Selected Poems of William H. Grimball

By William H. Grimball

Bound in leather and printed on archival quality paper with gilded page ends, the first edition of the Selected Poems of William H. Grimball is a treasure. This e-book puts the highly crafted poems on your Kindle, Nook, or other device at a fraction of the cost. The poems cover a wide variety of subjects but concentrate on themes of love, faith, and death. Using simple and complex rhyme combinations, the author presents ideas in a memorable manner that will give you pleasure and food for thought for years to come. This e-book is a gem worth your while.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503547209

William H. Grimball

Billy Grimball began writing poetry in high school and has continued to write poems ever since. Since his retirement from the practice of law, he has had the time to collect and publish his first book of poems. His poems are highly crafted and follow both simple and complex rhyme schemes. In his book, you will find sonnets, both Petrarchan and Shakespearian, and also villanelles, as well as other rhyme forms. He believes that in order for a poem to be memorable, it must find a place in the reader’s mind, and that a poem that rhymes is easier to make stick. He and his wife live in Norfolk, Virginia.

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Copyright © 2015 by William H. Grimball.

ISBN:      Softcover        978-1-5035-4721-6

                 eBook            978-1-5035-4720-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 03/10/2015

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A leather-bound, first edition of this book may be obtained from the author. Contact him at [e-mail]

Contents

Dedication

Preface

Preface—The Art Of Poetry

13 October 2007

14 February

Africa

Again

Alone

America

Americans

April 24, 1999

April 4, 1994

Argos

Art

Au Revoir

Back

Balloonwalk

Beauty

Bells

Blair

Blessing

Bohicket Road

Call

Carry On

Catherine

Cellist

Chain

Change

Check

Cheese

Child

Childsong

Choice

Choices

Christmas Blessing

Church

Confirmation

Cross

Crusader

Crusaders

Curiosity

Dad

Danger

Dawn

Decorations

Deepwood

Demons

Desire

Discipline

Doctor Jack

Dominoes

Drinking Song

Dying

Easter

Easter Sunday

Edisto

Endgame

Ending

Epitaph

Eurodollars

Evergreen

Example

Expectation

Face

Fire

For You

Frieda

Friend

Future

Generations

Ghosts

Go

Gone

Gone West

Grace

Grace In Victory

Guide

Guynemer

Hark!

Holes

How Long

Hunt

Hurricane

Immortality

In Memoriam: George C. Hart

Inky

Insanity

Iraq

Ivan

Jesus

Keillor 67

Kosovo

Krak

Late

Lent

Light

Lights

Living

Lola

Lover

Lytle

Magdelene

Marine

Marines

Marines Hymn

Master

Matter

Meeting

Memory

Meteors

Millenial

Mirror

Mitch

Moon

Mornings

Mother

Mrs. Bacon’s Garden

Mylove

Nanking

Nemesis

Nineleven

Nobility

North Hill

Nra

Obedience

Oblivion

Old

Paint

Palestine

Palm Sunday

Passage

Pavarotti

Pen

Pensacola

Pensacola Naval Aviation

Perseverance

Picnic

Prodigal

Promise

Pursuit

Rainbow

Rats

Reckoning

Reliance

Remember

Restoration

Return

Ribbons

River

Road

Rose

Rule

Saint

Salome

Science

Scuppernong

Service

Shame

Sharapova

Shepherd

Silence

Sing!

Smiles

St Andrew

St Michael’s Angels

Standard

Star

Stars

Summer

Summons

Tablets

Terror

The Vision

The Visit

Thomas

Toast

Triumph

Truth

Truth And Beauty

Unique

University

Unveiling

Vision

Voices

Voyager 2

Wages

Waiting

Washington

Watchers

Water

Weeds

Widow

Widow’s Riposte

Wife

Wisdom

Wise Men

Wonder

Word

You

Dedication

Three thousand books a day come off the press

And shall I add to these another one?

The writing of it really has been fun

As my good readers easily may guess.

In here you find at least my very best

And I thank God that I can say I’m done.

When through the presses all these books have run

Some pride in authorship I must confess.

To Kenneth Hauck, I dedicate this book

Who taught the best of the poetic art.

And she whose inspiration made me work

The credit goes to my friend Georgia Hart.

The one has taught me the much needed skill

The other fired me with drive and will.

ADDITIONAL THANKS

TO

MGEN JOHN B. GRIMBALL HELEN C. BRANDENBURG ANDREW S. GRIMBALL AND GEORGIA HERBERT HART Who participated in the selection of the poems included in this volume.

Preface

Dear Reader, You will find no mystery here

But ideas I trust you will understand

Set forth in simplest words at my command

For truth and beauty shine best in the clear.

Those poems crafted with some skill and care

Stand out like diamonds in a pile of sand.

And if a poem the test of time would stand

Then in your mind, some thought will hold it there.

I hope, dear Reader, these will fill the bill

And make your time spent with them well worthwhile

I trust that herein some thought will fulfill.

And maintain interest with a bit of style.

I wish both to delight and entertain

By what you find these pages will contain.

Preface—The Art Of Poetry

Since writers ran away from verse and rhyme,

The art of poetry has gone to rot

A paragraph, a poem, I think not!

Some writing can be beautiful and fine

If poetry, then vinegar is wine.

Not like the poetry that is well wrought

By talent, skill and concentrated thought,

That is the work that stands the test of time.

Desire for trendy junk is often taught.

The stuff of laziness and all its kin

Set at high price and by the many bought

Who never know they have been taken in.

Philistines live for constant novelty

Discerning readers read real poetry.

13 October 2007

We come here on this day called ten-thirteen

To wish you luck and send you on your way

And to commemorate this happy day

For you are both held high in our esteem.

And we are pleased to be part of your team.

And so to you we raise our glass and say:

"Good luck to you and triumph, come what may

And may this day begin your cherished dream."

We know not what the future years will bring

But we are glad to be part of your show

And if we laugh and love and play and sing.

Our love will grow and spread a happy glow.

Some day, a memory to always treasure

We shall remember this fine day with pleasure.

14 February

Whenever in your secret heart

You’re feeling sad or blue

Remember there is someone

Who often thinks of you.

For when he’s feeling lonely

Or there’s too much work to do

He takes an ounce of courage

From a stolen thought of you.

But if the sun is shining

And your heart is bright and gay

Then add this to your pleasure:

He thinks of me today.

So, in your gentle moments

He hopes that you’re inclined

To say to him as he to you:

Oh, be my Valentine.

Africa

O Africa! We feel your stinging pains

The colonizing states have left your lands

And left the power to rule to the black hands

In confidence that they could hold the reins.

And for a time it seemed that they made gains

But chopped off arms and legs or feet or hands

And ruined farms now unproductive lands

Not all Africa’s water can wash away the stains.

The lands are wrecked and now the whole world knows

Corruption rules and discipline is gone.

Back to the jungle Africa soon goes

And millions starve down to their skin and bone.

We’d like to help, but don’t know what to do

We wish you well. And so, Good Luck! to you.

Again

I never thought to see you once again

But there you were to my amazed surprise.

My heart brimful to look into your eyes

My love rekindled with our love’s bright flame.

Now nothing in our lives will be the same,

No matter how the one or other tries.

No lever my devotion ever prise,

Nor now my fierce desire be source of shame.

Take this my glance as my eternal token,

My pledge to you of bright eternal joy,

For our sweet bonds will never more be broken.

Our joy together nothing can destroy.

To be without you is a fearful prison.

Now that you’re here,