My third book, Shadow and Memory, has a four-part poem entitled “Cityscapes.” I wrote this poem while we were visiting a city a few hours from the smallish town where we live. Below is the final part of “Cityscapes.” In one way, each of these poems stands alone and presents a different view of theContinueContinue reading “Cityscapes IV”
Category Archives: Shadow and Memory
February ‘23
As Valentine’s Day came to a close last week, I came down with a cold. This got me thinking about Valentine’s Day last year: My wife had vertigo, and I had a high fever with a side of congestion (COVID or influenza, I’m guessing). Let me tell ya, the romance was high 😆 Such aContinueContinue reading “February ‘23”
Yule-icide
How did it get to be the week before Christmas? This year, I feel like every holiday (not to mention birthdays) snuck up behind me in stocking feet and yelled, “BOO!” There wasn’t time to prepare, decorate, buy things…only time to be startled and jump. Below is a poem I wrote last year during Christmas andContinueContinue reading “Yule-icide”
Babies Are for Locking Up
Back in September, I was poised to release a chapbook of cat poems. However, I had to delay the release because I inadvertently submitted one of the cat poems to a journal. Well, the journal declined to publish any of my poems, so I’ll be releasing the cat chapbook soon. I just need to doContinueContinue reading “Babies Are for Locking Up”
Not a Car
Recently, I mentioned I started setting up my cat chapbook for publication. It is pretty much ready to go but I made the decision to delay its release. Why? Without thinking, I submitted one of my cat poems to a journal. When I started sending poems to journals, I learned quickly that most won’t publishContinueContinue reading “Not a Car”
Sun God
“Sun God” is the final poem in my new book, Shadow and Memory. It is a tanka, a Japanese poetic form of five lines. Similar to its three line cousin, haiku, each line has a set number of syllables. Before presenting this poem, I thought I’d say a few words about my approach to writingContinueContinue reading “Sun God”
A Tongue
Spiritual experience can be hard to put into words because it’s often beyond words. This is probably why the Bible is full of visions, parables, dreams, and poetry. Imagery, metaphor, and symbolism are sometimes the best ways to express the inexpressible. Paradox can also be useful in understanding and communicating things of the spirit. ChristContinueContinue reading “A Tongue”
Sleep
There are a fair number of things we do every day that we think little of. But when I step back and consider mundane things as if I were an outsider, I find life is full of strangeness. Now and then, I’ll look at one of my cats and say to my wife, “Isn’t itContinueContinue reading “Sleep”
Working Out
There’s always a point in the work out videos I use when the leader asks, “Aren’t you glad you worked out today?” or “Doesn’t this feel good?” Mentally, I answer “NO” every time. I’ve never been one of those people who enjoys exercise. It’s more of a necessary evil. I suspect I’m not alone inContinueContinue reading “Working Out”
Blank
Since I was traveling this past week, I am posting a day later than usual! When I returned home yesterday, the first paperback copies of my third book, Shadow and Memory were waiting. This got me thinking about today’s post. Most of the poems in Shadow and Memory were written in 2022, one of theContinueContinue reading “Blank”
A Wandering Minstrel 