Since 2020, I’ve tried to be more intentional about reading poetry, and I’ve filled more than a shelf with books of poems I’ve finished. Earlier this year, I decided to re-read some books of poetry. Rather than just reading through as I did the first time, I thought approaching these books with more thoughtful analysisContinue reading "Song – Christina Rossetti"
A Scream
Now and then, I feeling like screaming. I think we all do. I felt like it a couple times this week; it made me think of my poem, “A Scream”, which will be in my upcoming book Above the Rain. A Scream A scream steam eruptingfrom spirit’s teeming boil a volcanic vocalizationthat rips through theContinue reading "A Scream"
Ribbons
My wife and I spent the weekend in a city. It doesn’t matter which one. We’re from a small town, so every city to me feels pre-apocalyptic, like someone pulled the thread that started civilization’s unraveling. That made me think of “Ribbons”, a poem which will be in my next book, A Song of Glass:Continue reading "Ribbons"
Sommelier
Last week I wasn’t able to post a poem because of a technical glitch happening (so I thought) with my blogging platform. It turns out the problem was with my word-processing app. Anyway, AI helped me troubleshoot and find a solution, so I am posting the sonnet I intended to post last week, “Sommelier.” ThisContinue reading "Sommelier"
Glitch
Anyone who has spent five minutes using any kind of tech knows that the world of computers is fraught with inexplicable malfunctions, errors, and unintended glitches (especially when updates occur). Unfortunately, this is affecting my blog. Without too many painful specifics, I’ll just say that, last week, WordPress developed a glitch that ruins the formattingContinue reading "Glitch"
Non Sequitur
“Non sequitur” is a Latin phrase that means, “It does not follow.” In formal logic, “non sequitur” describes a logical fallacy where the conclusion doesn’t follow from the premise. A simple example might be, “All cats have claws, therefore, all cats scratch furniture.” Logically, you can’t prove that all cats scratch furniture just because theyContinue reading "Non Sequitur"
Flee As a Bird
One of The Hunger Games soundtracks features the song, “Tomorrow Will Be Kinder” by The Secret Sisters. I was struck by the delicate harmonies and by the fact that it was hymn-like but not an old song. For years I thought about exploring more of The Secret Sisters’ music but didn’t do anything about itContinue reading "Flee As a Bird"
this world
This past week, I started getting my next book ready for self-publication. A Song of Glass: Dreams, Stories, and Poems will debut in late August or early September. As I’ve mentioned before, this book will be a little different since it includes a couple short-stories and poems where I experiment with language or with poetryContinue reading "this world"
The Singularity
My son, Evan, has a birthday this week. He’s a long, lean, lanky teen with a keen interest in Sun Tzu, astrophysics, and….junk food. Like many teenagers, his appetite is, well, cosmic 😆 To commemorate this stage of his life, I wrote a poem for Evan that describes his appetite in terms of astrophysics. “TheContinue reading "The Singularity"
Pythagoreans
Bust of Pythagoras It’s no secret that humans are unique. Shakespeare (through Hamlet) called people “the paragon of animals.” Don’t get me wrong: animals can do some amazing things. I once saw a crow drop out of the sky onto a stroller handle, plunge its head into an unzipped backpack, pull out a bag ofContinue reading "Pythagoreans"
