Life is full of routines. Some routines (like work or school) we don’t have much choice about. We attend church every Sunday because knowing God within a community is deeply important to us. Other routines evolve around fun: popcorn on Wednesdays, Family Pizza Movie Night on Fridays, etc. However routines start, they can become automated,Continue reading "Habit"
The Vineyard Published!
In a previous post, I mentioned my poem “The Vineyard” would appear in Heart of Flesh Literary Journal, Issue Seven. Friday, May 6, was the publication date! Please check out this issue. I got a sneak peak and found several excellent poems. I look forward to reading others. Of those I read so far, myContinue reading "The Vineyard Published!"
It’s in the Genes—Kate McKamey
My daughter, Kate, attends high school at Wilson Hill Academy. Recently, her biology class had two projects: 1) do something artistic about genetics; 2) create a related meme. Kate opted to write six haiku about DNA and create a meme about writing poetry. We have writers on both sides of the family, so Kate comesContinue reading "It’s in the Genes—Kate McKamey"
Frames of Dust
Feelings are like precious metals mingled and trapped in rocks. They’re not always valuable in their raw form. They must be processed and refined to become something beautiful. Writing poems has provided many writers a way to process and refine emotions. My own poems reflect all sorts of states: worship, whimsy, rage, rapture…poems are passionContinue reading "Frames of Dust"
Late Afternoon
Tanka is a Japanese form of poetry I learned about last year. Haiku is a related form that started as part of Tanka. Haiku has a 5 syllable line followed by a seven syllable line, and ends with another 5 syllable line. Tanka begins with the same arrangement but adds two seven syllable lines atContinue reading "Late Afternoon"
Third Time’s a Charm…
I am grateful to announce that my poem, “The Vineyard,” will appear in Heart of Flesh Literary Journal, issue seven, 5/6/22! This makes three poems published in two different journals. “The Vineyard” is a free-verse poem made up of four quintains (five-line stanzas). It is more or less a meditation on the kingdom of GodContinue reading "Third Time’s a Charm…"
A Delicious Concentrate
Sometimes, I read a poem that is everything I want a poem to be. The poem below, by Philip Larkin, is just such a poem: An April Sunday brings the snow, Making the blossom on the plum trees green, Not white. An hour or two, and it will go. Strange that I spend that hourContinue reading "A Delicious Concentrate"
Clouds upon the Wind
Villanelle is a form of poetry I became interested in last year. It is a highly structured form comprised of 19 lines: five tercets (three line stanzas) followed by a quatrain (a four line stanza). The first line is repeated at the end of the second and fourth tercets. The third line is repeated atContinue reading "Clouds upon the Wind"
Fat Cats
In my family, we’re cat people. We love each cat’s quirky personality, and that they’re often walking contradictions: graceful and dignified one minute, neurotically spazzing out the next; desperately affectionate, then callously indifferent. If I could get one to wear a mood ring, what a light show that would be! Since cats are in myContinue reading "Fat Cats"
The Difference Is the t
As a Christian, Jesus is a very real presence in my life and writing. Spirituality isn’t the only subject I write about, but it is the backdrop for everything I think or pen. Christians believe every person born has good and evil hopelessly combined within. It is like a cup of water that someone hasContinue reading "The Difference Is the t"
A Wandering Minstrel 