Rich's Poetry Blog

For mother's day, I decided to post a poem I wrote for my mom. Back in May 2007, she became particularly concerned about things moms worry about.  She wondered whether she had done everything she needed to do to help her children.  She wondered whether things she had done incorrectly would "scar us for life" (by the way, I completely relate to this, since I have my own kids).  And she was concerned that things she had done before she knew better would somehow lessen her in her children's minds.  Of COURSE, these things changed nothing in our eyes.  In fact, sometimes I look back and wonder how my parents did it all. At that particular time, I felt a poem could communicate what I wanted to say best.  We gardened a LOT as kids, so that helps explain the background.   Before you read, I am posting this today hoping all who have been mother to another will know whatever sacrifices they have made are appreciated and will know "we" children lo...

Yesterday, my son, Trevor, saw me posting a poem on this blog.  He was suddenly inspired to write his own poems and wanted me to post them.  So, here are a couple of my son's poems, written yesterday and completely unedited by me. :)  The first is about the state of the poor and the second is about smiles. Poor People Some people want that chance to find something to enhance. Sometimes they wait days or years so helpless while they watch us cheer. All they want is life, instead they are living in strife. Smiles A smile is something you would like to see every once in a while. To see someone in joy to see their smile is great, to see a smile is the opposite of seeing fate. Smiles around the world is something I've been waiting for. It will be something I greatly adore. by Trevor Bailey 1/1/2012

Back in college, during my 19th century Russian literature course (which in fact extended into the early 20th century), we studied the Russian symbolists.  Their writing was filled with a lot of irrationalism and mysticism.  You can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_symbolism, though it doesn't really show you any of the poetry. I wanted to write a poem in the same vain - irrational, colorful, and maybe a bit somber, among other things (though I don't have a full listing of my exact intentions at the time, so part of my understanding of my drive to do this was lost).  I feel sad that I have forgotten more about them than I remember, but I have this poem as a memory of it.  However, the following is the resultant poem.  The intent was to show a world that could have been that faded, using simple colors to portray the loss of imagination and whimsy. Blue Grass & Green Clouds The grass' first blue waned and died in the end. T...