Randal A. Burd, Jr. is an educator, freelance editor, writer, and poet. His freelance writing includes assignments on the paid writing team for Ancestry.com and multiple online blogs, newsletters, and publications.
Randal received his Master’s Degree in English Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Missouri. He currently works on the site of a residential treatment facility for juveniles in rural Missouri. He lives in southeast Missouri with his wife and two children.
What Makes Me Happy
Their eyes stare back into my own,
Familiar features long I’ve known,
Just lately to appreciate
The life bestowed on them by fate
Plus circumstances mine alone.
Idyllic aspirations blown
With every disappointment–prone
To fall far short or much too late.
Their eyes stare back.
Looking back on how they’ve grown
Strong saplings from the seeds I’ve sown
As opportunities abate
I pray my love will resonate.
Most precious gifts I helped create–
Their eyes stare back.
Depression’s Lies
“Depression brings humility.”
Her glaring inability?
Constructively self-criticize.
For criticizing amplifies
The flaws that only she can see.
Suppressing sensitivity
To camouflage fragility,
She flirts with failure if she tries.
“Depression brings humility.”
Confronting fallibility,
Betrays innate servility,
If only she could realize
A way to stop believing lies;
Repeating in her mind, she cries:
“Depression brings humility.”
Ignorance in Love
We’re innocent–how one small gesture can
Define relationships and change life’s course.
We charge ahead, choose risk, and dare remorse
To end our romance right where it began.
Imagine circumvention as a plan:
Precluding fights and failures and divorce;
By ending bad engagements at the source,
We could improve the happiness of man!
But life is not all joys devoid of pain.
Who can predict each outcome of a kiss?
What moments cherished would be lost with this?
Contingencies are hard to ascertain
As are which moments we will reminisce.
Our ignorance in love is truly bliss.