In 1998, my wife was hard at work finishing two degrees, one in respiratory care and a second in commercial art. I was working away as a roofer and ditch-digger while she was a college rock-star. I loved spending time with her around campus while she worked in the studios and auditing a lecture from time to time.
Digging through boxes of books that have't seen light in more than a decade, I stumbled on an old issue of 'Voices', a quarterly, or biannual publication showcasing student art and poetry. I spent part of the evening traveling back in time to revisit these. Visiting some for the first time. Two really touched me, though there were many good entries and a few questionable ones. Here were a few I felt were outstanding.
Arlington Taps - By Erin DeCuir
One more time,
One more look;
Place the wings,
Bugle sings;
Clutch the Book.
Now he's gone;
Knew the cost.
I'm lost.
I was blown away by the powerful austerity. In 22 words she managed to move my soul and tell a story of duty, honor sacrifice and most powerfully, loss.
A Man's Essay (to a woman he loves) - by Mark A Dean
Elegant tendrils of morning's first golden rays,
do not compare with the radiant hues of your beauty.
Eyes, alive with Life's passions, blaze forth,
igniting desires deep within
—I am dissolved in you.
Breaking from water's wet slippery hold,
cold-rich-air
rushes to fill and pacify the burning of my lungs;
—It is a cheap act in comparison with the vitality you bring forth in me.
I roar with ecstasy of your image,
Silken and curving.
All at once alive,
Potential energy stored within Venus' magnificent porcelain vessel.
You are the glorious answer to my need of an opposite.
You are a subtle grace granted by Life's whimsy.
You area what beauty is.
– I devour your beauty with my eyes.
What appealed to me about this was the bold sexuality it oozes without being dirty. The way he lauds her and heaps praise upon her physical form is delightful. It's as if he can't see anything else in the world. He's not discovering faster than light travel or anything, rather, he is celebrating something that most of us have felt, or will feel, at some point in our lives. To be absolutely and unquestionably smitten. The other thing that struck me was the absolute contrast of a title. The poem is flowery and brocade, but the title... it's quite utilitarian. It might just be a glimmer of genius. Or possibly laziness. But as my old friend Shelby loved to say: 'Necessity is the mother of invention, and Laziness is it's father.'
Good Morning -Debbie & Borne
"Let's snuggle for ten more minutes"
means you in Dad's T-shirt past your knees
burrowing between warm bodies that
loved you into being
Then muffled giggles
as your dad leans his elbow
into a lump in the covers
sending you closer to me
-and delicious safety.
VOICES
Spring 1998
Student Publication of
Midwestern State University
Voices Production Staff:
Editor ...Kimberly Tucker
Assistant Editor ... Mary King
Advisor ...Dr. Robert Johnson
Art Advisor ... Gary Goldberg
