i wrote this in 1962, i believe it was during my freshman autumn semester at Vanderbilt. It was a lonely day after i learned someone i had a crush on had found someone else…in Cleveland. i’m glad it didn’t work out, not that i have anything against Cleveland. This remains one of my favorites. “All Is Calm” is included in my book, A Pocket of Resistance: Selected Poems, which is still available through me, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Author House.

All Is Calm

the sun is shining outside, but it is cold;
the sky is blue outside, but the trees are bare;
the wind whispers softly, but its coldness bites into the skin;
the windows reflect the sparkling sunshine, but the glare hurts the eyes.

i walked to the top of the hill and looked down on the lights of the city,
hoping to remember something beautiful and warm,
but the memories brought sadness
because they were of the past instead of the present;

a tear came to my eye, and the wind made the tear cold.
i was alone; the fact burned my heart as it chilled my soul;
i watched with sad amusement as two squirrels
in the lone tree on the hill chattered to one another;

i walked down the hill back to my lonely room,
four walls, bare lights, blaring radio, books, un-emptied ashtrays.

the sun is shining outside but it is cold;
the sky is blue outside, but the trees are bare;
the wind whispers softly but its coldness bites into the skin;
the windows reflect the sparkling sunshine;

but the glare hurts the eyes,
and all is calm
but yet…