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”
Category Archives: Traditional poetry
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”
The Crow
Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven is one of the more notorious poems of all time. For the uninitiated, the basic story is this: a raven visits the narrator, who is mourning his lost love, and repeats the word “Nevermore” until the narrator loses it. (“Nevermore” seems to be an eternal drain of despair opening below the narrator’sContinueContinue reading “The Crow”
The Pale Lady
Over the years, I’ve come to enjoy sonnets. Being a long-standing form of poetry, some might find sonnets dull and played out. I would’ve included myself in that crowd at one time. But as I’ve tried my hand at sonnets, I’ve found I like wrestling an idea into the restrictive rhyme and meter. The brevityContinueContinue reading “The Pale Lady”
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”
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”
Shadow and Memory Now Available!
I’m pleased to say that my third book, Shadow and Memory, is now available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. This book represents an interesting juncture for me. As I explain in the book’s introduction, I’ve been in a season of leaving what is comfortable for me as writer: trying new poetic forms andContinueContinue reading “Shadow and Memory Now Available!”
Oxymoron
I’ve mentioned before that cats often pad into my poems. That being the case, I decided last year to compile my cat poems into a chapbook. (Anyone who doubts that a book of cat poems has artistic dignity should check out Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot 😺). Right now, the workingContinueContinue reading “Oxymoron”
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 aContinueContinue reading “Down from Heaven”
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
In my last post, I mentioned the snow is flying where I live. It snowed most of last night, and we woke to 5 or 6 inches of fresh, powdery snow. Keeping with the theme of snow, I thought I’d post a favorite Robert Frost poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” This poemContinueContinue reading “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
A Wandering Minstrel 