April is National Poetry Month. Click here to learn more about National Poetry Month and the role of the Academy of American Poets in this initiative.
Locally, the Johnson County (KS) Library partners with The Writers Place to post a Poem-a-Day in April in honor of National Poetry Month. One poem is featured each day then archived on the site. Go to www.jocolibrary.org and click on the National Poetry Month link to see the featured poem. Click "more" on that page to go to the archive to see the poems that already have been featured this month and those from previous years.
I hope you will return to the site often.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
National Poetry Month
I am a poet and photographer who likes sports, jazz and art inspired by other art. I served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the early 1970's and was assigned to the Computer Sciences School in Quantico, VA. I have published a chapbook of grief poems, I Keep You with Me. My work also has appeared in publications such as Thorny Locust Magazine, core. zine,The Enigmatist, Veterans' Voices and Kansas Time + Place An Anthology of Heartland Poetry. My visual art pieces combine poetry and photographs, and have been most recently displayed at InterUrban ArtHouse, Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, Buttonwood Art Space, and The Smalter Gallery.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
A Comfortable Spot
My big sister and I shared a room until she decided to go away to college. We used to get into trouble for talking and laughing when we were supposed to be sleeping. When we watched TV, we sat on the floor and leaned against the couch. My father worked shift work so my mom would sometimes take naps. If she was cooking or baking something, she would let us know when to check on it or wake her up. One night she forgot to do that. Vicki and I hit the floor as our mother awoke with a start, screamed "The Cake!" and came over our heads on the way to the kitchen. Vicki was the smart one and the creative one. I was the sports nut. I don't think I ever got her to understand what a first down is. She read Sherlock Holmes first, but I followed. That was the start of our love affair with mystery stories. A few years ago, she sent me a birthday card that said I had become cool. Even at my age, it made me smile that she thought that. Of course, she was still the coolest.
A Comfortable Spot
A comfortable spot
on a bit of a hill
or, perhaps, a knoll
Green grass
on a bit of a hill
or, perhaps, a knoll
Green grass
Almost in the
shadow of
a church
A children’s
playground
next door
history
all around
Your final
resting place
I wish you hadn’t
moved in so soon
shadow of
a church
A children’s
playground
next door
history
all around
Your final
resting place
I wish you hadn’t
moved in so soon
I am a poet and photographer who likes sports, jazz and art inspired by other art. I served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the early 1970's and was assigned to the Computer Sciences School in Quantico, VA. I have published a chapbook of grief poems, I Keep You with Me. My work also has appeared in publications such as Thorny Locust Magazine, core. zine,The Enigmatist, Veterans' Voices and Kansas Time + Place An Anthology of Heartland Poetry. My visual art pieces combine poetry and photographs, and have been most recently displayed at InterUrban ArtHouse, Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, Buttonwood Art Space, and The Smalter Gallery.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Pinking
You never know what might happen on a morning walk. I remember being disappointed that the sunrise wasn't very colorful on this particular morning. When I turned back to the west to head home the following happened.
Pinking
Did I just see the clouds turn pink?
I haven’t even had a drink!
I haven’t even had a drink!
I’m sure that they were white and gray,
just like any other day.
But, then, they began to glow.
The change wasn’t even slow.
The clouds turned pink before my eyes.
The work of an artist called Sunrise.
I am a poet and photographer who likes sports, jazz and art inspired by other art. I served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the early 1970's and was assigned to the Computer Sciences School in Quantico, VA. I have published a chapbook of grief poems, I Keep You with Me. My work also has appeared in publications such as Thorny Locust Magazine, core. zine,The Enigmatist, Veterans' Voices and Kansas Time + Place An Anthology of Heartland Poetry. My visual art pieces combine poetry and photographs, and have been most recently displayed at InterUrban ArtHouse, Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, Buttonwood Art Space, and The Smalter Gallery.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Hard to Hear
The third Sunday of every month, a group meets at The Writers Place and discusses a different writer. This month's subject was Anne Sexton. The first time I did a search of her name, I found the following quote:
"Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard."
Today's post was inspired by that quote. The writing process was facilitated by some awesome singers and musicians I went to hear on St. Patrick's Day.
Hard to Hear
Listen close to your soul.
You can hear a voice
of perfect pitch
and soothing tone.
It speaks to
your every need.
Encourages your
wildest dreams.
Reveals your
deepest beliefs.
Listen hard, and
if you do;
you will hear the voice
that is truly you.
"Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard."
Today's post was inspired by that quote. The writing process was facilitated by some awesome singers and musicians I went to hear on St. Patrick's Day.
Hard to Hear
Listen close to your soul.
You can hear a voice
of perfect pitch
and soothing tone.
It speaks to
your every need.
Encourages your
wildest dreams.
Reveals your
deepest beliefs.
Listen hard, and
if you do;
you will hear the voice
that is truly you.
I am a poet and photographer who likes sports, jazz and art inspired by other art. I served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the early 1970's and was assigned to the Computer Sciences School in Quantico, VA. I have published a chapbook of grief poems, I Keep You with Me. My work also has appeared in publications such as Thorny Locust Magazine, core. zine,The Enigmatist, Veterans' Voices and Kansas Time + Place An Anthology of Heartland Poetry. My visual art pieces combine poetry and photographs, and have been most recently displayed at InterUrban ArtHouse, Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, Buttonwood Art Space, and The Smalter Gallery.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Sun Struck
This poem is a formal structure known as a triolet. It has a specific rhyme scheme and some of the lines are repeated. It is a bargain for the poet, because you only have to write five lines and you have an eight-line poem. This one was written in memory of my sister and is included in my chapbook of grief poems-"I Keep You with Me" (See February 19 post).
Sun Struck
The brightness of the sun
hurts my eyes and my heart.
I am completely undone
by the brightness of the sun.
It highlights the loss of one
who has been there from the start.
The brightness of the sun
hurts my eyes and my heart.
Sun Struck
The brightness of the sun
hurts my eyes and my heart.
I am completely undone
by the brightness of the sun.
It highlights the loss of one
who has been there from the start.
The brightness of the sun
hurts my eyes and my heart.
I am a poet and photographer who likes sports, jazz and art inspired by other art. I served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the early 1970's and was assigned to the Computer Sciences School in Quantico, VA. I have published a chapbook of grief poems, I Keep You with Me. My work also has appeared in publications such as Thorny Locust Magazine, core. zine,The Enigmatist, Veterans' Voices and Kansas Time + Place An Anthology of Heartland Poetry. My visual art pieces combine poetry and photographs, and have been most recently displayed at InterUrban ArtHouse, Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, Buttonwood Art Space, and The Smalter Gallery.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Wake Up Call
Wake Up Call
Good morning, Moon.
What's keeping
you out
this
time of day?
Some celestial
celebration?
Is the earth
making
too much noise?
Has the stress
of daily existence
given you
insomnia?
Or, do you
show yourself
at this odd time
to remind us
you are there
even when
we don't
see you?
I am a poet and photographer who likes sports, jazz and art inspired by other art. I served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the early 1970's and was assigned to the Computer Sciences School in Quantico, VA. I have published a chapbook of grief poems, I Keep You with Me. My work also has appeared in publications such as Thorny Locust Magazine, core. zine,The Enigmatist, Veterans' Voices and Kansas Time + Place An Anthology of Heartland Poetry. My visual art pieces combine poetry and photographs, and have been most recently displayed at InterUrban ArtHouse, Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, Buttonwood Art Space, and The Smalter Gallery.
Monday, February 20, 2012
I Keep You with Me-Looking at Grief with Verse
I write poetry and also volunteer with a grief support group. I often write poetry about grief. A friend suggested that I collect the grief poems into a book so I did.
I am a poet and photographer who likes sports, jazz and art inspired by other art. I served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the early 1970's and was assigned to the Computer Sciences School in Quantico, VA. I have published a chapbook of grief poems, I Keep You with Me. My work also has appeared in publications such as Thorny Locust Magazine, core. zine,The Enigmatist, Veterans' Voices and Kansas Time + Place An Anthology of Heartland Poetry. My visual art pieces combine poetry and photographs, and have been most recently displayed at InterUrban ArtHouse, Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, Buttonwood Art Space, and The Smalter Gallery.
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