An Eleventh Commandment and Other Poems
by
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An Eleventh Commandment
We married by the rule set forth
In an Eleventh, best commandment of them all,
Because it bids us love.
No force on earth could make us part.
Nor would we bow to such decree.
The harmony that we have found
Cannot be rent nor torn from us.
Twelve! Apostles' number,
The number of the months,
The days gone by before Epiphany.
We're not there yet, it may well be,
But we are making such good time
In the epiphany that's all our own.
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About the Book
Many of the poems in this book are about love, having been created in obedience to what the author thinks of as an eleventh commandment, one which bids us love. The poems reflect the genesis of his love for his muse, his wife Pearl. They demonstrate the ways his literary and personal life has been so plenteously shaped by the exemplary love poems of Dante, as well as by the love the couple have had for each other, especially in their days of courtship. The “Poems of Love” were also inspired by reproductions of the illustrations that accompany them in this book. The “Other Poems” are being shared as favorite interludes of the author which will hopefully inform and entertain the reader.
About the Author
The author, a retired university professor, was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he received his B.A. degree from Brooklyn College (CUNY). His graduate studies were completed at Columbia University, which conferred on him the degree of Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature. For some eight years Dr. Mades served as Chief of Mission for CARE in a series of Latin American countries, including Bolivia, Brazil, El Salvador and Haiti. The author served for a time as Language Editor for the American Book Company. Over the years, he has translated several books written in Spanish. For one of these, a novel by José Donoso called The Obscene Bird of Night, he received the PEN International Prize for Translation, and he currently is a member of PEN. He is the author of The Armor and the Brocade: A Study of “Don Quixote” and “The Courtier.” Most of Dr. Mades's university teaching has been at Columbia University and Hunter College (CUNY). He retired from Hunter in 1988 as Professor Emeritus of Romance Languages. Dr. Mades and his wife Pearl share their abiding interest in the arts. By profession she is an art historian and has lectured for many years at The Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. Dr. and Mrs. Mades live in Silver Spring, Maryland.