mrteague

Forevermore

My wife and I did the math the other day, and found we’ve been Valentines for 27 years or so. Over the years, I’ve given her a poem or two on Valentine’s Day. This year I had no plan to but yesterday morning, I was inspired and dashed off the frolic below. More than likely,ContinueContinue reading “Forevermore”

Perdition

This last week, I was thumbing through my third book, Shadow and Memory, and found myself liking the poems in there. As I’ve written poetry or music over the years, I’ve found it’s easier to enjoy something I’ve created once some time has passed. Memories of agonizing over which word to use, whether to breakContinueContinue reading “Perdition”

In Memoriam CVI (106)

Last year, I became acquainted with Tennyson’s In Memoriam, a series of 131 poems he wrote for a close friend that died suddenly. These poems are full of beauty and striking imagery that uncovers the many faces of grief. I’ve read through In Memoriam twice but continue to keep a copy by my bed soContinueContinue reading “In Memoriam CVI (106)”

Looking Down the Road

This week, I’ll attend a funeral for one of my uncles. In 2024, I attended two funerals for two other uncles. I have lost relatives before. But losing these uncles has caused a shift in my life: of the adults I knew while growing up, half are dead. This has brought a different kind ofContinueContinue reading “Looking Down the Road”

Many Waters

In my new book, Voiceless Choirs: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, I mention that the original title was Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs. My friend and fellow writer, Matt Randles, suggested making that the subtitle and drawing a title from a line in one of the poems. I decided to take Matt’s suggestion and beganContinueContinue reading “Many Waters”

The Clock Ticks

Writing is a process that even writers find mysterious. There’s no one way to write. Every poem is its own journey, and I’m usually discovering what a poem is as much as writing it. There are also many ways to approach writing. Often I start with an experience or idea I want to capture inContinueContinue reading “The Clock Ticks”

A Haunting

Happy New Year 🥳 Below is (probably) the only poem I’ve written about New Year’s. It will be in my next book, A Song of Glass. I’m about 80% done with this book so should self-publish it in the late spring or early summer of 2026. A HauntingI drift over to them, but they don’tContinueContinue reading “A Haunting”

A Christmas Carol—Christina Rossetti

Adoration of the Shepherds by Gerard van Honthorst Christina Rossetti is a poet I became acquainted with in 2022…or so I thought. While reading her poems for the first time, I realized I had heard her poem “A Christmas Carol” set to music years before. “A Christmas Carol” is a meditation on how much ChristContinueContinue reading “A Christmas Carol—Christina Rossetti”

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

With Christmas just around the corner, I have carols on my mind. In my latest book, Voiceless Choirs: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, I poetically interact with sacred texts, and some of those are traditional hymns. Knowing my love of Christmas music, I knew some of those hymns would be Christmas carols, and I didContinueContinue reading “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”

Black Friday

Black Friday unofficially kicks off the Christmas season for many. We’re past Hallowe’en and Thanksgiving so can concern ourselves with decking halls…or other shoppers (as has happened now & then 😆). Black Friday is a shopping day of epic proportions. It carries the mythos of putting retailers “in the black” again. Such drama must beContinueContinue reading “Black Friday”