So far untitled poem

One day I shall run to the sea

Where my love will be waiting for me

We’ll dance and laugh in surf and sand

I’ll kiss his cheek and he’ll hold my hand

The sun will shine upon our lovers’ embrace

Its healing fingers will bless our face

He’ll smell of pine and boyhood dreams

I’ll be dressed in foam and girlish schemes

The waves will sing of our eternal devotion

Of this love fulfilled by the broiling ocean

With carefree hearts and serpentine ways

We’ll get lost in love, in our sea foam maze

I’ll bear him three sons and one little girl

And they too will rejoice in the watery swirl

We will grow old on our rocking chair sea

And happy forever, oh so happy we’ll be.

Falling

In honor of Autumn:

October sun filters through

Trees set aflame;

Shivering heat sets the world on fire.

Birds pack their bags -

they’re growing tired

of fighting the northern wind.

Sun shines warm

but the Earth grows cold,

beginning to creak her bare,

wooden bones.

Moon’s eye turns hard with greed

knowing her time has come.

Leaves sing a sad lament

on this bittersweet day;

another brother has fallen,

silently drifting away.

How beautiful Fall is!

A Love Story

The steadfast hope

The passionate kiss

The secret smile

The bittersweet bliss

The broken heart

The shining tear

The racking sob

The burning fear

The wearying road

The aching hole

The rising sun

The uplifted soul

The snapshot memory

The healing pain

The maturative moment

The redemptive rain

T h e L o o k

Cold fire fills the sky 
Icy flame in his eyes 
Passions burn on high tonight 
Little one be wary 

Bodies shake with restrain 
Yearning for that heat again 
Minds dwell on the question “When?” 
Little one be wary

Secrets shine in that smile 
Conscience toils for a while 
Heart races on for miles 
Little one be wary 

The world lets out a sigh 
As we stand idly by 
Wondering when it’ll be our turn to try 
Little one be wary 

One day a curtain will fall down 
And all defenses shall hit the ground 
It’s when your heart begins to pound 
That you, child, must be wary

Unbowed and Unbroken

In honor of my Dad’s historic career and recent retirement (and also to make up for that last post which was kind of sad) I’m going to share with you the villanelle I wrote for him:

The lion is no less powerful for a roar unspoken

The agéd simba surveys all he sought

His head unbowed and body unbroken

The pride in his mighty heart is woken

Looking over the lands for which he’s fought

The lion is no less powerful for a roar unspoken

He sees the love in his cubs’ eyes never forsaken

All the alliances that he has wrought

His head unbowed and body unbroken

The love they carry is his life’s token

The joy he has in them is his only thought

The lion is no less powerful for a roar unspoken

With a final roar that leaves all awestricken

This great king runs into legend from all he’s begot

His head unbowed and body unbroken

Knowing his legacy will never darken

He takes an exit that he’s chosen and bought

The lion is no less powerful for a roar unspoken

His head unbowed and body unbroken

What the heck is "alacritous" and is it contagious?

You may have seen the title of my blog and subsequently questioned my sanity. I mean really, the word “alacritous” isn’t one you come across too often and to live that way just sounds painful. But it actually comes from the word “alacrity” which means “Briskness, cheerful readiness, liveliness, promptitude, sprightliness” (as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary) and that’s how I try to live my life, with “cheerful readiness.” I believe that life is a circle which takes us through the good times and the bad at regular intervals - a delicate balancing act in which everything happens for a reason. Yes, I’m one of those people that believe you will always end up where you’re meant to be and that every experience, no matter how traumatic, has some small bit of good.

Now, even with this small definition of both the word and my personality, you may ask how I ever came to call my blog such. Well, dearest readers, I was inspired by a poem I wrote (one of my favorites actually) called “With Something Much like Alacrity.” It’s whimsical and nonsensical in the e.e. cummings and Emily Dickinson sense, although in no way as well crafted. Here it is:

With Something Much like Alacrity

Last night I dreamed of a place

Where I was all alone;

The quiet was complete,

The stillness whole,

But I was far from home.

I lay down for a while

To contemplate infinity

Until the ending I found.

So I decided to fly away

Because my feet tired the ground.

I soared over seas and summits,

Grasslands, greenery and glens.

I swirled with snowflakes

And drops of rain

While learning their secrets of suspense.

I then lie down in a downy bush

And dreamed I was awake.

The paradox of dying to live

My waking dream did make.

I was spun around so hard and fast

The way home was a mystery,

But this was not a defeat for me

The challenge was a treat to me.

Still there was no sigh or sound

No creature to be seen,

So I split into two

And played games with Myself

Until Myself grew mean.

I then dived down into the ocean

Breathing in its salt

But since an ocean dead

Is no fun at all

I quickly came back to the start;

But I got my ending confused

With the beginning of smile

So I just sat down

With chin in hand

And thought about things for a while.

I figured out the meaning of life

Seconds within its asking

And I discovered ungravity

With something much like alacrity.

All this came to not, though,

Since without you I remained

So I hitched a ride on a humpback whale

And now am with you again.