In the late 19th century, the Symbolist poets began a movement against naturalism and realism in writing. The Symbolists preferred the power of imagination, dreams, visions, and the like. I’ve never subscribed to any school of poetry. As a writer, my interests are too diverse. I like traditional and experimental forms; I’m a fan ofContinueContinue reading “Stare”
Category Archives: Experimental poetry
Godd O’ballD
Today’s poem goes way back to my first book, The Wind and the Shadows, which I self-published in 2020. It is a whimsically serious theological reflection. (If that confused you, wait until you read the poem 😆). Spirituality is not ultimately about a belief system (though that is part of it). God is a person;ContinueContinue reading “Godd O’ballD”
This Land
In other posts, I’ve talked about poems that take years to finish. Today’s poem, “This Land,” is one I started writing in the mid ‘90s but didn’t finish until 2020. Over the decades, it went through many rewrites, none of which I was really happy with until the last one. “This Land” was always meantContinueContinue reading “This Land”
Unpaired Words
Every poet (probably every writer) is, on some level, a word nerd, a grammar geek. True to form, I have been learning about unpaired words. These are words whose root form has fallen out of use and only survive in our language as words paired with a suffix or prefix. For instance, we might sayContinueContinue reading “Unpaired Words”
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”
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 GodContinueContinue reading “Third Time’s a Charm…”
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”
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”
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”
A Wandering Minstrel 