A neoteric evergreen
A new born novel youth
So recent, modern, immature
Immaculate and true
A righteous, well-intentioned girl
So worthy and correct
She lives a quite reserving life
As good as you'd expect
Yet deep inside I see a glow
Of unction, blush, and zeal
A penetrating eagerness
Absorbing, warm, and real
A spirit of pervading need
Emotion, mood, and grain
A sympathetic fantasy
A soul to ease my pain
Transversely crossed in synthesis
A intersecting twine
A dovetail joined embodiment
A braid both hers and mine
Her vestibule of origin
Her portico of source
Yes I've been through these hidden doors
And entered without force
But through this breach of purity
Though waters not untried
She has not lost the innocence
That flows from deep inside.
PUBLICATIONS: Vortex, mid-June 1995, East High School; and Scop, April 1996, Corning Community College.
HISTORY: In an effort to imitate the type of wordy/complex style
of another poet, Rodney Scouten, I used a thesaurus to create
this poem, another personal favorite.
A platonic friend, whom I admired, received this poem (written on
an index card) with one of my several letters to her. She later
told me she had kept it in her wallet for about two years.
Upset at the lack of attention it got in its first printed
appearance (in Vortex), I inserted it into a short story
that I had to write for my college composition class. The short
story (also titled "Sympathetic Fantasy") was later printed in
that year's Scop.
Once again, the poem got little attention since the story--about
a teenage male trying to come to terms with his unchosen
virginity--seemed too personal for other students to give me
their opinions about it.
The few responses that I did get about the story (mainly
from my parents) were, "Oh, it's about you." In other
words, people missed the point entirely. So, I decided
to forget storywriting and stick to poetry.
To return to my home page, click here.