Uh Merlin? I want what you're having! Hilarious! Fran

(a Father's Day dedication to all fathers and my late father, Joe Buckley. F)

Good Old Dad

It’s funny, now you’re gone somehow the world
has taken on new angles I’d not known.
Those axioms of yours could test a girl
and likely why today I’m not alone,
your voice is heard as clearly as my own.
The working out which way I ought to go
once raised up old rebellions that dethroned
and baffled you apparently don't show;
I've heard it's said your eldest daughter’s "just like Joe”.

MFK Buckley

Hello Merlin, You've inspired a Mack attack. I know you won't mind a rather odd Ode. Thanks for the fun of both the reading and the writing. Fran

(just having a little fun with Merlin's Sinfully... rhyme for rhyme. F)


The name just dawned on me, Vanilla Light!
Pursued, I nearly rimmed him ‘round the bend;
and, in the abstract, I can’t comprehend
why housekeeping deserves to bear such plights.
The way some boys will drink and so ignite
such veiled, veneered, false passion! To what end?
We’re here to clean; such sin phonies won't mend
their drowned out sorrows, sinking out of sight.

The whine and flow of fervour’s talk will tick
off any maid who, pushed against the wall,
is saavy to the depths of drunken gloom.
He danced with my zoom broom until he tricked
the other girl with Odes to Joy so tall
I, later, circled back and did the room.

MFK Buckley

flow
abstract
tick
maid
drown
name
bend
veneer
rim
dawn

Hello Merlin: Much enjoyed for its rhyme, rhythm and distinct if indistinguishable form. As for the imagery... a damsel's addendum if I may... while some cliches are so over-used and others are dusty from the beginning I say of those used here there is a patina of familiarity (classics?) that paint a full picture deftly with a stroke or two.
Of a four mentioned... the latter three immediately create a full blown vision of a Gypsy beauty. As for the colour of night... well Merlin you know there are at least 50 shades of black. Frances
"nights dark as coal,"
"raven-haired girls" –
"olive-skinned beauties"
"chestnut eyes"

Hello Merlin: Much enjoyed for its rhyme, rhythm and distinct if indistinguishable form. As for the imagery... a damsel's addendum if I may... while some cliches are so over-used and others are dusty from the beginning I say of those used here there is a patina of familiarity (classics?) that paint a full picture deftly with a stroke or two.
Of a four mentioned... the latter three immediately create a full blown vision of a Gypsy beauty. As for the colour of night... well Merlin you know there are at least 50 shades of black. Frances
"nights dark as coal,"
"raven-haired girls" –
"olive-skinned beauties"
"chestnut eyes"

Hello Alan: What a lovely life you describe! Well deserved I'm sure including the quiet of early morning! Frances

Hello Alan, I didn't flutter by your reference. Nicely done! It's indeed odd what toil and sod amuses the Muse in us! Perhaps you gentlemen spent the winter burrowed snug in your caves watching Discovery Channel? Frances

Merlin, you're a Wiz Bang at pushing params! Enjoy the weekend! Fran

Hello Merlin, I have enjoyed this neat piece of advice thrice now and discovered a new nuance embedded within every time... one of the pleasures of reading poetry to be sure!
Your couplet speaks volumes for the acting profession....
By morphing into someone you don’t know,
it’s rather easy to control the show.

Wonderful indeed! Frances

Hello Alan: A thought provoking offering and particularly impressive when inspired by a "list". I always enjoy a piece that inspires re-reading as this does. Having just enjoyed our annual Mother's Day Roast with my gang of gregarious and competitive sons "who sees mud as an opportunity, never a mire; "a small number of shakers and stirrers, mixers maybe, groups of men whose secret and sole purpose is
to seed chaos" has blurred good men with the villains for me!

However I couldn't agree more with the regrettable truth of your conclusion ...
"Good men, who see much, are also blind, for they find it hard
to ascribe destructive motives to the bad of their kind."


Much enjoyed! Frances

Hello Alan! You caught me unawares... I dropped a word in L9 and circled back to fix it only to find I've been caught short and out! Thank you. Frances

note to self in the wake of news of a young man's suicide. God bless him. F


How Sweet It Is

Admittedly no angel or a saint,
when crosswinds chant and howl around my ears
a funny mix of feelings stir up faint
sound tracks, like hit recordings from great years.
As if a phalanx of old friends appeared,
the names, dates and locations are replete
with hits and misses rhyming reasons near
and far away as Istanbul life’s sweet;
and luckily, it always sweeps me off my feet.

MFK Buckley

Hello Alan: I've just watched a documentary on mental health and I'm reeling from the news of a young man who died yesterday by his own hand. You have once again taken a swipe at a sweeping subject. An interesting read. Frances

Thanks for looking in Larry! I appreciate your reference and in fact while said line originated in The Harp Weaver Sonnet ii, her edition of Collected Sonnets includes the sonnet so named Sonnet xxv. My earliest sonnets were written using her first lines and I've since committed several to memory for the time when I can't remember what day it is but I can amuse myself by reciting poetry. If you're interested in ESVM you might enjoy Savage Beauty by Nancy Milford. Frances

Inspired by a pair staring skyward on the beach together with a lovely line that seemed to hover just above them... F


The Birders

That love at length should find me out and bring*
a fleeting insight, so far, out of reach.
Assumptions have obscured the nub of things,
and why I called to see you on the beach.
That love is everything’s not quite my line.
Such notions recommend we count in twos,
and lists of soloists as such are fine
if tandems are not something one pursues.

I’ve never had a fear of flying, urged,
I cast myself on crosswinds. Wanting more,
my memories of flights of fancy merged.
Remember being out here once before?
We watched as Arctic geese took flight; a pair
had made you wish you had a mate somewhere.

MFK Buckley

*Sonnet xxv, Collected Sonnets, Edna St. Vincent Millay

Hey Merlin, Thanks for a nudge towards the great outdoors...

Above me lies the powder blue,
a candy-sight for dreaming;
and so stepped out since I was due
a peppered beach walk, steaming.

They say a picture's worth a thousand words
instead I penned a sonnet for the birds.

Now back to my baking! Hoppy Easter! Fran

Thank you for looking in Ron and lovely to see you. It feels like old home week! I appreciate your notice of the matched end rhymes. It was a twist we threw into our volleys some time back for the fun of it. I trust we can look forward to a verse from you too. Frances

Well Merlin, Good to see the lead's back in your pencil. For some the written word inspires volumes of vignettes as in Voo Doo Doll. Tis food for thought fer sure! Fran

PS: Could you kindly provide the params for a hybrid sonnet Sir? F

Yes Merlin, we dun good (and plenty) then and perhaps tis time again to take a turn or two. F

To charm you so disarms me that I confess it's had a tad of fine-tooning too. All to say, whenever you're inspired to saddle up your steed I will follow where you lead. F

Congrats and thank you Merlin! It appears you have amused the Muse by twos! It's lovely to see jgdittier has stirred as well.
A warm hello to you too Ron! Frances

Merlin, it takes more than a run-of-the-mill rusty knight to beckon me from penning Spensers alone. Fran

Please note while critique is not requested, feel free. This is written in answer to Merlin's call. F


Dancing in the Rain Again

There’s always time for dancing in the rain
and soirees lit by moonlight. You alone
know better than the best to split champagne;
a deux what two can do to monotone!
I hasten to recall when Cupid hit
and then, as now, I hardly stood a chance,
except this time I recognize the fit
is perfect for adventure and romance.

I’ve wandered lost out in the universe
that beckoned for my answer to its call.
Although I've fared, and well, it's but a curse
what nomads such as us bear from a fall.

So weary knight, perhaps you too still miss
our magic carpet rides through the abyss.

MFK Buckley

Tis you Merlin! Hello wise wizard, how grand to hear from you! It's been so long but volumes of volleys are a testament to good times! I was delighted to learn of your migration to rural life! I've been in my tiny fishing village for a decade now and in this, my sixteenth house, Divine Madness is where I found home. I wish the same for you. Like you, my appetite for serious critique has waned however I have been a regular in the monthly and weekly challenges here. Do visit, it's good exercise and I'd love to see you. The Spenser stanza form continues to intrigue and challenge me. I'll be on the lookout for Sue.

Nothing like spinning a few Spens among friends! Fran