Stories

Strolls; encounters; kisses through closed gates; lighted windows seen from below; rumpled bedsheets turning up men’s shirts . . . These are just a few of the images in August Stramm’s poetry collection titled “DU” (“THOU”).

What follows is a complete, fresh-look translation of the thirty-one poems of this set.

I'd crushed on other guys before, my cousin Jericho was my first experience with pure, unadulterated love.

Two men in a train compartment. One man thinks he may have shocked the other, who springs a surprise of his own.

An unfinished and cursed piano composition travels through three centuries, mysteriously intertwining the lives of two great artists. One was the brilliant composer of the work, the other became its celebrated performer.

The story starts with the fortunate discovery of a manuscript in the over-cover of the original score. From the mid-19th century it concludes at the dawn of the third millennium.

“The wound caused by a sword can eventually be healed; the hurt resulted from vicious remarks can never be undone.”

Under the rule of the Second Emperor of the Guan Dynasty, the Empire has begun to fall into civil ruin, with conspiracies running rampant and political unrest echoing throughout the land.

Yan Rui, a peasant of the lowest caste, has always been ugly since he could remember. Harassed and ridiculed because of his looks, the most he can do to stay alive is lick the feet of the wealthy and pray for scraps.

But when a blind man stumbles into his life, even the ugliest person can have a heart of gold.

The world's oldest known epic poem is a story of the love of two men. This is my take on the Epic of Gilgamesh, in brief.

A romance suggested by the song "Waltzing with Bears," a song by Dale Marxen adapted from the Dr. Seuss song of the same name. Although the "present day" of the story is 2011, the events related in it take place in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.

A romance inspired by two photographs from the late 19th century. Some of the historical details and people of the story are from the actual history of Franklin, NH; others, including the two main characters, are fictional. I have changed their names from the names written on the backs of the photographs.

A lot can occur in a single day, and this day starts with Virgil Pruitt riding into a sad, struggling Texas town seven years after the end of the Mexican-American War. Sometimes it's not easy to be a good man, one who calls out unfair hate when he sees it, but Virgil doesn't always look for easy. Will he pay the price for being such a man, or will he be rewarded for standing up for young Wyatt Burnham?

This is the story of two high-schoolers in the mid-70s growing closer and learning about life and love in rural Ohio. All songs and key phrases are linked to a video.