My daughter is a senior in high school. Next month, she and I are visiting the college she plans to attend. Adulthood is closing in fast. Before long, the days of having “my little girl” at home will be past. I’ve hardly begun to accept this fact. Thinking about my daughter growing up reminded meContinue reading “Alarm Clock”
Category Archives: The Wind and the Shadows
Down from Heaven
One of the central beliefs of Christianity is that people couldn’t reach high enough (so to speak) to touch God so God became human in the person of Jesus. Christmas is a time when we especially remember God becoming human in Jesus as the focus is Jesus’s birth. Below is a sonnet I wrote aContinue reading “Down from Heaven”
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 State of Mercury
Back in May, my poem, “The Vineyard,” was published in Heart of Flesh Literary Journal. Through Heart of Flesh’s editor, Veronica McDonald, I learned about chapbooks. A chapbook is a short book of poems (usually 20-40). Often, the poems touch a single theme. In the next few months, I plan to self-publish a chapbook calledContinue reading “The State of Mercury”
Mr. Andolini
This past week was the first week of school for my kids, so I thought I’d post a poem I wrote about a high school memory: “Mr. Andolini.” I often wonder why certain things stick with us. I wrote “Mr. Andolini” about 15 years after the events occurred. All those years later, the memory stillContinue reading “Mr. Andolini”
Poetry’s Bouquet
Often I have to remind myself there are many kinds of poets. When a poem dazzles me, it’s easy to throw shade on my own work, to feel drab next to their shine. Dylan Thomas is one of my favorite poets, if not my absolute favorite. That said, I doubt I’ve understood two of hisContinue reading “Poetry’s Bouquet”
Robin
I like poems whose impact is immediate and deep; poems that encapsulate strong feelings and ideas in a moment of imagery or action. I suppose that’s why I gravitate toward short poems. Many times, the things I decide to write about happen in a flash, a moment where the mundane becomes metaphor. It’s made meContinue reading “Robin”
Cobwebs
“Imagination is funny It makes a cloudy day sunny It makes a bee think of honey Just as I think of you.” So goes the song popularized by Frank Sinatra. But imagination works the other way too. Pathological imagination often presents as fear and anxiety. This is what inspired “Cobwebs,” which appeared in my firstContinue reading “Cobwebs”
Frames of Dust
Feelings are like precious metals mingled and trapped in rocks. They’re not always valuable in their raw form. They must be processed and refined to become something beautiful. Writing poems has provided many writers a way to process and refine emotions. My own poems reflect all sorts of states: worship, whimsy, rage, rapture…poems are passionContinue reading “Frames of Dust”
Third Time’s a Charm…
I am grateful to announce that my poem, “The Vineyard,” will appear in Heart of Flesh Literary Journal, issue seven, 5/6/22! This makes three poems published in two different journals. “The Vineyard” is a free-verse poem made up of four quintains (five-line stanzas). It is more or less a meditation on the kingdom of GodContinue reading “Third Time’s a Charm…”
A Wandering Minstrel 