Poetry by Kevan Duer of Mount Ephraim, New Jersey

A Cold Truth

If Love can move mountains
I could move the Earth
My Heart as a fountain
We would never thirst

If your Heart were the Sun
I’d never be cold
Away, I would not run
With you I’d grow old

Alas, it’s not the case
I’ll accept the sign
A cold truth I must face
Your Heart is not mine

Insane

My heart has been trampled
Ripped out of my chest
My suffering ample
Mind never at rest

Fell in love like a fool
Made my hopeless plea
Unraveled from my spool
Need to be set free

Avoid falling in love
It will give you pain
If near, give it a shove
It makes you insane

The Peak

The Sun in the sky
That lights the path
Gives an urge to fly
Away from wrath

To divest the pain
The Sun will shine
And dry up the rain
This end I pine

More pleasant weather
Is what I seek
Light as a feather
Climbing the peak

A Girl

When I was younger I had known a girl,
With a lovely heart radiating light,
I loved her, but alas, she loved a churl.

More beautifully shaped than any pearl,
To gaze at her made my darkest day bright,
When I was younger I had known a girl.

In her presence my stomach was a swirl,
To all other women I’d lose my sight,
I loved her, but alas, she loved a churl.

Her lovely hair with fingers she would twirl,
I would gladly watch her do it all night,
When I was younger I had known a girl.

A girl so grand is as rare as a burl,
Who soars high and graceful just as a kite,
I loved her, but alas, she loved a churl.

Thinking of her makes mind a windless whirl,
Remembering how she had loved that blight,
When I was younger I had known a girl,
I loved her, but alas, she loved a churl.

Kevan Duer is a stagehand/laborer residing in a New Jersey suburb outside of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Inspired by numerous poets and artists, such
as Emily Dickinson and T.S. Eliot, he writes as an extension of himself and the
world around him.

These poems are among the entries for the Society of Classical Poets’ 2012 Poetry Competition.