mrteague

The Somnambulator

In the early 2000s, I became acquainted with the word “somnambulate,” which means to sleep walk. For some reason, the word amused me; I found myself thinking about it and about misadventures a somnambulator might have. (Incidentally, “somnambulator” isn’t a word…yet. Using poetic license, I’m starting a campaign to change that, 😉). Some of thoseContinueContinue reading “The Somnambulator”

The Devil’s Thesaurus

When Samuel Faulk said something about haiku at the Bible study we attended, I thought, “This guy either writes or reads poetry.” I asked him about it later, and he admitted to reading AND writing poetry. We got together to talk poetry, and he told me about a book he’d been working on for awhileContinueContinue reading “The Devil’s Thesaurus”

Summer’s End

It’s that time of year when it’s cool in the morning and warm during the day. I’d dress in layers but I run cold so I end up keeping my layers on 😉 The impending change of seasons reminded me of a poem in my second book, Event Horizon, called “Summer’s End.” It seemed aproposContinueContinue reading “Summer’s End”

Mr. Andolini

This past week was the first week of school for my kids, so I thought I’d post a poem I wrote about a high school memory: “Mr. Andolini.” I often wonder why certain things stick with us. I wrote “Mr. Andolini” about 15 years after the events occurred. All those years later, the memory stillContinueContinue reading “Mr. Andolini”

Dream Land—Christina Rossetti

I became acquainted with Christina Rossetti’s poetry while reading The Oxford Book of Christian Verse earlier this year. While her poems were written before the age of free verse, I was struck by how natural her language is—she avoids awkward word order to fit a poem’s meter or rhyme scheme. Some of her imagery isContinueContinue reading “Dream Land—Christina Rossetti”

The Root’s Lament

Reverse poetry is a form that can be read from top to bottom and from bottom to top. Usually, when the poem is read from bottom to top, it reverses the top to bottom meaning. I first became acquainted with reverse poetry a couple years ago. My wife shared one with me called “Pretty Ugly.”ContinueContinue reading “The Root’s Lament”

Poetry’s Bouquet

Often I have to remind myself there are many kinds of poets. When a poem dazzles me, it’s easy to throw shade on my own work, to feel drab next to their shine. Dylan Thomas is one of my favorite poets, if not my absolute favorite. That said, I doubt I’ve understood two of hisContinueContinue reading “Poetry’s Bouquet”

Published Haiku!

In a previous post, I mentioned one of my haiku would appear in the August edition of the journal, Better than Starbucks. Well, August is here, and my haiku has been published 😊. To date, this is my third published poem. If you’d like to check out my haiku online, you can read it here.ContinueContinue reading “Published Haiku!”

Metaphor

Metaphor, similes, imagery…these are the blood and guts of poetry. When discussing metaphor for the first time in school (third grade?), the teacher’s example was, “The room was an oven.” I remember feeling something like, “Wow! A lot more interesting than saying, ‘The room was really hot.’” Even at that age, there was a littleContinueContinue reading “Metaphor”

Lights Out

Like everything else, writing has its seasons. From what I gather, most writers try to write something every day. But sometimes there are lulls (we don’t call it writer’s block or even mention that 😉). But even lulls can be fruitful to the imagination. Below is poem I wrote about not having anything to writeContinueContinue reading “Lights Out”