Thursday, March 19, 2015

Boedromion Kraftig


image from blogs.monashores.net 


Boedromion Kraftig

“So he tasted the deep pain that is
reserved for the strong.”--F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tis true, pit vipers have a lethal bite.
I’ve never seen a serpent I don’t want to smite.
Last night I heard the preacher got bit,
as immediately the rattlesnake was smote,
for no man enjoys being bitten,
leaving the faithful less than smitten.

She loved to take a midnight ride,
bareback & naked, with nothing to hide.
Sometimes she was watched as she rode
by hooded men who always hid;
but she remained joyous she’d ridden
& the voyeurs remained quite hidden.

Too often Joseph stopped after work for a drink,
& from overconsumption he’d never shrink;
his terrible thirst never satisfied as he drank,
slumping, slouching into his grief he shrank--
then after, endangering others as he drove drunk,
discovering the next morning his IQ had shrunk.

That afternoon you could really hear the city’s beat,
even overriding momentarily your need to eat;
pounding & screeching hard, clanging gears, jackhammer beat,
counterpointed by your swallowing as you ate--
the city remaining victorious, never beaten
as your ham & eggs were ravenously eaten. 

They say that little Werner just had to fly,
and his grand dreams continued to grow,
until the first successful solo he flew
as his confidence & expertise grew,
until soaring faltered as years had flown,
skills diminished & passion was overgrown.

As any storm subsides, the birds will sing,
embracing the stillness with notes that ring;
cheering travelers, so grateful they sang,
with critters hyper-aware of what rang;
even the sun complimenting what was sung
as great trees expand a rung.

Poets often need that perfect word to find,
avoiding putting a stanza in a bind;
needing a publisher & a public to be found
before seeing their own volume bound.


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets MTB



For Victoria, calling for "revisiting the use of verbs". I chose Strong Verbs.
Boedromion = March in Greek
Kraftig = Strong in German. 

13 comments:

Mary said...

Some very clever verses here, Glenn. I smiled at the midnight rider... Good for her for following her passion...I liked her 'devil may care' attitude.

It sounds like Werner followed his passion too an flew as long as he was able.

I liked the form of this poem, Glenn. I think you had fun with the verbs. Smiles.

Anonymous said...

Strong verbs Glenn -- can't help but think of your female rider and the scent of horse. :)

Claudia said...

kräftig..smiles... nice to build in a german word here... sad on the guy who drinks and drinks and nothing is enough to satisfy or cover the pain? i heard a report once how your view shrinks after only one glass of alcohol.. it's frightening - and def. no one should drive anymore then.. ugh

Unknown said...

This poem now has me singing "Midnight Rider" in head...danged song wurms....but like that song, the verbs in this poem tell the stories. And did you mean public for pubic? Either way is fine, just checking.

Glenn Buttkus said...

Thanks Hayes, yes I did mean "public", but you know "pubic" throws it off in a rather different direction; so much so, I almost left it in.

brudberg said...

Oh I came too late to see the pubic display of the midnight rider.. **smiles* -- you have created some really cleaver images (and are you writing them in form Glenn?)

Katie Mia Frederick said...

The greatest think about women riding horses bare back and free.. is they never need to get published and just do it free.. the audience is live.. and it can't get much better than that..:)

Anonymous said...

Once, while making my way down a Colorado mountainside, I heard horses on the Forest Service trail I was about to intersect. Two young women, headed back toward Telluride, bare to the waist. The image has hardly faded, and you brought it back... strongly.

Victoria said...

Impressive use of verbs but especially the rhyming endings and overall cadence of the piece. Methinks I'll take a horseback ride tonight to celebrate the birth of spring!

Anonymous said...

for some reason i liked:
avoiding putting a stanza in a bind;

cuz it made me picture someone surrealistically putting a stanza into a binder.

I also liked the naked rider. I used to ride bareback with a sports bra and tiny shorts.

Scarlet said...

I am smiling at that IQ shrunked drunk, and cheering for that woman who takes that midnight ride~

Enjoyed the different brush strokes Glenn ~ Have a good night ~

Grace

Anonymous said...

Glenn, love lady Godiva, newly told -and you know I'm always a sucker for nature poetry so especially loved those lines. Really like the rhyming too -K

Delaina said...

Ha! I love the different yet similar vignettes. You have doused this poem with verbs and lit it up! Cheers!