Response to ‘Payment’ by Ferdinand Keller

By Neal Whitman

The reckoning at end of day.
Upon a bench two minstrels meet
to split the payment equally.
The reckoning at end of day.
Some beef and stout for each in play.
(The old guitar is known to cheat.)
The reckoning at end of day.
Upon a bench two minstrels meet.

Featured Image: “Payment” By Ferdinand Keller (1842–1922) (Van Ham Kunstauktionen) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Neal Whitman  splits his time between Western and Japanese form poetry. He writes to be read – north of 500 poems have been published. His 2012 poetry awards include White Buffalo Native American Poet Laureate; third place, Artists Embassy International Dance Festival; third best autumn haiku, Diogen Art Magazine, Serbia; Ito En Haiku Grand Prix semi-finalist, Japan; and honorable mention, Pancakes in Heaven poetry contest. Neal and his wife, Elaine, live in Pacific Grove, California, and, in nearby Carmel, are docents at Robinson Jeffers Tor House.

This poem is among the entries for the Society of Classical Poets’ 2012 Poetry Competition.