Erik Nielsen
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Dulcinea, I would write you a great love poem,
Filled with high words and extravagant praise,
Though none too extravagant for its subject,
And for a morose heart for you do not love me.
But how can such a thing make me happy?
If you were to reject it with laughter,
Chiding of my illogic, kicks at my poetry,
I would be saddened; I would lose all faith in myself.
And if you accepted it, I would lose admiration for you.

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You're a fine rebel, Oscar, aren't you?
Such an iconoclast as you… I imagine,
If, out of the blue, everybody took it up
To leap off cliffs or tall buildings,
You'd leap off them out of the purest orange.

Poetry Reading

One thing is certain: I will do the one about Ulysses.
I wrote it for class. It's a nice piece of work.
Very ironic, satirical, with a nice twist ending.
At least I thought it was nice, and I got an A.
It's in blank verse. I don't like blank verse. I use it a lot.
After that I'm a bit hazy, generally and specifically.
I had two hours of sleep last night, and one in the afternoon.
It is an hour before the reading.
I have poems, but they're not meant to be spoken.
I'll make a fool of myself - but isn't that the point?
I think I write this poetry so I can fail sometimes.
Not that I don't fail anyway, but it's nice
To do something with no question but it will be bad.
There's less pressure.
I sought advice last week from people back home
As to which poems I should read. My mother said,
"You write poetry?" My best friend said I should
Read a funny sort of poem so all the girls wouldn't swoon.
I told her they wouldn't swoon if I read Shakespeare
And bribed them.
They have some strange ideas about me back home.
Here I am, thinking, should I even go to the poetry reading?
With a fairly good poem about Ulysses,
And one that's no more than a cheap conceit?
Oh, well…I'm too tired for homework.
And you know something else? I don't think
I'll do the one about Ulysses.

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