And now for some poetry...

I have two reasons for making another post so soon after the last one: Firstly, I was shuffling some papers around next to my desk, and came across something I wrote several years ago, and thought "Hey! This was pretty good!" And second, having Keith Richards staring at me every time I pull up my home page... is a little frightening. This poem is written in a medieval style from about 1400 CE, using a form I lifted from something by Thomas Hoccleve.  

Fly, My Words  

Fly, my words, to whom I love 

for I would my affections prove 

lest he should think my feelings false 

or feel my protestations else 

 

 Fly, my pen, and petals write 

of such a flower that brings delight 

the soul of one who sees or smells 

a burst of joy within them wells 

 

Sing, my heart, of joy's embrace  

envision my beloved's face 

those eyes that hold me in their gaze 

do warm desires within me raise 

 

Sing, my heart, of longing's pain 

of time and miles that are our bane 

to look at sky and stars above 

and feel them closer than my love 

 

 Of these I then must make complain: 

 of Presence's pleasure, and absence's pain 

of these this hand is bound to write 

 to thee, my Joy, and my Delight!  

 

Written by Laura Minnick, 2002 Ok, typing it out I'm no longer sure how good it is, but I do remember how difficult it was to not only use the period form, but to also to write in a sort of language style that you might find in something written in the early 15th century. Certainly a good deal more difficult than "There was an old man from Nantucket..." (I also had trouble getting the formatting right on this page. If it looks wrong in your browser, sorry...)