The Past Is the Present
Only Colder

by Ben Purkert
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Ben, your poem swept me into it with the river's flow and the night's feelings. Its motion took me to a place I long to be and often am when I read a good poem.

Ben, this poem is brilliant. I love how it begins, and I love how it makes me think.

This is terrific! I'll be re-reading often. Thanks, Ben!

Love this poem. It is, of course, meaningful and inspiring on different levels, but when I read about the parade and the tuba player, I just laughed out loud. I normally don't laugh loudly when I am alone, but the visual in my head was hysterical!! Now, at the latter end of middle age, I often think why I should care so much about what others may think of me, or why I should worry about what foods or diseases can kill me, and I wonder why the hell I shouldn't just go wild and do anything I feel like doing. "Warning," by Jenny Joseph, is another poem that makes me ask those same questions of myself. Thank you, Mr. Purkert. Your poem made my day!

I think it is an interesting way of classifying the types of people we meet. Choosing the one to befriend can make all the difference.