I modeled this poem after Edwin Arlington Robinson's poem "Richard Corey." The feel of Richard Corey is that of a false happiness; Richard is rich and blessed so everyone wants to be him and yet he kills himself. It reminded me a lot of social media and the false lives we build around ourselves. I structured the poem with the ABAB rhyme scheme and kept it at a four line four stanza (quatrain).

Poem 1

In Our Time

Our time has conditioned us
To either Like or Share
Accept a worth judged by a plus
Post this status to show you care

We value the number of "friend"
Instead of the friend-ship
Like a heartless troll collecting gold with no end
Caring only when those numbers dip

We will write and outright lie
"My heart goes out to the people of-"
Or to "-those affected by"
But we never say anything out of love

Our time has conditioned us
To share our thoughts and wallow
In the numbers of friends and pluses
Our time has conditioned us to be shallow

Poem 2

I modeled this poem after Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" except I applied the regret to friendships we may never know, or experiences lost. It was rather difficult to keep his rhyme style and his five line four stanza structure but otherwise I enjoyed it.

Two Men

Two men met under a crossing suther
Who could these men be?
One dressed no different than the other
The other no different from another
So free to choose a destiny

Could they have been soldiers
Shattering the sounds of summer and spring
Smashing each other like boulders
Clawing over their shoulders
Like animals flapping wild wings

Could they have been friends
Neighbors or family
Sharing lives until their ends
Never splitting over a fork in the bend
Like civilized men happily

Two men met under a crossing suther
Free to choose their destiny
One dressed no different than the other
The other no different from another
Departed like strangers for eternity