It is the poet's humble hope that his more attentive reader will find these lines diverting rather than merely pathetic.


he tells himself


it had been awhile
since he'd heard from her
he tells himself
and anyway
this cannot be the way
the heart speaks
he tells himself
that expression cannot be
taken quite so literally
he tells himself
and though he knows
only
her name
in his
in-box
makes his
heart miss
--a
beat he
has to tell himself
something doesn't he
he tells himself
and doesn't he



Poetry by Rob Graber
Read 1213 times
Written on 2007-05-13 at 00:03

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F.i.in.e Moods The PoetBay support member heart!
ah yes, I remember this one :) still gives me the same effect... just excellent. Heart skipping beats, the anticipation grabs hold of me... so very good.
2014-03-14


melanie sue
Definately an interesting construction. Strange how sometimes just viewing a name can trigger the irrational side of emotions. I liked this very much.
2009-01-03


Stine Mari Thomassen
this poem is beautyful! you are a true artist who write such lovely art!
2007-05-21


Elle The PoetBay support member heart!
Its not pathetic, and I think many of us can relate to just this feeling - we all long for that one name, that makes the heart skip a beat :)

Elle x
2007-05-15



Well, then, he probably does!
I agree with F.i.n.e Moods: "pathetic" is definitely no fitting adjective for your texts.
2007-05-14


Peter Humphreys
We often tell ourselves many things with which the heart, the instinct, the emotions do not concur. But to which do we listen, intuition or reason? This certainly had my attention, Rob. Thanks.
2007-05-13


F.i.in.e Moods The PoetBay support member heart!
pathetic? hm... honestly that word doesn't fit with your writing, ever? :)

i really like this text... got my mind going ;) so here goes hehe... :)

because of "that expression cannot be, taken quite so literally" and italics on "her" in line 13 it makes me think that this missed beat isn't necessarily about a person...

"makes his
heart miss
--a
beat he"

- the visual helped accentuate the words' meaning here, i find... it breaks the cadence visually, making a forced difference in the flow... -- is the missed beat, the pause... "a, beat he" is when the heart tries to catch the missed beat; the pace is uneven and accelerated... that's the effect your visual has for me when i read this part... :)

"has to tell himself
something doesn't he
he tells himself
and doesn't he"

- i love this conclusion :D there's a twist in these lines... and its effect is really pleasing... now those lines are stuck in my mind lol

and sur ce, i leave a satisfied reader lol ;) an enjoyable read your text is, it was fun to spend time on its intricacies, thanks... :) *hugs* xx
2007-05-13



i don't know about other readers, but i myself do not find this poem pathetic...this inner battle of "him" and "himself" (that can also take the form of "her" and "herself", if i may say so...) is not only related to missing heart beats, but to missing someone dear...and how could this sound/be pathetic?! i, for instance, find this poem quite interesting...my dear Rob, i believe you have demonstrated that when you decide to leave the sonnet aside, you can write some very complex poems...*bookmarked for this reason!
Lilly xxx
2007-05-13


Hagzissa
The heart and the mind doesn't always speak the same language, that's for sure....

"that expression cannot be
taken quite so literally"

Well... sometimes you have to read the lines in between....

However... I really liked this text. Got my mind to start working over-time, :)

Well written indeed
2007-05-13