Poem #105

Elevators go up.
Elevators go down.
Some people swim.
Some people drown.

4/29/02010

Not a gushy love poem!

Poem #104

You make me smile
on the darkest of days.
You make me happy
in so many ways.

4/28/02010

Yet another gushy love poem.

Poem #103

I love you, like you,
need you, want you.
But when I'm dead,
my ghost won't haunt you.

4/28/02010

A gushy love poem that involves denial of a ghostly afterlife.

Poem #102

I will love you forever;
hope you know it.
I also wish the Caps
didn't blow it.

4/28/02010

I believe this was within a day or two of the Washington Capitals' embarrassing defeat in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Beth's a big fan of the team, which always finds a way of letting her down.

Poem #101

I hope to have you love me
in all the days ahead,
no matter how much longer
until I end up dead.

4/26/02010

Poem #100

A daffodil,
a daisy,
you almost drive
me crazy.

A violet,
a crocus,
you make me lose
my focus.

4/25/02010

A gushy love poem, mentioning four varieties of flower that happen to grow on our lawn, through no effort on our part. One of these is Beth's favorite flower. I'm not saying which one.

Poem #99

In the future,
you will probably
casually toss
your jet pack
in the back of
your flying car
with as much
wonder and awe
as you now assign
to an old t-shirt
or hoodie.

4/24/02010

Not a gushy love poem! This is a poem about the future that's been promised for so very long and never seems to materialize.

And here's one of my favorite quotations:

The future has been shrinking by one year per year for my entire life.

–Danny Hillis

Poem #98

I am unaware
of any true miracle
except maybe you.

4/23/02010

A gushy love poem, of course.

In case you don't know, I am a non-believer in all gods. I believe that beneficial coincidences happen. But that's kind of different from believing in miracles.

If you want something along the same lines of this poem, but much more beautiful, I'd recommend reading the lyrics to Nick Cave's song "Into My Arms". Better yet, try listening to it. Here's a link to an intimate live performance. The first couple of verses of this song are among the most beautiful things I can think of at the moment.

In the interest of full disclosure, I think I should mention that I was not thinking of the song at the time I composed the poem.

Poem #97

I never find myself wishing
that I were out fly fishing.
But if fishing were something you wanted to do
I would gladly go out fly fishing with you.

4/22/02010

Sort of a gushy love poem. Sort of.

Poem #96

Sherman barking
barking
barking.
Sometimes it's all I hear.

Great loud booming
booming
booming,
deep inside my ear.

4/21/02010

Here's a poem about our mongrel, Sherman. When we first got him, he was as quiet as a mouse. I kept asking Beth what was wrong with him, convinced that his silence [and extreme passivity] were a symptom of something, a sure sign that death was near. Well, clearly I broke him. Now he is not passive at all, and he has a very loud and insistent bark. A decade on, he's not showing any signs that he's at all ready for death.

Poem #95

What if I expressed
my love for you mathematically?
One plus one is greater than
infinity, emphatically.

4/20/02010

I also made a six-word variant, inspired by the Six-Word Memoirs project at SMITH Magazine:

Me plus you, mathematically: infinity, emphatically.

I happen to like the six-word version much more than the original.

Poem #94

Do opossums
sniff our blossoms
when we're busy cooking?

Do armadillos
use our pillows
when we are not looking?

A tired crocodile
might still walk a mile
to avoid ever crossing your path.

Do you think a hoot owl
would prefer a blue towel
to dry off after taking a bath?

Would a bashful giraffe
stifle her laugh
to make sure that you wouldn't hear it?

Would a brave little lizard
go out in a blizzard
just to prove that he doesn't fear it?

Would a laughing hyena
get in between a
pachyderm and a peanut?

You'd never believe the devastation
caused by an angry crustacean
even if you had seen it.

I suspect Swedish rabbits
like to dress in nuns' habits —
something I don't ever witness.

I'm sure many parrots
enjoy eating carrots —
they're quite good for ocular fitness.

Secretive little foxes
might rearrange your boxes
if you promise to pay no attention.

Clumsy polar bears
may cause solar flares,
which it's wise to never mention.

4/14/02010 – 4/19/02010

This was composed over the course of six days. I sent two stanzas per day to my darling wife. I'm posting them here together as if they are one poem, which really they kind of are.

I think there's the kernel of a children's book in here somewhere.

Poem #93

A is for air
and B is for bear
and C is for care
and D is for dare,

If E is for ear
and F is for fear
and G is for gear
and H is for here…

I am all for you.

4/13/02010

An alphabetical gushy love poem.

Poem #92

I love you through hunger.
I love you through thirst.
My love might expand
but it won't ever burst.

4/12/02010

Another gushy love poem.

Poem #91

I always worry that you will stop loving me someday.
I often think that maybe I am always in your way.
I sometimes wonder if you'll love me when my teeth fall out.
I really hope you'll still remember what our love's about.

4/11/02010

Here's my lack of self-confidence.

Poem #90

Swimming through the ocean,
flying through the sky,
walking through the wilderness,
though I don't know why.

Trying to be braver,
still ending up as shy,
much too confrontational…
still your favorite guy?

4/10/02010

This was an exercise in rhyme more than anything else.

And the "confrontational" comment stems from a conversation about how my darling wife realized that sometimes I have conversations during which I seem inappropriately argumentative/confrontational/adversarial, though I don't necessarily mean to be.

Poem #89

I don't remember how to play
this silly game I'm in.
Nonetheless, I'll find my way
so someday I may win.

4/9/02010

Beth brought me along that night as an interloper on a dungeon crawl. It had been years since I last played D&D, and I never really did quite get the hang of it. The reference to winning is a sly little joke, given the nature of the game.

Poem #88

"Your eyes, your eyes —
they sparkle like diamonds",
her husband adoringly said.

"Do they twinkle like stars?"
she replied with a wink,
before getting ready for bed.

"Of course they twinkle
and they light up the room
like a spotlight shone from above!"

"And they dance and they shimmer?"
"Yes, and not only that —
they burn when you glare, my love!"

4/8/02010

I think this is one of my cleverer poems. It's definitely one of my favorites. It reminds me a lot of Lewis Carroll. I think that's a good thing.

Poem #87

There's magic in your
tender kiss, delicate touch,
and loving glances.

4/7/02010

A gushy love haiku.

Poem #86

You didn't know
that you would marry me
until you had known me a while.
This is one thing
that I'm quite certain of,
though you say otherwise with a smile.

4/6/02010

My darling wife likes to tell the tale of how she allegedly knew that she was going to marry me the first time she met me. I like to dispute such silly claims.

Poem #85

I love you far past Neptune.
I love you way past Mars.
I love you past the planets.
I love you past the stars.

I love you past our galaxy —
beyond the Milky Way.
I love you all the time —
far beyond today.

4/5/02010

A cosmic gushy love poem.

Poem #84

If I could write you a poem
that lasts till next week and back,
would you say that you'd married
a clever old man, not in need of a whack?

If I could sing you a song
to make birds weep and babies sing,
do you think you would love me more
than the man who gave you your ring?

4/4/02010

A bizarre gushy love poem.

Poem #83

Congratulations to you.
I'm so proud of what you've done.
Just to prove it's true,
a purse is what you've won!

4/3/02010

I believe this was when my darling wife had lost 100 lbs. If I recall, she got an exercise bike as a reward for the first 50, a coveted purse as a reward for the second 50, and she's scheduled to get a real bicycle as a reward for the third 50. As of the time of this writing, she's about 3 lbs. from reaching that final goal.

Have I mentioned that she's amazing?

Poem #82

Did you ever steal
a heart before mine?
I only ask
because you did
such a good job
stealing my heart —
perhaps you've had
some practice.

4/2/02010

Another gushy love poem. It seems a pattern.

Poem #81

I'm so glad that you're my bride.
It makes me feel so good inside.

4/1/02010

A very dopey gushy love poem, unambiguously aimed at my darling wife.

Poem #80

One million kisses
are not nearly enough to
show you how much love

3/31/02010

A gushy love haiku.

Poem #79

If you walk a thousand miles
and your feet end up as nubs,
how will you find smiles?
Where will I place rubs?

3/30/02010

Poem #78

Sometimes your hands are so cold
it feels as if they will freeze me.
Sometimes the pollen's so strong
it makes me really quite sneezy.

I would rather have you touch me
than practice blowing my nose,
even if it means I'll be cold
from my head right down to my toes.

3/29/02010

Poem #77

If you ever love me,
I hope today's the day.
Yesterday's already gone.
Tomorrow's far away.

3/28/02010

Poem #76

Your smile is delightful,
which rhymes with frightful
…a word that just doesn't apply.
I think you're terrific,
which rhymes with horrific
…you'll never end up if you try.

3/28/02010

Poem #75

I fell fast asleep last night
and wasted away the time
when I should have done what's right
and sent you a lovely rhyme.

3/28/02010

I missed composing a poem on the 27th of March. I made up for it by composing three on the 28th. This is the first of those.