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    AC Benus
  • AC Benus
  • Author
  • 05/25/2016
  • 319 Words
  • 949 Views
  • 4 Comments
Poetry posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

My Twentieth Year - 19. Qu'est-ce que l'amour?

Poem No. 39

 

Qu'est-ce que l'amour?

that is the principal question

asked by some before.

 

I saw the door ajar

and wished I could

pry it some more –

to inch it with purpose.

 

-------

 

Only once was man given the sublime

and he can't see it;

thinks it's in something else.

How wrong he is.

I hope he finds the spark

of the true rhyme

that was given to us.

The one spark, that was given

and not made.

 

 

Poem No. 40

 

I.

When the City of the Saint

Was the city of the West,

When all was fresh and new with paint,

This and the spring of '46 were at their best.

 

From the East a young man came

For an adventure to find,

Francis Parkman was his wealthy name,

And a guide is what he needed to be signed.

 

From the West a young man came

To the city that gave him birth,

Henri Chantillon was his name,

And a guide from the age of fifteen was his worth.

 

The two men came to the western city

One in search of his manhood in the West,

One for a break in his life of things pretty,

They didn't know they'd meet; they couldn't have guessed.

 

II.

Different men they were for sure

One a happy Easterner,

Who had never a hardship to endure,

Indians and Adventure were the West's big lure.

 

For the other had become

A man among his brothers,

His heart was one with the meaning of the Chisum,

His mind saw as brightly as the others.[1]

 

…..

 

 

 

 

[1] This is the opening fragment of an epic poem I had in mind based on the accounts from Francis Parkman's 1849 book The Oregon Trail. As you can see, I did not get very far.

Copyright © 2017 AC Benus; All Rights Reserved.
  • Like 7
Poetry posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Chapter Comments

AC Benus
On 05/26/2016 10:07 AM, Parker Owens said:

I find number 39 stands up to repeated re-reading. I like this immensely. It will return to me in moments when I must face my inmost self, and the true rhyme for which I was made. I do not know the story of Francis Parkman, but I am now interested. Thank you for your 19th chapter.

Thanks for a great review, Parker. I'm aware that No. 40 is a scrap, and perhaps was just a concept that got a few words out of me. Incidentally, years later I encountered Parkman again in Katz's "Gay American History" where "The Organ Trail" is quoted for a lovely passage. Parkman was stuck by the partnership of two Native American young men, and wrote clearly about the romantic and manly bonds he witnessed on the Trail.

 

Thank you again for all your support :)

AC Benus
On 05/28/2016 01:01 PM, Mikiesboy said:

39 to me is almost religious. I've read it several times but it seems to call me back, like there are secrets hidden that I feel are there, but cannot simply see.

40 I liked .. I wish you look into finishing it.

Wonder view into your talent and imagination, AC. Thank you.

tim

Thanks, Tim. I appreciate the great review, and getting the feedback. I think your comments on No. 39 are wonderful.

 

Thank you for your support :)

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