Kisses at the Turnstile Gate

Transcribed below from "Choir Practice," A Chorus of Contemporary Poetry, conducted by Ellen M. Carroll" in the Charleston Evening Post of November 13, 1936. The original poem "Kisses at the Turnstile Gate" is by Clare Harner, not "Horner" as misprinted in the South Carolina newspaper.

KISSES AT THE TURNSTILE GATE

I'll ride this way again, irresistibly drawn
   To travel once more the lonely road from the sea
   That you and I explored, glad just to be.
And I'll get off my horse to watch the dawn;
   I'll sit on the log beneath a maple tree
   And laugh at memories of you and me
Who sat there once and gave our hearts in pawn.

I'll listen to crickets, and hear the noisy trills
   Of jays. I'll trace the changing carpet, inlaid
   With leaves in rich mosaic, light and shade.
I'll watch the lizards hunt where the sunlight spills.
   I'll watch the twisting, silver brook invade
   The trees that rise beyond the farther glade,
And farther yet the distant blue of the hills.

I'll see all this again, and mock the past
   Because my pride is stronger now than hate:
   But when I pass the broken turnstile gate
I'll look the other way and ride by fast
   For I might see a phantom lover wait.
   My pride is strong—but I shan't hesitate
Lest I recall your kisses, which could not last.

Clare Horner [Harner],
Kansas.

Charleston, SC Evening Post - June 11, 1937
Found on Genealogy Bank

No Need for a Band

From "Choir Practice," A Chorus of Contemporary Poetry, conducted by Ellen M. Carroll" in the Charleston Evening Post, November 13, 1936:

NO NEED FOR A BAND

In my little rut
   I serenely go,
Without swagger or strut
   Or fanfare or show.

No need to doubt
   The way I take . . .
I couldn't get out
   With less than a quake!

The path is fair
   I can't go wrong:
Without worry or care,
   I travel with song.

— Clare Harner.   Kansas. 

Charleston, South Carolina Evening Post - November 13, 1936
Found on Genealogy Bank

With Song

From "Choir Practice," A Chorus of Contemporary Poetry, conducted by Ellen M. Carroll" in the Charleston Evening Post, Friday, April 10, 1936:

WITH SONG

So little
Impression my life
Has made—like a rock skimming
The water, leaving series of rings
Widening, fading, gone. Yet—
Pebbles hum gay tunes
While they skip.

— Clare Harner.

Kansas. 

 

 

Charleston, South Carolina Evening Post - April 10, 1936
Found on Genealogy Bank

He May Not Choose

Here is another poem by Clare Harner collected in "Choir Practice," a monthly column of contemporary poetry selected by Charleston poet Ellen M. Carroll--this one appeared in the Charleston, South Carolina Evening Post on February 12, 1937; found on genealogybank.com.

Charleston Evening Post - February 12, 1937

 

HE MAY NOT CHOOSE

Man is ruler of mind,

     But the heart is master of man:

He can chart his course, to find

     That love can change the plan

-- Clare Harner, Kansas.

Let the Surging Waters . . .

From "Choir Practice" (a monthly column of contemporary poetry selected by Ellen M. Carroll) in the Charleston Evening Post (Charleston, South Carolina), February 15, 1936:

Charleston, SC Evening Post - February 15, 1936
via GenealogyBank

LET THE SURGING WATERS . . .
Give him a rugged voyage, Lord,
As he comes to Death's uncharted fiord.

In Life, he loved the rampant gale
   And laughed to watch the jagged dart
   Of lightning tear the clouds apart,
And shouted with joy at the wind and hail.

He never thought that calm was right . . .
   Quarter was given but never sought,
   Nor peace desired by him, who fought
And thrilled to feel the urge to fight.
Lord, give him a plunging ship—
He would not rest on a quiet trip.
—Clare Harner, Kansas.