Do Not Ask Poem by gershon hepner

Don’t remind the August sky
how you used to love July,
and even if you should remember
August skies when it’s September,
don’t brood on them, for they have gone,
and you should only dwell upon
the skies that you see now above.
It’s just the same, of course, with love;
what love you may have lost is not
what you should think of, hot to trot
with someone new who takes your fancy.
It’s not a sign of sycophancy
to tell her that you’ve never seen
a girl more beautiful, or been
more happy than you are with her.
Forget the past which, de rigueur,
is just the past, and don’t see shrouds
in skies where there are sometimes clouds.
What's past you must forget and bury;
look up, ahead and now be merry!

Inspired by the lyrics of “Many a New Day, ” quoted in John Steele Gordon’s review of “The Complete Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II, ” edited by Amy Asch (“Getting to Know You, Mr. Hammerstein, ” NYT, December 25,2008) :

Many a light lad may kiss and fly,
A kiss gone by is bygone.
Never’ve I asked an August sky, 'Where has last July gone? '
Never’ve I wandered through the rye, wondering where has some
guy gone;
Many a new day will dawn before I do!

12/25/08