Gregory Gunn’s most recent poem to appear here was “Surviving Modern Thermopylae” (November 2016)

The Bard of Byron
By Gregory Gunn

To surrender the ecstasy of hopelessness,
The elation of melancholy, the joy of its
Expression in a sweeter metre mellifluous,
And all de rigueur that the robust heart inhibits;
To renounce the order and efficiency,
Of versifying as an intellectual
Desertion, or much the same as poverty,
Or as a cloudy day’s ineffectual
Bright sun; to eye contentment is inarticulate,
And the immensity of vast despair, now silent,
Is the final feat believed to be great,
The calming madrigal & lute strings violent.
Melodic lines commence in innocence, though
They tend to often end within unending woe.