Bonus Poem of the Week: A Villanelle on Villanelles

How are you, readers?

Earlier this week, I received a request from my most recent subscriber, Deelaytful, to try my hand at a style of poetry that I hadn’t attempted since my college days. As a result, I have managed to compose for you all the first official villanelle I have ever written for this blog, the aptly named A Villanelle on Villanelles. Without further ado, then…

*****

A Villanelle on Villanelles
April 15, 2013

It ain’t easy writing a villanelle.
You can do this, you can do that.
It’s a tricky style, as you can tell.

Write one word wrong, the whole piece goes to Hell,
And you might as well feed it to your cat.
It ain’t easy writing a villanelle.

Write one syllable too many? Oh, well…
None say ‘twill be perfect right off the bat.
It’s a tricky style, as you can tell.

Trial and error, though, will teach you well
In getting the format down pat.
It ain’t easy writing a villanelle.

Paying attention to details will tell
Where the most difficult parts are at.
It’s a tricky style, as you can tell.

Learn from it all, and things will turn out swell,
Even if not quite in no time flat.
It ain’t easy writing a villanelle.
It’s a tricky style, as you can tell.

*****

And there you have it–my first villanelle here on AuthorDustinWeber.Wordpress.com. As stated earlier, it’s been a while since I’d last written a poem of this nature, so please, those of you who are familiar with villanelles, feel free to offer me constructive criticism in the instance that I’ve fallen short of doing this style of poetry any justice. Otherwise, I’d like to thank you all for stopping by once again, and as always, be sure to check out my author pages at Smashwords.com, Amazon.com, and Amazon.co.uk to check out my current list of publications. Otherwise, until next time, happy reading!

Regards,
Dustin M. Weber

Poem of the Week: So Hard for So Long

Hey, readers!

As promised for this week, I’m back with a more recent composition of mine that I’d like to share with you all—a little haiku chain similar to Folks Who Won’t Let Go and WTH is Wrong with This Fanfic? That I’ve simply entitle So Hard for So Long. Without further ado, then, enjoy!

*****

So Hard for So Long
September 15, 2012

So hard for so long,
And I feel things already
Are slipping away.
I feel like I have
Suddenly fallen into
A rut and need to
Take a step back ‘fore
I find myself burning out
On this one thing I’ve
Been preoccupied
With this entire time. What
To do during this
Short break, however?
Really now, what can I do
To keep myself on
Top of things and keep
Myself from falling behind
In my ultimate
Objective to take
My chose field by storm? Hmm…
Well, if nothing else,
I can always start
A new project any time
I want to, so why
Don’t I do just that?
Yeah, looks like I might have to…
But wait! Something’s just
Occurred to me. Don’t
I have a deadline to meet
With yet another
Project I’d started
Not too long ago? After
All, I did make a
Promise to get the
Doggone thing done by “Date X,”
And yet I’ve been so
Lazy in terms of
Keeping up with that, so I
Might as well finish
That which I’d started,
Right? Right…except for one small
Thing: I’ve already
Spent all morning on
It, and if I were to spend
Another minute
On the thing, my brain
Would melt out of my head like
That butter that’s poured
On popcorn at film
Theaters, so I guess I’d
Better find something
Else to do to bide
My time until the next time
I feel ambitious
To devote the time
To that project. Let me see…
Oh! I know. Why don’t
I read a book for
Once and perchance switch my brain
To “absorption mode”
In hopes of getting
A new idea or two
For my next project?
Yeah, there’s a notion,
Except for one small problem:
I’ve already read
Every single
Book in my library from
Cover to cover,
And I honestly
See no point in reading a
Single one of them
All over again
Any time soon. The very
Idea’s nothing
But redundant in
The grand scheme of things, so I
Guess that plan’s not an
Option for me at
This point…but wait! I’ve got this
One DVD in
My collection of
Old movies that I’ve yet to
Watch. Who knows? Maybe
It will give me an
Idea or two to work
With in my next work.
Yeah, gee…what a plan!
Why didn’t I think of that
Before? Eh…who cares?
Let me just pull the
Thing out and…hang on…It’s gone.
Oh, wait—that’s right…damn!
I forgot that I’d
Lent said movie to a friend
To watch over the
Weekend, so I won’t
Have it back until Monday
Morning. What a drag.
Oh, well…it’s getting
Late anyway, and guess what:
I’m actually
Getting tired, so
It’s lights out for me for now.
Hopefully, though, I’ll
Be more on top of
Things tomorrow morning, and
I’ll get right to work
With whatever plan
I commit to that day, be
It finishing my
Current project or
Starting up a brand new one.
Either way, my mind
Will be much sharper
Than it is right now. With that
In mind, then, sorry,
Folks, but trust me when
I say that tomorrow will
Be a brand new day
Not only for you,
But for me as well. Until
Then…happy reading!

*****

Yeah…I figured it was time to give it a rest with rhyme schemes this time around and offer you folks a little something that’s both familiar and fresh as far as this blog goes. Therefore, I hope you liked this week’s “Poem of the Week” and will tune in next week, where I hope to provide you with yet another more recent composition. Until then, thank you all once again for stopping by and checking my stuff out, and as always, please visit my author page at Smashwords.com for current and future ebook releases and follow me on Twitter @DustinMWeber. Other than that, happy reading!

Regards,
Dustin M. Weber

Poem of the Week: Stale

Hey, readers!

Well, it’s officially here…the autumn of 2012—at least, of course, as far as where I’m from is concerned. To be brutally honest, too, I was really looking forward to a productive week this past week as usual, but sorry as I am to say it, such wasn’t the case. Rather than kvetch and carry on about it, however, I’ve chosen to share with you a poem that reflects my current attitude about the situation, so without further ado, here’s the first “Poem of the Week” of this season, Stale.

*****

Stale

July 2, 2012

 

Stale…that’s what I’m getting.

I need to take a new direction, and fast,

For at the rate I’ve been going, I’ll soon be forgetting

An important lesson I once learned in the past.

“Variety is the spice of life,” after all—

An old saying that proves true, even today—

And now has come the time for me to heed the call

And present my thoughts to the world in a different way.

For example, look at all the musicians out there

Who keep singing the same old song on the radio,

Pandering to the audiences who first helped them get there

And not daring to try anything new and grow

As recording artists in a dry, dead world—

A wasteland of thought where very little develops,

A ruined warzone where no victory flag’s been unfurled,

A place where darkness and despair have enveloped

The whole of human though, which is a crying shame.

Truth be told, though, ‘tis not just music that’s in trouble,

For television and cinema are equally to blame

For not having the guts to burst this proverbial bubble

That the world is now within, where thought’s no longer free,

But instead chained to the notion of catering to the masses.

Talent matters no longer, only profitability,

And the whole thing makes the entertainment scene seem classless.

Who knows, then? Maybe books now hold the key

Just like they have time and again in the past.

Here’s hoping, then, that the literary realm will see

A movement of growth with the promise to last

Years upon years, perhaps even a few decades

With the interest in books to accompany it,

And I’ll be sure to do my part to see this stage being made,

Poem by poem, novel by novel—however I see fit.

Imagination shouldn’t die, and certainly not creativity,

And we all must do our share to see to their survival.

New ideas, new creations—that’s how things have got to be

If this new age of which I speak ever sees its arrival.

Come with me then, ladies and gents, on this new journey,

For with all our notions united, we’ll prevail,

And soon the lifting of this veil of ignorance we shall see,

And at least for a long while, we shan’t fear growing stale.

*****

That should do it for this week. Feel free to leave feedback on this work (as well as all other works of mine, as per your inclination), and as always, thanks for checking out my blog, and be sure to visit my author page at Smashwords.com for current and future releases, and please follow me on Twitter @DustinMWeber. Otherwise, folks, happy reading!

Regards,

Dustin M. Weber

Poem of the Week: Visions of Love

Welcome back, readers!

Well, folks, here it is…the final “Poem of the Week” for the summer of 2012. This time around, I’ve a classic love poem to share with you all…a poem about love that has been lost and never reclaimed and the consequences that the narrator now endures on account of not having taken a chance on building a relationship with the woman whom he is addressing. Words of a hopeless romantic? Perhaps, but hopefully, words that one can relate to all the same, especially when it comes to high school or even childhood sweethearts with whom one has yet to reunite after years upon years. At any rate, please enjoy.

*****

Visions of Love

August 23, 2012

 

Have you ever had that moment when you just can’t find the words

To something you simply must say, whether it need be read or heard?

Have you ever had that thought that you absolutely have to share,

Yet no mater how you try to say it, you just can’t get anywhere?

I certainly have, I can tell you that much, for as long as I can recall,

I’ve had something on my mind, yet my brain’s been on permanent stall—

At least until now, but only because the inspiration’s now fresh,

So let me share with you this message of mine the one way I know best.

For so many years now, sweetheart, I’ve been thinking ‘bout you left and right.

Thoughts of you haunt me during the day, and I so often dream of you at night.

Both memories of what we once had and visions of what should’ve been

Flash before my eyes like nothing else in my life I’ve ever seen,

And no matter what I do to shut them out—no matter what I say or do—

As Duran Duran once said, “Still I can’t escape the ghost of you.”

What’s worse is just how long it’s been since you and I were last together

And how long I’ve spent all by myself enduring all kinds of weather

Without you to hold in my arms at night, your hand to hold during the day,

Your doting gaze to meet my own and let me know things’ll be okay,

Your tender caress across my face, your kiss so moist and soft,

Your loving words to bestow me with the courage to stay aloft.

Needless to say, many’s been the day when I’ve wished you were here,

Yet for so long, you’ve been away, and now how I miss you, my dear.

If only I’d the backbone to say so before you and I went our separate ways,

Then only Heaven knows where we both would be unto this very day.

Hopefully, we’d be married—you and me, husband and wife,

Living happily ever after throughout the rest of our conjoined life.

Maybe things wouldn’t be quite so romantic. In fact, things just might be worse,

And all we’d do to patch things up would fail to alleviate the curse—

A curse that’d have been bestowed upon us to forever keep us apart,

Destined to keep you away from me and to carve a hole in my heart.

Either way, I’d have taken the chance in hopes of making you mine

And seeing to it that our union would last until the end of time.

Hopefully, then, in the next life—that is, of course, if you believe in such stuff—

You and I will cross and share paths, which hopefully shan’t be too rough.

Until that time comes, though, I’m afraid all I can do is dream

And hope that such a reality isn’t as farfetched as it seems.

After all, I refuse to refute the fact that I love you so,

And had I only been brave and wise enough in the past, I’d have never let you go.

*****

And that should conclude this season’s worth of “Poems of the Week.” Hopefully, my next post will be something a little different from poetry—a short story, perhaps, or maybe a continuation of one of my “In Relation to my Work” segments or even an announcement regarding my latest novel, UWWX: The Underground Women’s Wrestling Xperiment. Whatever the case, I realize that I’m in serious need of changing things up once again, and I can assure you all that one way or another, my next post will indeed do just that. Until then, however, please carry on checking out my author page at Smashwords.com and following me on Twitter @DustinMWeber, and as always, happy reading!

Regards,

Dustin M. Weber

Poem of the Week: Up & Down

Welcome back, readers!

Sorry this past week has been kind of slow on this blog, but I promise you that once UWWX: The Women’s Wrestling Xperiment is finally edited, things will pick up. In the meantime, I hope this week’s “Poem of the Week,” which chronicles one man’s struggle with anxiety and depression, makes up for the lack of posts I’ve produced this month so far.

*****

Up & Down

July 12, 2012

 

Up and down, hot and cold,

That’s how I’ll be even when I’m old.

Sometimes I’m happy, other times sad,

Sometimes hopeful, other times mad.

Never am I balanced, never serene,

Always a whirlwind, if you know what I mean:

Not exactly dazed, but still confused,

I’ve smarts, but I still chance to blow a fuse

Inside this cross-wired brain of mine,

Making me wish I could jaunt back in time

To at least look back and understand

Just how I became such a messed-up man.

Then again, why bother reopening old wounds

When I’d be better off finding some help soon?

Not through meds, either; they’re just temporary.

Plus, the side effects are just plain scary.

Counseling, maybe? Psh! Not a chance!

I’ve had it with doing the “Mind Games Dance.”

Every shrink I’ve been to has been nothing but a joke,

And the cash I’ve given them has all gone up in smoke.

They’re either wishy-washy and don’t teach me squat

Or insensitive clods with no heart left to rot,

So guess what: Here I am on my own,

Dealing with something that’s cutting me to the bone,

And I’m so tired of feeling this way,

So I guess it’s up to me, starting today,

To forge my own path in purging my stress

Before it puts me under further duress

And screw my heels in when it comes to life

And teach myself to cope with my own strife.

After all, why rely on anyone else

When no one knows me better than myself?

I know my own problems. I know my own flaws,

So why shouldn’t self-betterment be my own cause?

That’s it, then! My mind’s all made up.

The chips are down, and I’ve had enough

Starting today, things’ll change for the better,

And no more shall I remain so fettered,

For I’ve finally figured out what to do

And someday, I hope to break through

And live normally like everyone else,

No longer feeling sorry for myself.

No more ups and downs, no more going hot and cold,

No more feeling how I’ll be when I grow old.

It may take a while—probably next to forever,

But in the end, I see myself achieving this endeavor.

*****

And that should do it for this week. Thank you all very much for checking out my blog today, and as always, follow me on Twitter @DustinMWeber and keep your eyes open on my author page at Smashwords.com to see when UWWX will be available and to check out any of my other works. Until next time, then, happy reading!

Regards,

Dustin M. Weber