It’s official: This week, I beat my personal record for rewrites. I’ve been working on poems based on the Psalms, and got a nice draft of Psalm 137 going. Twenty versions of the poem later, I’m almost done. Most of those 20 versions were spent trying to get the first stanza to my liking. IContinueContinue reading “Bang Head Here”
Category Archives: Spiritual / religious poetry
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”
Elements
When I was in college, I took a poetry class. Looking back, I learned so much in that class; my writing changed a lot afterward. That said, I was skeptical of many things at first. The professor’s philosophy about poetry differed from mine at the time. But as I tried the things I was hearing,ContinueContinue reading “Elements”
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”
Thankless
This might sound funny, but after becoming a Christian, one of the little things I appreciated was having someone to thank. I remember getting a chili dog at 7-11 one night, biting into it, and so enjoying the cheap, convenience store vibe of the dish that I spontaneously said, “Thank you, Lord!” As I saidContinueContinue reading “Thankless”
Psalm 1
Back in April, I mentioned I was working on a series of poems inspired by Mozart’s Requiem. My plan was not merely to rehash the Requiem’s text in a modern style but to interact with the text poetically. I hoped to write poems that reimagined the text through my personal lens while (hopefully) honoring theContinueContinue reading “Psalm 1”
Sparrows
My daughter Kate is a senior at Wilson Hill Academy, an online school she’s attended since ninth grade. Once a year, Wilson Hill students and families attend an in-person event called LINK where they have field day competitions, awards ceremonies, and graduation. This week, we’ll be traveling to Colorado to attend LINK and my daughter’sContinueContinue reading “Sparrows”
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 aContinueContinue reading “A Clergyman Is as Useless as a Cat”
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, andContinueContinue reading “Requiem”
New Song
On Easter, Christians often greet each other with the exchange, “He is risen!” “He is risen, indeed!” This expresses our belief that Christ’s resurrection is a fact—a fact assuring us death is not the end of our story, individually or as a community. “New Song” is a poem in my third book, Shadow and Memory,ContinueContinue reading “New Song”
A Wandering Minstrel 