City Of Light

By Michael Seese

Last year, I entered a poem in the (radio station) WCLV annual Valentine's Day Love Poem Contest.

I didn't win. I didn't even place in the top 10. Did that stop me from trying again?

Nope!

So here is this year's entry, "City Of Light."

September stroll, Champs-Élysées,
Mona Lisa, café au lait,
Place du Tertre, al fresco dine,
Le Moulin Rouge, fountains of wine.

Our honeymoon down by the Seine,
"We will return. Some day." And then...

The babies came: one, two, then three,
Bottle feeding, Band-Aid knee,
Soccer practice, violin,
Homework, laundry. What's that? Sleep in?

Play, bath, story, then kiss goodnight.
Our home, our own City Of Light.

(Gee, I wonder why I thought of Paris.)

My wife said "Awwww" when she read it.

It's due tonight (or was it last night? no matter; I sent it Saturday) at midnight. Wish me luck.

If At First...Again

By Michael Seese

In a previous post, I recounted some wins and some losses. One of the losses was my poem "Love Is Not..." which I had submitted to Cleveland radio station WCLV as part of their Valentine poetry contest. It didn't even place in the top 10.

Undaunted, I submitted it in March to Forward Poetry (in the UK) for their Aspects Of Love compilation.

And it has been accepted!

Since you might not be in the mood to order a book of poetry from across the pond (though I'm not going to stop you) here it is:

Love Is Not ...
Love is not
Kind nor true,
Blind nor blue,
Breathless nor endless,
Fair nor doux.

It is not
All you need,
Sown as a seed,
Nor a banquet on which we feed.

It does not
Make you complete,
Nor make your heart beat.

But when love can give and bend, be strong and heal,
Those are the words which make love real.
The book should be out by October.

To quote Galaxy Quest, "Never give up. Never surrender."

So when did you never give up, or never surrender, and come out on top? Feel free to share.