I’ve mentioned that odd thoughts stroll through my mind and into poems; or I get in a mood and write a quirky poem. Last weekend, as I was falling asleep, the first six or seven lines of the poem below jogged past. Then I couldn’t fall asleep (cue a sigh and throwing up my hands).Continue reading “Undead”
Category Archives: Light verse
A Clergyman Is as Useless as a Cat
At the end of 2022, a friend asked if I would like to read a book with him: Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton. I had read it about 20 years ago and loved it so I readily agreed. Orthodoxy chronicles Chesterton’s return to the Catholic Church after wandering the wastes of intellectual modernism. Chesterton is aContinue reading “A Clergyman Is as Useless as a Cat”
Sweet Roll
I’ve been sick most of the last week. During that time, I wrote three poems about cats sleeping. Sometimes, when you slow down (or have to slow down) you notice things going at other paces. Two of my poems about cats sleeping may or may not have explored ideas of non-being and indeterminacy 😉 WhatContinue reading “Sweet Roll”
Your Penney-Ante Speeches
Every so often, I just get in a mood and write a quirky poem whose origin even I don’t really understand. “Your Penney-Ante Speeches” is one such poem and appears in my first book of poems, The Wind and the Shadows. Even if I don’t know where it came from exactly, it’s blunt playfulness makesContinue reading “Your Penney-Ante Speeches”
The Somnambulator
In the early 2000s, I became acquainted with the word “somnambulate,” which means to sleep walk. For some reason, the word amused me; I found myself thinking about it and about misadventures a somnambulator might have. (Incidentally, “somnambulator” isn’t a word…yet. Using poetic license, I’m starting a campaign to change that, 😉). Some of thoseContinue reading “The Somnambulator”
Nine
Cats are a part of my life—sometimes whether I like it or not, LOL. So I write about them. But a cat isn’t something that can be corralled into a poem, as if I could capture them with words. More probably, cats indifferently wander into my poems because they have nothing better to do, orContinue reading “Nine”
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”
Look, Cat
In a previous post, I shared that I decided to be more intentional about writing and reading poetry in 2020. Many poetic forms have intrigued me over the years, so investigating poetry more has led me to new forms. Writing poems in different forms has been a way to challenge myself. Luc Bat is aContinue reading “Look, Cat”
Commandos
You might expect someone who writes poetry to like long poems. More is better, right? Not for me. I feel like less is more when it comes to poetry. My favorite poems are presents of ideas and feelings the reader can unwrap by pulling on a ribbon. Otherwise, you’re really just writing a book thatContinue reading “Commandos”
A Fly Buzzed Me before It Died
Poets can take themselves too seriously. That’s why I enjoy reading, and sometimes writing, light verse. Humor—in life and in writing—helps us keep perspective. In a world too often caught in a morass of self-importance, a good laugh can be a life line. Awhile back, a fly buzzed past my face while I was brushingContinue reading “A Fly Buzzed Me before It Died”
A Wandering Minstrel 