DeForrest A. Penley

Los Angeles, California

DeForrest A. Penley: Born May 20, 1925, near Rome, Ga.; U.S. Army Air Corps, 1943 -1946; Married Mar. 15, 1946 to Alice Marie Dorries (deceased) of Denison, Texas; One son, Ronald Phillip, born May 29, 1947; Daughter-in-law, Deborah Holland Penley, and two grandchildren, Brianna and Jonathan; One brother, Wm. J., Orlando, Fl.; Graduated 1952, U.C.L.A. BA Eng. Lit.; Worked 40 years at all levels of automotive service and repair. I have written poetry at times since 1937. I try to be morally hedonistic and delightfully obnoxious, without being overly oxymoronic.

Creation

The tall striped man-pole, with long wooden fingers,
Played no music sweet on a keyboard of air,
And the distant gray clouds slowly drifted right through him,
Going southwestward across the red sun,

The green and blue of the transparent ocean,
Rose swiftly to fuse with the imperfect sky,
And the red, and the gold, and the purple-skinned fishes,
Ignored us completely, and slipped right on by.

The sand on the shore was uninterrupted,
The waters were peacefully still and asleep.
Creation was dormant in intricate beauty;
The spirit had moved on the face of the deep.

Bards Of Old

The bards of old
Were very bold
In swearing love eternal.

Such vows are vain.
Let me explain
That love is more diurnal.

Fidelity
Is not for me.
I say this as a warning.

But love is new;
I do love you;
So I'll be true till morning.

Quandary

The horse is here, the saddle's near;
The open road is calling.
As you can see; I'm fancy-free;
So, why do I keep stalling?