mrteague

Shapely Poems

Shape poems or visual poems arrange text to form pictures. With some shape poems, the picture formed by words is more important than what the words say. Others use the shape to emphasize the verbal content. One of the first shape poems I read is also one of the best known. “Easter Wings,” by GeorgeContinueContinue reading “Shapely Poems”

Dream Sonnet III

Last year I decided to write some poems with biblical images whose connection was inward more than outward. I hoped they would have a dream-like quality. As I started writing, I decided to use a traditional form—the sonnet—to contrast with the unusual imagery. The result was four sonnets that I collectively titled, “Dream Sonnets.” IContinueContinue reading “Dream Sonnet III”

Janitor

Haiku is a Japanese poetic form I became acquainted with through the writings of JD Salinger. One of his recurring characters is Seymour Glass, and Seymour enjoys writing haikus. Haiku is a simple, three line form: a line of five syllables, a line of seven syllables, and a line of five syllables. Haiku began asContinueContinue reading “Janitor”

Those Winter Sundays—Robert Hayden

It’s probably been 20 years since I first read “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden (1913-1980). I read it now through the lens of a 48 year old parent rather than a 20-something with no kids. But it’s impact is no less. If anything, it’s grown. The story of the poem is simple: Hayden isContinueContinue reading “Those Winter Sundays—Robert Hayden”

Narrowing Sonnet

At Christmas time, we celebrate the birth of Christ. Christians believe God became human in Jesus. How can we grasp the extent to which God limited Himself in order to become human? Meditating on this is what inspired my poem, “Narrowing Sonnet.” In this poem, I explore God’s self-limitation through description and imagery but alsoContinueContinue reading “Narrowing Sonnet”

Process

Someone, (whose name escapes me) said, “All writing is re-writing.” This is the most succinct summary of the writing process I’ve ever heard. And, it is sooo true. Recently, I read Dylan Thomas’s Collected Poems. One of the poems was unfinished at the time of Thomas’s death. The editor included the most finished version ofContinueContinue reading “Process”

Commandos

You might expect someone who writes poetry to like long poems. More is better, right? Not for me. I feel like less is more when it comes to poetry. My favorite poems are presents of ideas and feelings the reader can unwrap by pulling on a ribbon. Otherwise, you’re really just writing a book thatContinueContinue reading “Commandos”

Post-Modern Sketches

(The painting for the post is “Retroactive II” by Robert Rauschenberg) Poetry has sometimes been a medium for social critique, as all art forms have. My poems are no exception, and some comment on the world we live in. One of the poems in my book, The Wind and the Shadows, is called “Post-Modern Sketches.”ContinueContinue reading “Post-Modern Sketches”

I Know the Moon

Writing doesn’t happen in a straight line, at least not in my experience. Some poems are like slipping on the ice; others like digging out of prison with a spoon. Most poems fall somewhere between these extremes. My first book, The Wind and the Shadows, has at least four poems of the “digging out ofContinueContinue reading “I Know the Moon”

Aliens—Amy Lowell

Amy Lowell is considered one of the leading figures of the Imagist movement in poetry. The Poetry Foundation describes Imagism as “An early 20th-century poetic movement that relied on the resonance of concrete images drawn in precise, colloquial language rather than traditional poetic diction and meter.” I recently read Amy Lowell’s poem, “Aliens.” The titleContinueContinue reading “Aliens—Amy Lowell”