.

Distress Signals

an extended villanelle

Distressing times are coming round again,
And all the talking heads now flap their jaws
To say it isn’t if, but rather when.—

There is a dearth of good upstanding men,
And far too many convoluted laws;
Distressing times are coming round again,

As surely as the gears inside Big Ben
Mark off advancing hours, without a pause,
Reminding us it isn’t if, but when.

No Robin Hood is riding through the glen
To save us from the Sheriff’s nasty claws—
Distressing times are coming round again,

And good solutions are beyond our ken.
If we expect relief, we’re grasping straws
Because it isn’t if, but only when.

Since no one nowadays will lift a pen,
And local schools are worse than Arkansas’s,
Distressing times are coming round again.

Before too long we’ll go completely Zen
And spend our evenings mending mackinaws—
It isn’t if, it’s definitely when.

We can detect a parasitic yen
Each time we scan a politician’s flaws.
Distressing times are coming round again,
And be advised:  It isn’t if, it’s when.

.

.

If Blindness Be Just

My brain is not as plastic as it once was
And seems unable to take on new functions.
The world I see is shrouded in a dense fuzz,
And nothing’s clear except my deep compunctions

About continuing to walk this life-line.
The ground beneath my feet is rough and wavy,
With strange geometry that’s wholly affine,
And no amount of practice now can save me.

But lest you make of me a doubting Thomas,
I should affirm that I accept my birthright,
As stipulated in His fluid Promise:
If all else fails, I’ll find my way by earthlight.

.

.

Several Transgressive Apothegms

.

If It Ain’t Broke…

Don’t modernize the writings of the Bard,
And never gild the petals of a lily,
For either enterprise is downright silly—
Some rules for life are simply fast and hard.

.

Bitter Grapes

We raise our cups to universal themes
Attested in the literary canon,
While others toast those transitory memes
Best paired with wine containing too much tannin.

.

An Immodest Proposal

Although I know you’ve had it with smart alecks,
I’d like to help your blossom slip its calyx.

.

Low Fashion

Now, when it comes to classic grunge apparel,
The best is at the bottom of the barrel.

.

Boldness Matters

‘Tis better to have risked some battle scars
Than to be loaded onto cattle cars.

.

Graveyard Transparency

Most often, only in those friends who’ve died
May one, with perfect honesty, confide.

.

The Weight of Evidence

Pile up the anecdotes, my friend,
And pretty soon you’ll see a trend.

.

Do Your Job

From those to whom much has been given,
____Much is expected;
For those who have mightily striven,
____Life is perfected.

.

.

C.B. Anderson was the longtime gardener for the PBS television series, The Victory Garden.  Hundreds of his poems have appeared in scores of print and electronic journals out of North America, Great Britain, Ireland, Austria, Australia and India.  His collection, Mortal Soup and the Blue Yonder was published in 2013 by White Violet Press.

NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets.

The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.


Trending now:

20 Responses

  1. Roy Eugene Peterson

    The reason for “Distress Signals” needing to be sent is perfectly pinpointed by
    the “dearth of good upstanding men, And far too many convoluted laws…” The great image that there seems to be no “Robin Hood riding through the glen…” is masterful.

    “If Blindness Be Just” presents a striking view to which those of us with advancing age can relate.

    It has been a long time since I have seen the word, “apothems.” These are memorable words of wisdom. I cannot pick out the one I like the best, since I loved them all. They were all creative and deftly packed a punch.

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      Indeed, Roy, where have all the heroes gone?

      The “Blindness” poem is somewhat autobiographical. My neuro-ophthalmologist tells me that my eyes are fine, but that something is wrong with my brain. Imagine that!

      “Words of Wisdom?” Perhaps, or maybe just the cynical observations of an old crank.

      Reply
  2. Joseph S. Salemi

    That extended villanelle is a tour de force. Anyone who thinks it’s easy to maintain a rhyme pattern like that hasn’t tried to do it. One thing about it is pure Kip Anderson — it’s funny, but also deeply frightening at the same time! When I first read it, what came to mind is an image from World War I, when the officer in the trenches gets his troops ready to go over the top and face enemy fire, and says “Come on, you bastards! DO YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER?”

    The transgressive apothegms are precisely the kind of tough, hard-bitten, in-your-face poetic squibs that poetry today is starving for! I’m frankly sick of hearing pious calls for “Truth, Beauty, and Goodness” when what poetry really needs a dose of harsh-tongued cynicism, off-color humor, satiric stabs, and down-to-earth fearlessness to offend.

    By the way, “An Immodest Proposal” is one of the most coyly erotic things that has ever appeared at this site.

    K.A.N.D!
    ,

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      As it happens, Joseph, when I write a villanelle I try to assemble lists of words that rhyme with the two end-sounds introduced in the initial tercet, and then see which ones trigger further thematic ideas. In this case, I had some words left over that led in directions I wanted to go. Obviously, a villanelle can be extended as far as fresh end rhymes will allow. Nineteen lines is just the minimum. Was that line you cited from The Audie Murphy Story? Whatever film it was, I’m pretty sure I watched it once, a long time ago.

      Maxims are always fun; they come like candy dropping from the sky. And as you say, good humor should always be offensive to somebody, or else it won’t be funny at all.

      Reply
      • Joseph S. Salemi

        Kip, the Audie Murphy film that I know is “To Hell and Back,” which was also the title of his war memoir. There may have been another film with the title you mention.

        Audie Murphy and my father were in the same outfit — the Third Division — and they both landed in Sicily on the same day.

        Ordering troops out of the trenches to make frontal suicide charges against machine-guns is pure World War I. By the Second World War the generals had finally learned that such tactics were militarily insane, and quietly desisted from them.

      • C.B. Anderson

        Yes, Joseph, I watched To Hell and Back when my grandmother and her boyfriend took me and my cousin on a day trip to Philadelphia. The line you cited probably came from any one of a number of classic war movies that aired on tv in the fifties and early sixties. I’m sure I remember that line.

  3. Stephen M. Dickey

    I learned some new words in “If Blindness Be Just,” which I thought was the most interesting, but I can’t claim to understand it, basically the last two lines.
    It seems you’ve joined the ranks of other poets I’ve read who note that the world gets strange as one gets older. Seems to be a theme, at least for poets of a certain age.

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      It might be said, Stephen, that, as with bottles of wine, poets should age well and not just get old. His Promise must necessarily manifest differently for each individual. Earthlight is usually meant to be what would light the moonscape if you were standing on the moon. But here it is something more mysterious, and I don’t know what it is yet. What seems to be a theme is just a fact, as we get closer to leaving this world. One can only make do, make the best of it.

      Reply
  4. Brian A. Yapko

    C.B., your delight in words is palpable and infectious. Every time I read through your poetry I learn something new, whether it is a technique or an addition to my vocabulary. I have never heard the word apothegm before and now that it’s here, how do I avoid the temptation of putting on a lisp and rhyming it with possum? The apothegms are singularly and collectively hilarious, wise and – best of all – unexpected in rhyme and observation. “Boldness Matters” is for me the most urgently understood of the lot. The stark contrast between battle scars and cattle cars is chilling and says so much about our times and how to react to them. It is short and almost as charged with concentrated meaning as a haiku.

    “Blindness” also says much about the difficulties in navigating through these dangerous times. Your reliance on faith is something I second. And I love the rhyme of “fuzz” with “was.”

    But my favorite of these pieces is the villanelle “Distress Signals” which is witty yet accurate of title and which describes contemporary life with an articulate verve that I find incredibly energizing. Your use of the villanelle form is perfect and your rhyme is stellar, but it is the imagery itself that is the star as you manage to bring in Big Ben, Arkansas schools, mackinaws and other sundry, rather odd references which have the effect of universalizing your observations. And what a message! “It isn’t if, it’s when.” As chilling as the battle scars and cattle cars that you mention in your other poem. And no less true. “Convoluted laws,” “completely Zen,” “a parasitic yen in a “politician’s flaws…” C.B., each time I read your work it invariably makes me fall in love all over again with the English language.

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      I’m always happy, Brian, to read your penetrating comments, whether about my poems or the poems of others. I should have been an English major in college, but I was a young fool back then. Now I’m just an old fool.

      Arkansas schools is a veiled reference to the Bill Clinton years, when he once bragged about his role in improving secondary education in his home state. They went from 50th to 49th. Wow!

      Reply
  5. Cheryl Corey

    There are terrific rhymes happening here: “fuzz” and “was”; “wavy” with “save me”; “canon” and “tannin”; and “alecks” with “calyx”.

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      In my opinion, Cheryl, without rhyme there would be no reason, though blank verse would seem to refute this notion — just not as much fun, is all.

      Reply
  6. David Whippman

    Nice work, CB. Of the apothegms, “Boldness Matters” is so relevant and timely, in this moment when so many people are keeping their heads below the parapet.

    Reply
  7. Cynthia Erlandson

    I love the villanelle especially, C. B. The subject is just perfect for the form. And you’ve varied the “it isn’t ‘if’ but ‘when’ line to make the repetitions more interesting. And using “Arkansas’s” as a rhyme is brilliant!

    Reply
  8. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    C.B., every poem on this page is a delight, but the villanelle is a loud WOW of a poem that has caught my attention, especially with its mention of Big Ben (great accompanying picture, Evan). A villanelle is a challenge… you have made the extended version seem a breeze, and the message is spot on written in fine poetry that inspires. C.B., I’m in awe!

    Reply
    • C,B. Anderson

      Given our humble begnnings, Susan, what less could be expected? Breezes blow willy-nilly. Awe is an affection coupled with mutual appreciation. Nothing I write is without a nod to what you yourself have written for what seems like forever.

      Reply
  9. Adam Sedia

    As always, these works both taught and delighted me. Each of them made me at once laugh and reflect on the truths they observe. As Dr. Salemi said, your work is “funny but deeply frightening at the same time.” Let me echo that thought wholeheartedly — and that more than anything is why I enjoy your poems.

    The villanelle is one of my favorite forms, and I love how you adopted an expanded version of it. And you show your mastery by never making your villanelle sound stilted or repetitive (a daunting challenge for the form).

    In “If Blindness Be Just” I read a hint of Milton’s sonnet “On His Blindness,” a sober self-reflection that all of us can relate to, beginning in despair and ending in hope.

    I was particularly intrigued on how your “Transgressive Apothegms” simply restate many common proverbs, yet add a twist of originality that makes the ideas themselves seem fresh. “An Immodest Proposal” gave me a good laugh.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.