the first essence [3]

Here is the first poem from my unpublished anthology Poems Written in Brady's UCORE Notes at 3AMish ca 2001:

Happiness Ceased
There are times when one might see nights
Days when sunshine takes flight like kites

..........oobleygoo

..........snocketyzoo

......................these marches on stale grounds
......................embark the dogs and mighty hounds

.................................like steps
...........................................like stairs
.........................................................up & down
...........................................from terrible heights

(its hard to know where to start a discussion with this poem. while it lacks the quick gut punch of the previous poems, i'm sure you'll agree that its a poem that sticks with you; like frosting stains from your wedding anniversary cake, it somehow evokes that strange yet lasting combination of frown and smile. such odd bosom buddies. now, in order to reduce the overwhelming amounts of fan mail that i anticipate from the unfurling of this masterpiece, let me answer a few questions right off the bat. first, i'm sure that many of you are wondering about the possible influence of george herbert on this poem. indeed, at the time of this poem i'd been studying herbert's use of carmina figurata and somehow fell under its hypnotic spell. second, while many readers may identify that lines 3 and 4 poke fun at Milton's mistranslation of Virgil, there are no direct quotes from either writer. and third, yes, i am still a bit upset that ben gibbard of the postal service failed to acknowledge me in his liner notes for the inspiration for his title track.)

For more information concerning this poetry, please refer to my post entitled 'the first essence [1]' or other poems from this anthology: Command.