******OUR POETRY ARCHIVE******: BARBARA EHRENTREU

Monday, April 1, 2019

BARBARA EHRENTREU

TO CATCH THE UNIVERSE

I hold my jar up to the sky

with its sunset vermillion scattered clouds

trying to capture the universe

the beams of starlight floating in the air

and the globes of the planets out of my sight

and yet somehow their essence

shines above and I try so hard

to squeeze it inside of my glass jar

but all i can see is the brilliance of

the turquoise outer realm

too distant for me to attain

and realize I can never contain

the enormity of the universe

but I can only hope that

some of its splendor will seep

into my soul as I gaze in wonder

at the expanse above me.

THOUGHTS ABOUT VERNAL DAYS AND BUTTERFLIES AND THE UNKNOWN FEELING IN THE SPRING BREEZES

After the vernal equinox people’s thoughts

turn to venereal pleasures as the

bursting blooms create the desire to

seek out new adventures in the

vernal splendor of each day

This invisible force appears as the aroma

of the newly grown grass merges with

the sweet smells of blossoming trees

creating an urge to explore and an

indescribable feeling that something

is waiting – an unknown that will be amazing

Maybe this time he or she will meet the

one and fly together like butterflies

mating in the air as they follow their own urges

And maybe a butterfly is the best example of this

vernal urge as it struggles from caterpillar body

to cocoon until at last it springs forth as a

multicolored beauty with gossamer wings

Do butterflies feel that quickening of their pulses

from the warm breeze flowing on their wings?

Humans follow their urges as they explore

Visiting here and there to search for the one

who will make them feel complete

Perhaps it will happen as they listen to a piano concerto

with someone new who is there as an experiment

to test the water and see if this one is the right fit

Much as one sorts through an assortment of music

to find the piece that will speak to them the most

Butterflies flitter over many until they find the right mates

and procreate without protection -- without heed of venereal disease

And perhaps if the moment is right a human may find a

suitable mate –one who speaks to the source of their desire

and if they are lucky – one who will make them feel complete

Remembering vernal days of my late teens

when life had strong possibilities and I had yet to find

my one – the rush of unknown adventures flooded my senses

as I breathed in the heady spring air

And I wanted to fly away

with this unknown excitement burning inside

as if being pulled to the center of the sun

The giddy wonder of finally finding my someone

and realizing he would complete me

as the vernal days wrapped us in their wonder

and we succumbed to the glory of the flowers.

A RIVER ALONE

Watch a leaf float down the river

It’s not controlled by anything but the current

pushing it in the direction of the flow

Not caring for the desires of the leaf

Though leaves have no desires

except to grow and then are tossed

away to disintegrate in the soil or the water

My life has felt a little like that at times

As if something or someone were

moving me without my knowledge

toward a destination unknown

And I have drifted in solitude

as each new experience

moves me ever closer to that far off place

I ride the current

as if I were surfboarding

Ducking the waves as they

form around me from the

wake of the thing that is

propelling me along this

river of life and never once

taking my hands off the reins

as I swerve and glide over the bumps

Life is driving the boat that is pulling me along

And many times, though I would like to yell, Stop!

This captain does not listen but continues

blissfully onward no matter the barriers

And I the rider hang on as I careen

joyfully on the obstacle-strewn waters

surrounding me on my journey

BARBARA EHRENTREU

BARBARA EHRENTREU: Barbara, a retired teacher with a Masters degree in Reading and Writing K-12 and seventeen years of teaching experience lives with her family in Stamford, Connecticut. She has been a Staff Editor for 4RV Publications for six years and also works as an editor for 3BPress. She has edited both children’s and adult works. Her young adult novels: If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor and After are published by Muse It Up Publishing. A poetry book in memory to her husband: You’ll Probably Forget Me: Living With and Without Hal was published by Wildfire Publications. Her romantic short screenplay won First Prize and Runner Up this summer at film festivals. She is the Chief Administrator for the U S for Motivational Strips on Facebook. She is a member of Greenwich Pen Women and SCBWI.