Tag: poem

Etchings on a Boulder

It was only a couple weeks ago that I posted a poem while claiming that I don’t write much poetry. And it’s true, honest! But it just so happens that I’ve written another one.

I recently went on vacation with my family to a national park. I really shouldn’t be, but I find myself perpetually shocked by the human propensity to deface the most beautiful places with little bits of graffiti. So here’s a poem about that.

Etchings on a Boulder

We cannot count ourselves enlightened
Until we outgrow this need
To carve our names
In every nook and cranny
Of beautiful wilderness

What vain hope
That initials in the rock
Will obtain immortality
Our frail bodies cannot

Petty little scratches
May outlive us
But they will fade
Wind and rain painting
A clean canvas

What meaning will those letters have?
Only this: 
We were so afraid
Of being forgotten

Another Song, Another Kiss

Here’s something unusual for the blog: a poem.

I am mainly a fiction writer. I put a considerable amount of effort into it. I worry about the quality, and I’m constantly striving to be better. I don’t often write poetry, and I don’t consider myself a poet. Since I finished school, I don’t think I’ve ever sat down with the intent to write a poem. So when I write poems, it’s usually an accident. Some small phrase or stanza pops into my head, and the rest of the thing follows.

This poem came as a response to some of the pessimism around modern politics and the sky-is-falling, world-is-ending rhetoric. Not political ideology, just a passing feeling. I don’t have the expertise to judge whether it’s any good, but it might as well go out into the world instead of rotting on my hard drive. Enjoy!

Another Song, Another Kiss

They say it’s getting worse.
Look how people talk,
How they behave.

Look at politics.
We live in different worlds.
(Nobody has ever said
Politics is getting better)

And if you don’t believe it's all falling apart,
If you don’t live in fear,
Or you dare to hope,
You’re a fool, or worse: complicit.

But they forgot the feeling:
The first time hearing
Your favorite song,
The first time kissing
Someone you love

The future is not all bad.
There are more good things in store.
Tomorrow has a surprise for you
And you’ll never guess.