"Deb--"

Deb

I want to be like you—
 believing in good
 from a suffering world
I want to be like you—
 crafting kindness
 with prayers and smiles
I want to be like you—
 listening to old hurts
 with an understanding heart
I want to be like you—
 fostering true generosity
 with that single perfect gift
I want to be like you—
 lessening sorrows
 with just the right words
I want to be like you—
 celebrating life’s milestones
 with thought and care
I want to be like you—
 dancing with rapture
 under the full moon

                     

Copyright 2011 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

 

"To Keats"

With pen touching paper,

I watch the gray shadow float.

What mystery is this—

This writing?

Thoughts of Keats’s imagery

flow through my crowded Mind.

How could he write with such

tingling beauty?

Each metaphor stings with perfection.

Every allusion, Spring water clear—

Fresh, sweet air,

almost the bitter sweetness

of a deep Red Wine.

Can our vineyards produce such a tasteful red?

Could I, or any other wondering

Bard of this century—

Ever create such subtle horizons—

such mystic hues?

No, Romantic as I may be,

there will be no more virile

poesy such as Keats’s

No Grecisms forever alive.

Copyright 1976 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman