A Poem

I met a wandering soul—
A man with an air of hunger,
Who gazed at me with ill-intent.
As he pulled his blade and held it to me
I knew what he wanted,
And I gave him all I had.
Curiosity won me over as he
Started on his way. I asked,
“What happened, dear friend,
To bring you to this state?”
He laughed aloud and turned to me,
A dead look in his dull eyes.
“I am the problem with my life,”
He announced sadly,
“And the master of my state.”

—C.R.E.

Something Different

I have fond memories
Of that place—
A graveyard
In a far-off land.
The wind
Would blow there
All the time,
Lightly touching
Upon the lives
That visit and don’t stay.
It seemed to call
To those long past,
Saying,
“Onward, meek souls.
Onward to rest.”
But telling the visitors
To sit awhile and
Enjoy the beauty of the
House—
The home of those
Who would never
Be able
To enjoy it.

—C.R.E.

A Quick Poem

Okay... It's short. And simple. I blame it on being a holiday weekend that I celebrate all too well.

Off to blow something else up. =)

In life, I’ve found,
Love abounds.
It leaps and runs
And overcomes.
It says “I do”,
Then stays true.
It finds, loses,
Bleeds, bruises,
Smiles, and frowns.
Love simply goes around.

—C.R.E.

A Stab at a Shakespearean Sonnet

It has been such a very long time since
Your beautiful smile graced my eyes’ channel.
But, though time may pass, I cannot convince
Myself to forget you through time’s annals.
I found it quite joyous to think back on—
Those times we spent in sweet, humble embrace
Holding solely to each other and none
Else, finding peace in one another’s grace.
But now I see things diff’rently, and cry
Out against thoughts of you and your bold ways.
No matter the method or way I tried...
I was alone at the end of our days.
You were poison, beloved, fast poison
That caused my very soul to shake with ill.
Addictive liquor, to me, and reason
To leave it all behind through pow’r of will.
But now I am longing for just a taste
Of you again— though 'way I’ll surely waste.

—C.R.E.

A Villanelle

Hey all, today I wrote a Villanelle... And didn't do much else haha. I stayed up until about four last night, unable to do anything but write... I got about twenty pages done of the first part of a story I'm working on. I'm not sure how it turned out yet--I'm a bit afraid to read it. How productive can any writing done at four in the morning actually be? Anyhow, I woke up around 11:30 and did a few things around the house. Then I talked to Nikki on the phone for a while and finished my Villanelle... Tell me what you think?

Weep, weep, dear love, for now the night is here.
Alas, you could not halt their leave-taking.
Come to me, love, and I will dry your tears.

Yes, they have gone, never again to cheer
The halls that are your soul’s earthly dwelling.
Weep, weep, dear love, for now the night is here.

But I am here, sweet one, to calm your fears—
So please, cease all your sorrowful wailing.
Come to me, love, and I will dry your tears.

Whether in or out of this mortal sphere,
Together we’ll brave the night’s dark dreamings.
Weep, weep, dear love, for now the night is here.

Worry no more for them—our now-past peers.
We are only us, one in our loving.
Come to me, love, and I will dry your tears.

Now, when we lie cold and alone, you hear
The rasping breath of Death’s simple coming
Weep, weep, dear love, for now the night is here.
Come to me, love, and I will dry your tears.

—C.R.E.

Truth

Today, I worked for four hours. It was good fun! =) I then went to FHE with my ward and had a pretty all right time. Slow day, but fun. Not feeling much like writing for some reason...

I wrote it quickly, but here you are.

On a quest to prove fidelity
I sought Truth, only to find that
He lived just across the way.
His home was a gated mansion surrounded
By those who would turn me from my quest.

I fought the mass of naysayers
And begged an audience with Truth,
Saying, “I care not about the consequence
Of Truth! I wish only to find it!”
As the gates swung wide, the mob was gone.

Truth sat across from me,
A handsome young man, all at once
Smiling and carrying on pleasantly.
He spoke with a honeyed tone and
Sold himself as one with compassion for me.

I smiled at him and pleaded for an answer
To my question on her faithfulness.
He grinned back and told me, quite truthfully,
Of her stepping out. He continued his glib
Attitude as he watched my world fall apart.

As I left Truth behind I realized
With heavy heart that he had enjoyed
Tearing my life asunder. Truth had not
Set me free, he had simply made me
Prisoner to a new master: Realization.

--C.R.E.

Crossroads

I... have found that when my creative juices aren't flowing, I have a hard time writing poetry. And yet, I'm still trying; I want to keep this challenge up!

I recently joined a college ward and am trying to get used to it... I'm one of the youngest and have been astounded by the people I've met. Some are so amazing! Spiritual, intelligent, funny, mature... I just love them. And some... are less mature than I expected college students to be--to put it kindly. It's sort of like high school all over again. Yay... Anyhow, overall, I like it.

Last night was great, by the way. We ended up skipping out on bowling and wound up at my house playing Apples To Apples. There were like... 9 of us by the end, I think. We abandoned A to A partway through the night and just drew the green cards and assigned them to people around the circle. I had a blast!

Well, here's another poem. Quickly written and with little to no creative process... I just haven't been able to get into it for the past few days. Just another hurdle, I guess.

I dreamed a dream and found myself
At life’s drear crossroad, alone and at a loss.
At one hand appeared a path paved with joys:
Earthly pleasures, desires and passions that seemed
To wax and wane with the very moon itself.
And as I gazed down this well-worn path
I became at once aware of the other choice on hand:
This path was scarcely paved, trodden, or considered.
It was naught more than a game trail blazed by
Those sad few before my time—those men and women
Who knew what the supposed-ease of the world’s path truly meant.
And, as I gazed in wonder at that mean trail laid out before me,
I no longer felt alone—indeed, I had found true companionship
Only along the Road Less Traveled.

--C.R.E.

A New Challenge

Hello my fine friends! So I've taken myself up on a challenge: Alongside little snippets of my life, I'm going to write(and post) one poem a day. It's sort of an exercise in stamina, resolve, and writing. Obviously not all of the poems--if any--are going to be winners. So I'm sorry, but just bear with me, eh?

I'm super excited! Yesterday was a slow day, but great. I got a lot done at home and read some Goose Girl by Shannon Hale(a wonderful novel--I recommend it wholeheartedly!). I woke up early for bundle drops--allow me to explain. Every few mornings out of the week I wake up at 3:30 AM and go pick up and drop off paper bundles at carriers houses... Basically, I'm a paperboy to the paperboys. Go figure. Anyway... Currently, I'm watching the movie Igor, writing in this blog, and thinking about what kind of poem I want to write today... Hm.

I go in to work today at 1 and work until 6, then I'm off to a fun-filled night of Fiesta Fun, Bowling, and some sort of dinner. It'll be great! So far, I have no idea who will be there except Nikki, possibly Shayne, and maybe Kaden and Saya. I hope they all come! It was Nikki's idea--she has a coupon for Fiesta Fun and bowling--so we tried to get a bunch of people. More on that in the future.

And now... A poem.

Having become drunk from
The beauty of your smile
I had failed to notice
The poison of your tongue

So when I took it upon myself
To pursue that beauteous grin
Many found it their duty
To stop my pursuit anon

I stood in wonder at how
These so-called comrades
Could be so cold and harsh in
Their dealings with me and my happiness

I ignored the sage advice of those
Well-meaning well-wishers
And found, through hardship,
Just how caustic you truly are

Oft times we find ourselves
Holding solely to our own understanding
And finding the wisdom of those
More objective than us fraught with error

Who knows us more truly?
Our own, inner selves...
Or those whom we've entrusted
With our love and friendship?

--C.R.E.