mrteague

In Memoriam

The name Tennyson looms large in the world of poetry. But I hadn’t read his poetry until recently, when I picked up a copy of “In Memoriam.” “In Memoriam” is a series of 131 poems (plus a prologue and epilogue) Tennyson wrote for his friend, Arthur Hallam. Hallam died suddenly at 22 from a cerebralContinueContinue reading “In Memoriam”

Shock

One day, I had a serious thought. But for some reason, I processed this serious thought using playful variations of familiar phrases. Somehow, out of that mess, today’s poem was born. I’ve written poetry and music for about 35 years. But at the end of the day, the creative process is a mystery to me.ContinueContinue reading “Shock”

Cat with a Mona Lisa Smile

Usually, I post Sunday morning but at 9:00 tonight I realized I forgot! Monday morning will have to do, I suppose. I was going to blame being tired because my cats woke me up at 5:30 this morning. Then I remembered I usually write my posts on Saturday and schedule them to post on Sunday.ContinueContinue reading “Cat with a Mona Lisa Smile”

Doing Nothing

I can be…driven, goal-oriented. I am usually working on something and have very little idle time. But today, I feel a little lazy. Granted, it’s the weekend, and by 2:15 Saturday afternoon (when I am writing this), I’ve already worked on a poem, attended two ministry-related meetings, and mowed both my lawns. So maybe I’mContinueContinue reading “Doing Nothing”

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

Digital Painting by Patrick Murphy My upcoming book, Voiceless Choirs: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, is getting closer to being finished. Next step is to get a proof-copy of the paperback. I also need to set up the e-book version. One section of Voiceless Choirs contains poems based on traditional Christian hymns. Rather than justContinueContinue reading “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”

S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W

This past Friday, my daughter and I went to a concert: My Chemical Romance kicked off their reunion tour in Seattle. The Violent Femmes opened. MCR’s performance was pretty epic, full of theater, energy, flashing lights, and pyrotechnics. They played for about two and a half hours and never slowed down. Lyrics are a closeContinueContinue reading “S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W”

Skin

Painting by Gustave Dore: “Adam and Eve Driven out of Eden” Christians believe that, originally, people lived in harmony with God, each other, and creation. Then came “The Fall.” Basically, the first people (Adam and Eve) ignored what God said and went their own way; they ate from the tree of knowing good and evil.ContinueContinue reading “Skin”

The Door of Moonlight

In another post, I talked about poems that took me 12 or even 20 years to finish. Some poems just need time to sit. Today’s poem, “The Door of Moonlight”, is one such piece. While its vintage isn’t even close to 12 or 20 years, it’s a few years old. I wrote the first threeContinueContinue reading “The Door of Moonlight”

Psalm 102

In July or August I plan to self-publish my next book, Voiceless Choirs: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs. I have looked forward to printing this book. Writing the poems in this collection challenged me more than almost anything else I’ve written; I also feel that some of them represent my best work. Today’s poem isContinueContinue reading “Psalm 102”

Resurrection

In the next few months, I hope to self-publish my next book, Voiceless Choirs: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs. Every book I’ve put out is important to me since it represents a season of writing; each contains poems I’ve labored and agonized over, some of which I particularly love. But the poems in Voiceless ChoirsContinueContinue reading “Resurrection”