(The following sonnet, limericks, haiku, and free verse were written in 12th grade for AP English assignments.)

Sonnet (1974)

Tonight I sit alone; and by my side
She sits and whispers softly in my ear.
I kiss the gentle count’nance of my bride.
The air that greets my lips is cold and drear.

Tonight I lie alone; I touch her hand.
It draws not back but tenderly responds.
Her fingers trickle ‘twixt mine like the sand.
But day doth break; I wake and break our bonds.

I am alone; and so cannot endure.
If life is such, then life I do not need.
The world has lost its one possession pure,
Yet I’ll recapture it with utmost speed.

No longer need I weep—Come, joyful Pain—
Tonight in Heaven shall we meet again.


Two limericks (1974)


There once was a lassie named Mary
Who expired, having had dysentery.
To amoebae be wise:
They’re strong for their size.
Too bad that our lass wasn’t wary.


There once was a fellow named Brahms.
Of his creative skill he had qualms.
Yet his trash can was lined
With stuff far more refined
Than that which nowadays comes.


Eight haiku (1974)


Each spring, people die
Because they are allergic
To busy bees’ stings.


In the summer sun,
People get heatstroke and die.
We drink lemonade.


Fall is pheasant time.
Sometimes hunters aren’t careful,
And they kill themselves.


Each year, winter comes,
And people die, having been
Buried in the snow.


The wombats burrow,
Which proves that they are dumb-dumbs.
They’re in a glass jar.


A rhinoceros
Impales me on his sharp horn.
My stars, how it hurts!


Haiku is quite strict.
Just seventeen syllables.
But this one has eighteen.


One nice thing about
Haiku is that it’s just long
Enough to say what


Solitude (1974)


Seeking solitude,

I ponder at pond’s edge.
I am accompanied by a chorus of philharmonic amphibians.
The night is light, for high above the full moon looms.
Billions of beams gambol gaily on the shimmering surface as a breeze blows.
The zephyr bears a myriad of sylvan sounds:
The scolding of an angry chipmunk,
The incessant chirps of cricket Romeos,
The somber admonitions of an owl, old and omniscient.

I ponder now upon my folly
Of seeking that which I have sought.
Descrying my amused despair,
A big black beetle goes to bed between my toes;
And so I know that I must share my solitude.