‘Ashamed I Will No Longer Be’ and Other Poetry by Firestone Feinberg

Ashamed I will no longer be…

Ashamed I will no longer be
To write an older poetry —
I have the right to reach for rhyme
And make the most of measured time —

While looked upon I am with scorn —
And ridiculed — as per fashion —
I recall many others torn
Away from their deep heart’s passion

By an ignorant and cruel crowd
Who spew the usual nonsense
Deriding us; as if license
To judge was just to them allowed.

Now suddenly my sight comes clear:
What motivates these men is fear!
Takes courage to defy the norm —
And courage takes a frightful form.

The boy of words who never had spoken…

The boy of words who never had spoken
Stood at the edge of a universe hurt
And silently wept for dreams become cursed
And daydreams and rainbows all but broken.
Yes.  Even these he had barely known — when
Each one collapsed and each one deserted
What had already been a damaged world —
Where it seemed most everyone was no one.

His tears turned to ice — and then to diamonds —
A miracle wrought — and value declared —
Despite the sad stillness of the moment…
For beauty is beauty — never undone —
Nor be so true wonder — the child of care —
These — and love too — eternally present.

Undone remain the greatest deeds…

Undone remain the greatest deeds
That man has in his power —
Unplanted, too, the potent seeds
That yield the peaceful flower —

How long the time before the end?
How short the song we sing?
Until there be no more, my friend,
Of that we dare to dream.

A Poem Certainly Has a Nose

A poem certainly has a nose —
How else to smell a rose so sweet —
As well, it surely must have toes:
Necessity — for one with feet —

Firestone Feinberg is a poet living in New York City.

Featured Image: Still Life by Stone Roberts

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