A Poem for My Wife

I'm learning to simply accept these long gaps in posts. Not ideal for readers, but it's the best I can manage right now.

I wanted to share a poem with everyone. This is one that I wrote for my wife, Rihoko, for Valentine's Day. She was trying to figure out what I was planning for more than a week.

I am not a poet. My writing has always leaned strongly toward fiction. But I think poetry is a great method for any writer to stretch their muscles.

After looking at a few different forms of poetry I settled on the Villanelle. It was something new for me, and forced me to adhere to a certain form. I spent small pieces of time on it over the course of a week, finally settling on a draft that I could present to a few critique readers. Yes, I wanted to make sure it was the best poem I could write for her.

I presented the poem to her on the evening of Valentine's Day. We managed to get the kids to sleep on time and were planning on sitting down together, something we don't have the opportunity to do very often with the busy pace of our lives. I lit a few candles for atmosphere, and brought out a bottle of wine. i had actually filled our wine bucket with snow, which we had in abundance at that time. It did a great job of keeping the wine cold, but also looked a lot better than a pile of ice cubes. Then I handed her the journal.

I have several journals which have been gifted to me over time. I'm a writer, and that seems to be a natural option for others when shopping for my birthday or Christmas. Personally, I love it. I enjoy collecting journals, and force myself to work on filling them as frequently as possible.

I have one that was not being used, and decided to try something new to show my affection for Rihoko. Periodically, I would read through some of my books of poetry, trying to find something that would cause me to think of my wife. I've hand written in several poems, both classic and contemporary, that helped me to express my feelings. It was in this journal that I wrote out the poem I've included below. For me it was a much better choice than a dozen roses. Not only did I save money on the increased cost of flowers, but I gave my wife something personal, something she can cherish, something that is unique and hers alone.

Here is the poem I wrote for my eternal beloved, my wife, whom I love very much.

Every Day I Learn to Love You More
by Michael Colwill

Every day I learn to love you more,
and the bluebell brings a melody new;
the sun's caress is warmer than before.

At daybreak's hour, barefooted, you go for
a walk, lightly kissed by the morning's dew.
Every day I learn to love you more.

Tenderly alighting on earth's green floor
the ground trembles at the touch of you,
and the sun's caress is warmer than before.

The give and take of the waves on the shore,
our shaping of each other's heart adds to
my learning every day to love you more.

With a flower's sweet scent you awaken the core
of me, enticing my love your own to pursue.
The sun's caress is warmer than before.

So tread softly before my heart's door,
this key I've entrusted solely to you,
so every day I can learn to love you more.
Your caress, as sunlight, is warmer than before.

Writing Quote #25

"I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning and took out a comma. In the afternoon, I put it back in."

- Oscar Wilde

Writing Quote #24

"Every writer must acknowledge and be able to handle the unalterable fact that he has, in effect, given himself a life sentence in solitary confinement. The ordinary world of work is closed to him -- and that if he's lucky!"

- Peter Straub

Writing Quote #23

"Most people don't realize that writing is a craft. You have to take your apprenticeship in it like anything else."

- Katherine Ann Porter

Writing Quote #22

"The reader has certain rights. He bought your story. Think of this as an implicit contract. He's entitled to be entertained, instructed, amused; maybe all three. If he quits in the middle, or puts the books down feeling his time has been wasted, you're in violation."

- Lary Niven

Writing Quote #21

"My stories run up and bite me in the leg. I respond by writing them down - everything that goes on during the bite. When I finish, the idea lets go and runs off."

- Ray Bradbury

Writing Quote #20

"Words are the most powerful drug used by mankind."

- Rudyard Kipling

Writing Quote #19

The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar, and familiar things new."

- Samuel Johnson

Writing Quote #18

"It's none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way."

- Ernest Hemingway

Writing Quote #17

"Put weather in."

- Joseph Hansen

Writing Quote #16

"The first thing you have to consider when writing a novel is your story, and then your story--and then your story!"

- Ford Madox Ford

Writing Quote #15

"Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers."

- T. S. Eliot

Writing Quote #14

"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

- E. L. Doctorow

Writing Quote #13

"You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist."

- Isaac Asimov

Writing Quote #12

"A young musician plays scales in his room and only bores his family. A beginning writer, on the other hand, sometimes has the misfortune of getting into print."

- Marguerite Yourcenar

Writing Quote #11

"Pay attention to the sound of words."

- Dave Wolverton

Writing Quote #10

"Art is the manipulation of someone else's imagination."

- Sol Saks

Writing Quote #9

"It's hard for me to believe that people who read very little - or not at all in some cases - should presume to write and expect people to like what they have written. Can I be blunt on this subject? f you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time - or the tools - to write. Simple as that."

- Stephen King

Writing Quote #8

"I get up in the morning, torture a typewriter until it screams, then stop.

- Clarence Budington Kelland

Writing Quote #7

"The expert at anything was once a beginner."

- Rutherford B. Hayes