Guest post – A Wandering Minstrel

Requiem

Mozart’s Requiem is a deeply profound piece of music written for orchestra, choir, and vocal soloists. I have loved it since high school. A requiem is a Catholic funeral mass with different sections that help worshipers meditate on realities of the Christian faith related to death. Themes include eternal rest, God’s wrath, final judgment, andContinue reading “Requiem”

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

In my last post, I mentioned the snow is flying where I live. It snowed most of last night, and we woke to 5 or 6 inches of fresh, powdery snow. Keeping with the theme of snow, I thought I’d post a favorite Robert Frost poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” This poemContinue reading “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

2047 Grace Street—Christian Wiman

I don’t remember how she heard about him, but my wife introduced me to Christian Wiman, and played a recording of him reading his poem, “All My Friends are Finding New Beliefs.” Wiman is a Christian, but I doubt he would fit in anyone’s theological box. His seems a very searching faith whose hunger forContinue reading “2047 Grace Street—Christian Wiman”

The Devil’s Thesaurus

When Samuel Faulk said something about haiku at the Bible study we attended, I thought, “This guy either writes or reads poetry.” I asked him about it later, and he admitted to reading AND writing poetry. We got together to talk poetry, and he told me about a book he’d been working on for awhileContinue reading “The Devil’s Thesaurus”

Dream Land—Christina Rossetti

I became acquainted with Christina Rossetti’s poetry while reading The Oxford Book of Christian Verse earlier this year. While her poems were written before the age of free verse, I was struck by how natural her language is—she avoids awkward word order to fit a poem’s meter or rhyme scheme. Some of her imagery isContinue reading “Dream Land—Christina Rossetti”

These Are the Clouds

I’ve been reading through a book of poems by Yeats. So far, his work is marked by eclectic and contrasting elements. Many of his poems draw imagery from Irish mythology; the natural and supernatural worlds blur into something that is both yet not quite either. Other poems strike decidedly modern notes. This isn’t surprising sinceContinue reading “These Are the Clouds”

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”

MCMXIV—Philip Larkin

One of the poets I’ve been reading lately is Philip Larkin (1922-1985). Larkin has many striking poems, but one that stands out to me is “MCMXIV”. MCMXIV is, of course, 1914 in Roman numerals. The title suggests the beginning of World War I. Larkin begins the poem by talking about long lines of men, thenContinue reading “MCMXIV—Philip Larkin”