I Spent My Youth with Byron and the Bard
I spent my youth with Byron and the Bard,
With Tennyson, the Brownings, and dear Keats—
And full of passions, eager, trying hard
To imitate their lofty, noble feats,
I found it true: the human heart does pump
In echo of the pure iambic line—
And such a card as this I hope may trump
The dealings of my early days, less fine.
With practice, thoughtful minds may hope to pen
A verse as artful, pleasant as ‘tis true;
It may well be as yet beyond my ken
To follow right those poets I once knew.
Yet, sonnets in their form will still endure
While verse gives life t’ affections known and pure.
Another Kiss
In memory, I still recall
The last, the sweetest parting kiss;
And if I understood at all
The things not said, I’d be remiss
If I denied to you, withal,
The tender joy I found in this.
So, tell me with another glance,
A smile, a word, a breath, a blush,
That I saw right—caught in the dance
Of light and shadow and the rush—
That it need not be left to chance,
I’ll know again that tender hush.
Caleb Winebrenner is a storyteller, poet, and educator whose mission in life is to guide our discovery of our lost humanity (including the traditions of humanities in the West). He holds a BA in Linguistics, an MA in Educational Theatre, and a certificate in Transformative Language Arts.
Beautiful work – I love them both!
Great sonnet! Loved it.
I thoroughly enjoyed both poems, especially the delightful “Another Kiss”.
My only distraction was the “t’ ” in “t’ affections” within the concluding line of “I Spent my Youth With Byron and The Bard”. It may just be my personal preference, but I wonder if something along the lines of: “to passions”, which doesn’t require a contraction, would be a viable option.
It’s not just your personal preference, David, it’s the damn truth. “t’ affections” is a gross monstrosity of English diction. Caleb needs to “recalebrate” his usages of the English language. Keep trying, Caleb. You have mastered the form, and someday you will master the art.