For Sentimental Reasons

For Sentimental Reasons

            “My beer-drunk soul is sadder than all the Christmas trees

            of the world.”  - Charles Bukowski

 

 

another year has gone

leaving me to reflect upon

old acquaintances

and lovers

 

to transitorily  hypothesize

if you still wear baseball caps backwards

or read prose by Robert Frost

on nights when you can’t sleep

 

if you still smoke Marlboro cigarettes

and drive a red flatbed ford

that plays the static of talk radio,

and if on occasion

when the moon is full

 think of me

 

the dichotomy  of pros and cons

and the Irish in me agree

you were the one that got away

 

but on occasion,

a Cabernet Sauvignon

often relinquishes thoughts of you

for sentimental reasons.

 

Reviews

[Fran Marie]

An apt title for such a sensitive
piece of poetry, those sentimental
feelings of memories well replayed
in the mind can cause mixed emotions
nice and sad mingle and can bring on
the Blues..another glass of wine
perhaps to chase them away

Nice Work....

[Kelly Scheppers]

...another glass of wine, indeed! I like the way you think, Fran! Thank you!

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Fantastic, I say! But the poem had more shades of Rod McKuen than Bukowski in my humble opinion; the revisiting of old relationships leaving the readers teary-eyed fools of nostalgic sentiment. The Irish in me is empathetic while the Scot in me protests the Cabernet Sauvignon and craves some Chateau Largo. (smile) But I'm afraid I'm not going to have either since I no longer imbibe. But have a glass for me. (Note: the Chateau Largo was deemed "undrinkable" by the critics in 2016 ) But what's that to folks who eats innards and oatmeal prepared in a sheep's stomach? (Haggis) I don't wear kilts either.

[Kelly Scheppers]

That's quite the compliment, considering he was the very first poet I ever read! I have several of his books, too. My mom would buy them for me every birthday and Christmas, inscribing her name to a "wonderful poet of a daughter". I still run my fingers over her inscription, and feel the love. I will raise a glass to you, my new friend. Thank you!

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Now THAT is a sweet story! The critics vociferously hated McKuen and his work. The public bought over 60 million copies of his books and hundreds of millions of copies of his music and songs. His books sold over 1 million copies in 1968 alone. His great appeal was to sentimentality and the people loved it. He won a Grammy for his spoken word album and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in music and played at Carnegie Hall. The lesson there is that the critics do not control popular opinion.

[Kelly Scheppers]

I was once told the definition of a critic. A critic is a person who tells an eyewitness to an accident what he saw. In this case, I'd say it's so!

[Fabian G. Franklin]

I like that. ;)

[Pete]

first off - love your title and accompanying quote. top-notch sentiments in a neat little package. such a reflective ease but poignancy in your words. we are never alone when we have comforting memories to embrace. i love it ... :)

[Kelly Scheppers]

Isn't that a great quote? Thank you, Pete! Hope all is well in bean town!

[Ken Simm.]

Such a beautiful ,gossamer romance here. The memories flit across the write like proper memories do. If that is not too clumsy a phrase for such a lovely layered romance.

[Kelly Scheppers]

So kind of you to say, Ken! Thank you!

[Neville]

Besides the obvious, these words introduce so many subliminal messages and images that I just want to grab a glass of red and lay down quiet somewhere & enjoy them .. This is poetry penned the proper way Kelly .. and whilst you may not post often, jeez when you do, I invariably feel a spark and flutter ......

Stay good .. Neville :)

[Kelly Scheppers]

It seems the equations of love have served me well through the years. Thank you my friend!

[Gee]

I guess I'm lucky that my special one chose me and then allowed me the privilege of sharing her life for 30 years ( and hopefully many more)
What a lovely piece of writing Kelly
Good morning, Hope you are well

[Kelly Scheppers]

Thank you so much, Gordon. I finally kicked Covid and feeling great!

[Elyne Knight]

Ah, so evocative! Your imagery is, again, fabulous - I feel like I can almost see the narrator lounging on a chaise, sipping her wine and reminiscing about that baseball cap and Frost. Somehow the specificity of the details captures the universality of the feeling - none of my lovers had baseball caps, but reading this brings a flood of my own specific memories and all the associated emotions. It's such a neat trick, I wish I could emulate it! Thank you for sharing this.

[Kelly Scheppers]

Thank you, Elyne! So glad you enjoyed it!

[Lisasview]

Well, good wine..(or not so good wine) has a way of bringing back memories..Good and bad.
Enjoyed reading another poem of yours..
I kept the best one...while the others got away...
Lisa

[Kelly Scheppers]

Good for you, Lisa...good for you! Thank you so much!

[Lisasview]

You are most welcome..

[Relic]

I can think of about three or four that got away. The older I get, the more I wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Guess I'll never know. :))

[Kelly Scheppers]

Lol, that's a good one, Tim! Perhaps it's for the better.

[KATHY SUE SILLS]

I believe most can relate to this well written poem!

So many awesome lines!