Two Roads Both Traveled: Revolutionary IMprov Free Verse

No apologies to Robert Frost

Two roads converged
in the tulip fields,
and I,
remembering it had been years
since I’d last passed
this way,
as a younger,
less curious man;
recognizing I would probably
never pass
this singular way
again;
wondering,
with age,
curious,
yet certain in knowing
how each road would lead
to a different view,
to different light,
to different experience,
to different understanding;
as an older man,
standing on the brink
of my eternities,
now took enough time
to broaden my vistas
as wide as I could.

Two roads converged
in the tulip fields.
I breathed deeply,
faced the setting sun,
cancelled other appointments,
and took them both.

And that will make
all the difference.

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Why Older Men Can: Romantic IMprov Poem

Older men have the ability/
to caress and hold beauty.
to gaze into a face serenely.
to understand her thoughts completely.

To be tender when the moment requires;
to fan the flame of her deepest desires,
and yet,
when she’s vulnerable
to protect her;
to always be able
to not neglect her.

To dance with her in the snow;
to take her there, where she wants to go.
To do a slow waltz in the driving rain
while passersby murmur “That couple’s insane!”
and to hold her close and warm and secure,
and respond: “Not insane. Just in love … and quite sure!”

And then, at the end, to dry off her head,
and not want to hurry off to bed,
but to sit by the fire,
and listen, instead,
to her heart’s desire.

That’s what a kind, brave and true
older prince of a gentleman would do.

Polar Bear is Not a Dip: Memories and Green Lake Polar Bear Poetry Plunge (includes Video)

It was, I think
New Year’s Day, 1971
When I stood on the brink
Of a frozen, sub-zero Lake Michigan.

I, then just a teen,
Dove in for the lark
Didn’t know what it’d mean
On the shores of Doctor’s Park.

Now, decades have past,
And I, a much older, wiser man
Have returned again, at last,
To take the plunge while I still can.

So why do I again come freezing
On a cold, sunny winter’s day
With nose running, lungs wheezing?
Because I have something to say!

It’s life’s lesson learned taking the plunge
Decades past, at 10 below
Run in, leap, dive, lunge!
Don’t take it slow! Go. Go! GO!

Here is the video of this poem

Here is the video of the entire group: