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Contagious Joy

a villanelle

You always find a way to make me smile.
Like sunlight tracing rainbows in the rain,
Contagious joy is never out of style;

The day we wed, when you walked down the aisle,
You thought it funny when you snagged your train.
You always find a way to make me smile.

How often you have gone the extra mile
To make me laugh when life was singed with pain.
Contagious joy is never out of style.

You’re childlike but never juvenile;
And even when life cuts against the grain,
You always find a way to make me smile.

Some people’s jokes are humorless and vile.
Bad taste will come and go, but then again,
Contagious joy is never out of style.

So, come and sit and laugh with me a while;
Infect me with good humor’s viral strain.
You always find a way to make me smile.
Contagious joy is never out of style.

.

.

Growing Old Together

__When we were young
__We reached for stars,
But now we’ve touched the final rung,
__Where Mason jars
__(Once quickly wrung)
Are now too tight for hands like ours.

__We’re slowing down,
__Our skin’s un-pressed,
Our hair is gray instead of brown.
__The driver’s test
__We took in town
We passed, but did not do our best.

__To our dismay
__The nights are cold,
Our aches and pains don’t go away.
__We’re growing old,
__More every day;
Time marches on, so we’ve been told.

__We’ve reaped what we
__In youth did sow;
Both weeds and wheat our legacy.
__But even so,
__We’re glad to be
Alive to watch our grandkids grow.

__Our doom is sure;
__The end is near;
We’re not as young as we once were.
__But never fear,
__Though life’s a blur,
We may be old but we’re still here!

.

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James A. Tweedie is a retired pastor living in Long Beach, Washington. He has written and published six novels, one collection of short stories, and three collections of poetry including Mostly Sonnets, all with Dunecrest Press. His poems have been published nationally and internationally in The Lyric, Poetry Salzburg (Austria) Review, California Quarterly, Asses of Parnassus, Lighten Up Online, Better than Starbucks, Dwell Time, Light, Deronda Review, The Road Not Taken, Fevers of the Mind, Sparks of Calliope, Dancing Poetry, WestWard Quarterly, Society of Classical Poets, and The Chained Muse. He was honored with being chosen as the winner of the 2021 SCP International Poetry Competition.

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24 Responses

  1. Jeremiah Johnson

    “You’re childlike but never juvenile.” – I really like that line, and I think you pull off the villanelle well! The fifth stanza felt particularly fluid in the transition from the 2nd to the 3rd line – like you were making a fresh point with the repetition, which is, of course, the real trick with a villanelle. Thanks for this one!

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Thank you, Jeremiah. That fifth stanza transition was indeed smooth and was very satisfying to see when it first unfolded onto my computer screen as the poem was being composed.

      Reply
  2. Alan Orsborn

    I really enjoyed reading your poems, but I especially enjoyed discovering we are neighbors and that you write about the Long Beach Peninsula. I live in Ocean Park.

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Alan, that does, indeed, make us neighbors! Let’s find a way to connect!

      Reply
      • Alan Orsborn

        I found a way to connect. I found your address on the county website, and I sent you a letter with my contact info.

  3. Paul A. Freeman

    I love the sing-song, matter-of-factness of both these poems, as they spell out a lifelong, loving relationship.

    In the latter poem, last stanza, the word ‘doom’ jarred a bit to my ear, it being such a negative word. I felt ‘end’ perhaps would have been less jarring.

    Thanks for the reads.

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Paul, Here I use the word “doom” in its secondary meaning of “destiny” or, “fate,” or possibly “demise.” It is from Old English “dom” (pronounced “dome”). In the 12th century that word became associated with the older 11th century document that is now commonly referred to as the “Domesday Book.” In this case the word is used in another secondary meaning of “judgment.”

      In the movie title, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” I have always enjoyed understanding the use of the word to include all of these meanings rather than just one of them. My use of the word may be understood by the reader to mean all or any one of those things as well.

      In any case, that’s the long of it!

      Thanks for the comment. Suggestions to improve my poems are always welcome and are sometimes embraced!

      Reply
  4. Cynthia Erlandson

    You’ve portrayed a beautiful marriage in “Contagious Joy.” And the tone of playfulness in “Growing Old Together” is also contagious, and beautiful in another way. I really like the 2-2-4-2-2-4 metrical scheme.

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Cynthia,

      I like this scheme as well, especially when overlaid with the asymmetric rhyme pattern of ababab. Can anyone think of a precedent for this combination of rhythm and meter?

      Reply
      • Joseph S. Salemi

        There’s something similar in Robert Greene’s “Menaphon” —

        Some say Love,
        Foolish Love,
        Doth rule and govern all the gods:
        I say Love,
        Inconstant Love.
        Sets men’s senses far at odds.
        Some swear Love,
        Smoothed-faced Love
        Is sweetest sweet that men can have:
        I say Love,
        Sour Love,
        Makes virtue yield as beauty’s slave…

        Love is sweet;
        Wherein sweet?
        In fading pleasures that do pain.
        Beauty sweet —
        Is that sweet
        That yieldeth sorrow for a gain?
        If Love’s sweet,
        Herein sweet,
        That minute’s joys are monthly woes;
        ‘Tis not sweet,
        That is sweet
        Nowhere but where repentance grows.

  5. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    James, I love the sentiments expressed in both of these poems. But, for me, the villanelle shines. I love a good villanelle, and this one is great! I particularly like, “So, come and sit and laugh with me a while;/Infect me with good humor’s viral strain.” – two lines for our times. Thank you and a happy Valentine’s Day to you and your beautiful wife.

    Reply
  7. Roy Eugene Peterson

    I deeply felt the sentiments of aging love together from your poems and am encouraged every time I find those who fit together so beautifully. Perfect poems for me on Valentine’s Day.

    Reply
  8. Gigi Ryan

    Dear James,
    These love poems capture important elements of mature love – humor and enjoying the simple things of life done together. I could relate to both with a smile. (Though I didn’t snag my train on my wedding day.)
    Gigi

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Gigi, If not your train (if you had one) I bet there was something else unexpected that made your wedding day unique and unforgettable! Whatever it was, I’m sure that you treasure it–hopefully with a smile!

      Reply
  9. Shamik Banerjee

    These are two sweet Valentine’s Day treats. No other joy can swell one’s heart like the one from one’s partner—”Contagious Joy” conveys that very well. I loved the form employed in “Growing Old Together”; it’s a lovely poem bearing a song like quality. Thank you for these poems, Mr. Tweedie. I hope you had a wonderful St. Valentine’s Day. 

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Shamik, I had a wonderful day and thank you for taking the time to leave such an affirmative comment.

      Reply
  10. Margaret Coats

    A perfect villanelle, James, in clear colloquial terms with smooth rhythm, and on a subject defined to suit the form. The concept of “contagious joy” makes it catching to the reader. I especially like stanza 5, sweetly specifying the smile inducers.

    As for the form of “Growing Old Together,” you are correct that the rhyme scheme makes it rare. It would be easy to find aabaab. Joseph is right to look in the 16th and 17th centuries, where there might well be an example, even among songs in plays, if any exists. You’ll probably find more similar, though, rather than identical in rhyme and rhythm.

    Reply
  11. Jeff Eardley

    James, a brilliant Villanelle and a so sweet love poem for the generation that never gave up and who reached the broad, sunlit upland of old age. These are great to read to the accompaniment of a popping champagne cork. Thank you.

    Reply

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