Conundrum

It’s been awhile—quite awhile—since I posted a haiku. As I’ve remarked before, I love haiku for their brief, impressionistic quality. “Conundrum” is a haiku that will be in my upcoming book, A Song of Glass. Incidentally, the title poem in A Song of Glass is also a haiku. Brief poems deserve brief introductions. So withoutContinueContinue reading “Conundrum”

Grief Is

Grief is familiar to any of us who have been around for more than five minutes. But it is also one of the most complex things we experience. The many variables involved make it so: different causes, personalities, social norms, religious (or non-religious) beliefs, the time of day, and what you had for lunch canContinueContinue reading “Grief Is”

Cat’s Game

Today’s poem is a haiku that is in my new book, The Anonymity of Waiting, and in my chapbook, Cat Show. I’ve had haiku on my mind since I got two volumes of haiku for Christmas. Haiku is a form I’ve grown to love because of its use of sparse, evocative language. Reading more haikuContinueContinue reading “Cat’s Game”

Fatherhood

Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers out there! This year, I received the gift of poetry. My wife has been known to write a poem when the mood takes her, and she wrote me a lovely haiku for Father’s Day ❤️ Haiku is a favorite form of mine, and in this sparse space, myContinueContinue reading “Fatherhood”

Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)

Last year, I started a series of poems based on Mozart’s Requiem. I ended up writing 12 poems that correspond to the 14 movements of the Requiem (two of the poems combine movements of the Requiem). These poems will be part of a book I hope to release this year entitled Psalms, Hymns, and SpiritualContinueContinue reading “Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)”

Free

With primary elections approaching in my state, it seemed apropos to post a poem about our country. “Free” will appear in my next book, The Anonymity of Waiting, slated to come out later this year. As a poem, I find it evocative and provocative. If it evokes or provokes anything in readers, please comment. I’mContinueContinue reading “Free”

Spring Images

A few months ago, I mentioned I’m reading through James Wright’s Collected Poems. Peter Stitt (as quoted in The Poetry Foundation’s overview of Wright’s life) says Wright’s Collected Poems parallels the development of poetry in history: both trace the movement from rhyme, meter, and higher literary style to less structured, more conventional language. When IContinueContinue reading “Spring Images”

Visionaries

In my neck of the woods, we are staggering towards fall. High temps lurch between the upper 80s and mid 70s but the lows are in the 40s. A few leaves have already fallen. “Visionaries” is a poem I wrote in the early ‘90s. It isn’t in any of my self-published books, but it isContinueContinue reading “Visionaries”

Lazy

In January, I released my first chapbook, The State of Mercury. In my post about its release, I mentioned this chapbook has poems about the many moods and states we pass through as people. Today’s post features a poem from The State of Mercury. This poem will also be included in my third book, ShadowContinueContinue reading “Lazy”

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 😉 WhatContinueContinue reading “Sweet Roll”