A Prairie Home Companion from American Public Media: Spring Lyric Contest

Poem: "For Millicent and Giovanni, Who are going to Need a Bed" by Bruce Bennett of Aurora, NY
(Bruce's Bio)

Mill and Joe will soon be wed.
I will write a poem for Spring
that may win for them a bed.

Theirs is news that should be spread:
Love is such a splendid thing!
Mill and Joe will soon be wed.

Words that bind them will be said.
They will kiss and they will cling.
I must win for them a bed,

Or they'll use the floor instead,
much more suited for a fling.
Mill and Joe will soon be wed,

Flowers flung and tears be shed.
They've already got a ring.
What if they don't have a bed?

Therefore let this poem be read.
May it like the sweet birds sing!
Mill and Joe will soon be wed.
Bless their union with a bed!

About the author:

Bruce Bennett teaches English and Creative Writing and directs the Visiting Writers Series at Wells College in Aurora, New York. He is the author of a number of books and chapbooks of poetry, and has published widely in literary magazines. He is married to Renaissance Art Historian, Bonnie Apgar Bennett, and has two children, Evan, an architect, and Millicent, an editor. Millicent met her fiance, Giovanni, when the two of them were in second grade in 1986 in Florence, Italy, while the Bennetts were there for a sabbatical leave. Giovanni first proposed to Millicent that year, but they became formally engaged only last November.

Read about all the Spring Lyric finalists...