A couple of my old poems nobody has ever seen before

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

These were excluded by me from my manuscript simply because they were a bit "different" from my mainstream works.

The first one was written for Halloween, but I never really found a good place for it to go to. Thus it languished on an old forgotten piece of paper for almost forty years. I suppose I could rework it and make it "better", but why? I think it's pretty cool the way it is.
-----

Sleep If You Can

Here as I lie in
the dead of the night,
concealed by my blanket
to ward off the fright
of creaking and squeaking
and groaning floorboards,
I relish my fear like
the gold a man hoards.
Alone in my home,
by myself do I wait.
I love it, I loathe it,
I cheer it, I hate!
I hear something creak
on the stairway below,
then something beside me
just whispers, "Hello..."


I wrote much of my poetry at a time when I was an active alcoholic. I have several works that delve into that subject, most of them pretty dark. This one is rather more humorous. Again, it was excluded simply because it didn't fit in.
-----

The Failure

I tried to write
a poem today-
An Epic from
my life to say.
I didn't do
too good at it-
I drank some rum
and lost my wit.
(It's hard enough
the best of times
to find the good,
the perfect rhymes!)
Oh well, I guess
I'll try again
tomorrow, but
this time with gin...
-----

Both, naturally, are-

© 2014 Steven A. Hessler
All Rights Reserved

An aside: I did create one other poem about the struggles of a young alcoholic. Although the poem itself no longer exists, one phrase remains embedded in my heart and mind. It's a simple statement from deep within a drunkard's drowning soul, and what it says remains true to this day, at least to me. Feel free to pass it on if it strikes a chord within yourself.

"We drink not to forget the loneliness of the day- we drink rather to remember how to cry."

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Prisoner_Number_Six!

Oh, I like these! Especially the first one, although the second has its charm too.

Sleep If You Can has the clever turn at the end, which is just enough to make me startle a bit, and then laugh! Nicely done.

The Failure is rather more humorous (or so it seems to me) with a dark underside.

And I love your single line which does strike a chord in me. I have never been alcoholic, but I know folks who are, and I have some understanding of what this entails. Thank you...

You're doing great things with your vision.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

2. Quite a bit of my old poetry has been published over the years

In magazines and periodicals of one sort or other. (Not to sound like I'm bragging- I've never made a penny off my words.) Some of my anti-war prose has seen a small bit of public exposure on war memorial web sites and monthly poetry magazines. The first poem I ever had published was in a vanity collection of verse that was a couple thousand artists strong. No matter- it appeared in print, and I had the pleasure of calling myself a "published poet". (That was in 1983.) You know the feeling that comes from that yourself- I seem to recall guiding you in your own personal journey from time to time. (I still have your chapbook, by the way...)

Many of my words were published without my knowledge or permission- my own father had a weekly "poetry corner" in his local newspaper. He published many of my works- I'll never know which ones or just how many. No biggie- it pleased me to know my own dad enjoyed my poetry enough to want the public to read it.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. You have guided me, and to very good effect...

It's a great feeling, seeing your name in print, knowing that this editor likes your stuff enough to enable others to read it. I'm glad you still have my chapbook!



I still use the copyright symbol you made for me.