“Be My Valentine” © Edward Michael Supranowicz

 

Love letter to a Poet

I think my affections would still be intact if you were a Notary
Your elegance and stealth would be apparent even on embossed documents

But your playful yet deft hand that so effortlessly untangles misshapen metaphors
Would be less obvious on a contract or deed.

The poem is your vehicle in which you carry me to these unanticipated landscapes
And sometimes destinations

You always make me feel better
Except when you don’t

You see that it is ok to color outside of the lines sometimes
But that it should always be on purpose

You do not seduce me
But I do seduce myself on your behalf

There is beautifully crafted work
That I can enjoy for it’s structure

And the clever way it intricately solves problems
With deft shifts of word and line

But it is sometimes sterile
Your poetry never is…

Your words grow from a very rich dark earth
More satisfying than simply grazing scholarship

You sing the savage greedy song
Of mine before yours

And I tilt my head to listen
To find balance and tempo

I come to be tickled by phrases
But am instead changed

And so it is that each new tapestry
Changes me to be ready for the next that will come

And so it is that I am new and renewed
Ready for the morning sun

 

Rick Christiansen is a refugee of corporate America. After retiring a couple of years ago he began writing again after a long hiatus. He has now had several poems published and is working on his first chap book. He lives in Missouri with two Basset Hounds. His unique perspective is inspired and influenced by everything from Epistemology to his grandchildren.

Edward Michael Supranowicz has had artwork and poems published in the US and other countries. Both sides of his family worked in the coalmines and steel mills of Appalachia.