A TRIBUTE TO Robert J. Milby Jr.
**This article originally appeared in our January ‘25 issue**
Baudelaire’s Beneficiary
(courtesy The Hudson Valley Writer’s Guild)
I was born in Aries and died in Virgo, just like Baudelaire.I am not forty-six, nor do I have Syphilis, but I died in Virgo three times:None were black.All were white.None were green.All were right, at that time,the poet sought incendiary muses,confused angelswith impediments as mortal women:helpmates became hazards—as above a rampant bed, buzzards sat in silent observation of the merriment below,of the contents of my chateau:shredded bridal gowns, blackened marriage licenses; apron strings and hidden rings—cold kindling, piled in a nest of grey dust and cobwebs.
The verses ran from a blood jet! The lines were rung in sad domiciles as wandering spring ghosts rattled windowpanes.The verses prevented self-destruction.The verses were like green-haired non-sequiturs—Baudelaire made do,but he had heartbeats that were heard in brothels.
I was borne in Aries and died in Virgo,stealing antique coins from a common fountain,eventually losing them,like Baudelaire changing apartments to hide from creditors.
I recently discovered my Parisian DNA. Unceasing—I discovered that I am Baudelaire’s beneficiary—Without lament for resignation to a spiritual family tree…I was born in Aries and died in Virgo,Yet, I never intended my sick flowers to pass for poetry.
Poet Robert J. Milby Jr. of Florida, NY passed away on December 12, 2024. He was 54 years old.
As a freelance writer and poet, Robert had been reading his poetry in the Hudson Valley, the Tri-State area, and New England since March, 1995. Robert, a listed poet with Poets & Writers, Inc. of NYC was voted ‘Best Poet’ in Middletown, NY’s Times Herald-Record’s Annual ‘Best Of’ listings in 2010 and 2011, and became Poet Laureate of Orange County, NY from May 2017 until November 2019.
Over the years Robert was published in many magazines and anthologies. He has four published books of poetry in addition to his many self-published works. Robert was invited to several New York colleges and universities as a featured poet, and actively hosted readings and writing workshops in schools and cultural centers throughout the Hudson Valley.
Robert’s most recent book of poetry, A Harvest Sonata: Poems for Musicians and Poets, was published in 2023.
RIP Robert.
