Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a man who scattered seed (Matt. 13:3-9). It is a marvelous parable showing that things of God are tossed out there with no guarantee that anything will take root. But the one who sows seed in the parable does it in hope that some things will spring upContinueContinue reading “Maple Seed”
Category Archives: Spiritual / religious poetry
The Spirit Wounds
Philip Larkin is a poet I’ve liked for many years. About four years ago, I read Larkin’s Complete Works. Among his many free verse poems are formal poems, some of which used forms I hadn’t seen before. I’m not sure if these were forms Larkin invented or are just lesser used. A couple of themContinueContinue reading “The Spirit Wounds”
A Crown for Abba Moses
Often, one thing leads to another. I was reading the draft of a friend’s book, which contained a quote by 4th century monk, Abba Moses: “‘Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.” I was really struck by this quote, so I looked on Amazon to see if I could findContinueContinue reading “A Crown for Abba Moses”
The Heretic
In my last two posts, I shared poems from my first and second books, so I thought I’d keep going and share a poem from my third book, Shadow and Memory. Today’s poem is called “The Heretic,” and I’ve been thinking about it because I’m reading Early Christian Doctrines by JND Kelly. If you’re interestedContinueContinue reading “The Heretic”
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”
The Snowflake and the Butter Dish
Today’s post is a little late. I’ve been sick and living with brain fog and low energy. Our wintry weather made me think of a poem in my new book, The Anonymity of Waiting. It’s called, “The Snowflake and the Butter Dish.” Many of my poems grow out of mundane moments. Life is intrinsically metaphoric.ContinueContinue reading “The Snowflake and the Butter Dish”
Denial
This week’s poem, “Denial”, will be in my upcoming book The Anonymity of Waiting. I don’t want to say much about it because I’m curious to see what readers think it’s about. In some degree, poetry is always about balancing transparency with ambiguity. Poems fall all along this continuum, with some being explicit and othersContinueContinue reading “Denial”
Useless
This week, I started working on a new luc bat poem. Luc bat is a Vietnamese form of poetry I learned about a few years ago. Since I’ve got luc bat on the brain, I decided to post a luc bat poem from my second book, Event Horizon, entitled “Useless.” UselessI’m glad some people careforContinueContinue reading “Useless”
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”
Stars
My son, who has a budding interest in astrophysics, has been learning about black holes and stars. The other day he relayed what he had found out about the black hole in our own galaxy, superstars, and theories about the origins of the largest black hole discovered (to date). I won’t say I carried myContinueContinue reading “Stars”
A Wandering Minstrel 