as sunny as your smiles;

Your nights as full of love as is your heart.

Every please and thank you, warm hello,

Act of kindness, generosity,

Word of sympathy, regret, compassion,

Becomes for everyone a source of light.

We are like birds in never-ending concert,

Joining happily in what we hear,

Each in turn the melody, and then

The counterpoint that lends its grace to others.

Joy is our reply to pain and death –

Exuberant, infectious, loving joy

That fills the void with laughter and with music,

That makes a mirror of the faceless deep.

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/theun2.html . For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Joy.

October 17: Sing, My Loved One! Sing of All the Glory

October 18: Grace

October 19: There Is No Substitute for Lifelong Longing