Tunnel Vision
-with a nod to Joyce Kilmer I think that I shall never see A man as muddled up as me. Too many must-dos drive me nuts. I need to cut out ifs and buts And clear my mind so I can see The forest rather than the trees.
The Writer’s Materials
“A writer is not different from a reader, in that the common ragbag of orthodoxies and assumptions is what the poet has to work with as well.” – Seamus Heaney
In the Moment
Live each day as if it’s your last. If it isn’t, what a nice surprise!
The Holy Family
When I was a small boy, I was a little confused about December 25th. I knew it was the birthday of Baby Jesus, and because he got presents, I got presents too, even though my birthday was in September. I thought it was very nice of Baby Jesus to make Santa Claus give me presents
The Magi
Now as at all times I can see in the mind’s eye, In their stiff, painted clothes, the pale unsatisfied ones Appear and disappear in the blue depths of the sky With all their ancient faces like rain-beaten stones, And all their helms of silver hovering side by side, And all their eyes still fixed,
Lethal Vanity
“The essence of elephant hunting is discomfort in such lavish proportions that only the wealthy can afford it.” ¬ – Beryl Markham, West With The Night Tembo, Monarch of the African forest, The grandest and wisest land creature there is, May soon go extinct unless people protest The use of his tusks in the jewelry
A Quandary
Every day there’s a large flock of turkeys that strut Down our driveway, conversing in gobbles and clucks. On Thanksgiving Day we eat everything but Such amiable birds. It would bring us bad luck To devour our neighbors, who mean us no harm And are handsome, to boot, with a certain odd charm To their
The Pied Piper
Many years had passed since the day the village of Hamelin lost its children. The bereft parents had more children to replace those who’d been led under the mountain by the piper in the multicolored jerkin, and those children became parents themselves. Hamelin grew from a village to a town, and prospered nicely, becoming the
Deep In November
Autumn’s blazon’s gone. The colors of the woods are Rust and verdgris.
The Green Flash
THE GREEN FLASH There are about a dozen people standing and sitting in a large, high, airy room with windows on three sides. The windows are open, shaded by faded green and white striped canvas awnings. The main one overlooks a long grassy hill which ends in a natural bowl. The flat bottom of the