What one can do on any given day Sometimes amazes, when reflected on, But other times it brings profound dismay To think of all the tasks one left undone. Such days can lead to restless, fitful nights In which the mind can't be dissuaded from Revisiting one's slips and oversights; Obsessively accounting what's to come, … Continue reading January 26: There’s The Rub
Sonnets
January 25: On Working Mendelssohn’s “Lobgesang”
When working on a project of some length We are advised to take it bit by bit, To gently test endurance and one's strength, But living with the fear one might omit A necessary passage or to find That when a crucial section is rehearsed, You find yourself in something of a bind And panic, … Continue reading January 25: On Working Mendelssohn’s “Lobgesang”
January 24: A Toast
The rules insist that when you drop your toast, It lands with jelly side against the ground, Unless, the cynic offers as riposte, Through luck, it lands the other way around. Because the inconvenience and the mess, Delay the meal as one cleans off the rug, Those vexing memories the mind impress; Good fortune is … Continue reading January 24: A Toast
January 23: Be Happy
“Be happy!” said the parking lot. I was; My lowered gaze, I thought, was not produced By sadness, yet the painted words gave pause; Had my own happiness become diffuse? My first reaction was to laugh and scoff, Because to optimism I'm inclined, Yet thinking on the day, its crests and troughs, The disappointments lingered … Continue reading January 23: Be Happy
January 22: Beautiful, Beautiful Soup!
A steaming robin's egg with noodles filled, With scallion green and ginger red bedecked, And brown with brine, a treasure chest that spilled, Whose rich surroundings with its gold are flecked. Aside, the humble offering of pork Infuses all the contents of the bowl. One dare not denigrate it with a fork; But gently nibbled, … Continue reading January 22: Beautiful, Beautiful Soup!
January 21: Unexpected Kindnesses
This morning of discomfort seemed a test Compounded by a dreadful weariness, A list of tasks to daunt the doughtiest, And not a moment's peace to convalesce. Impediments aplenty multiplied, The burning candle's ends should then have met But when my desperation I implied, This Montague perceived her Capulet, For help arrived in stranger's kindly … Continue reading January 21: Unexpected Kindnesses
January 20: Eighteen And Up
Each moment has a truth that can be caught, In picture, memory, or written word, So even when the context is forgot, The meaning still is there to be inferred. So even though I lived too late too see Just who was darling as the buds of May, That is the least important part to … Continue reading January 20: Eighteen And Up
January 19: What Dreams May Come
I closed a book of poems and my eyes, And as I drifted softly into sleep, A voice inside my mind began to rise Mellifluous enough to make one weep. I can't recall exactly what it said, If Shelley, Blake, or Keats, I couldn't say. My body froze, as if though full of dread, Anticipating … Continue reading January 19: What Dreams May Come
January 18: An Italian-ish Sonnet Inspired by Austrian Music
I breakfasted with Mozart Saturday: Fantasia on Là ci darem la mano, For clarinet, not baritone/soprano, So gone was the seductive interplay Between the ingeneue, whose fiance Would disapprove, and Count, whose andiamo Is more than just a dance, comprendiamo, The dainty steps of being led astray. But seated also here, my own Massetto Engrossed … Continue reading January 18: An Italian-ish Sonnet Inspired by Austrian Music
January 16: Meh
I do not wish to write a poem today. I'm tired and do not have an ounce of wit. I can't think of a blessed thing to say, And if I did, it likely wouldn't fit In fourteen lines; my thoughts could be so small, They'd barely fill a stanza, or they might Require a … Continue reading January 16: Meh
Libby Weber 