by Richard Subber | Sep 17, 2026 | My poetry, Poetry, Reflections
so much of life
a welcome
wandering in the woods,
wondering in the woods,
feeling like a stranger,
listening for the friendly sounds
and the queries
of the creatures
who will remain after I go,
finding the old trail,
walking the old bend,
recalling the blissful view
of water and bank and dam
and old dead tree
that won’t bud and won’t budge.
The woods are dark and deep,
and they make a welcome
in the shady spots,
and they urge a walker
through the sunny spots,
and they sing a ceaseless song
for all who listen.
So much life,
and little deaths too,
but so much life.
July 21, 2026
Image courtesy of Nancy Bryant
Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
* * * * * *
My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: The Bartender’s Tale
Ivan Doig’s story, I mostly loved it…
–
In high meadows: poems abide with 60 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
* * * * * *
by Richard Subber | Sep 15, 2026 | Book reviews, Books, Human Nature
it’s good storytelling
Book review:
Brian’s Hunt
by Gary Paulsen (1939-2021)
New York: Ember, Random House Children’s Books, 2003
103 pages
Gary Paulsen writes for young people, but any adult reader can readily see that the stories are realistic, and fully readable. It’s good storytelling.
Brian’s Hunt is about a teenage boy who is at home in the woods, can survive on his own, and ultimately hunts a bear that is hunting him. Brian is a completely credible character. When he walks at the water’s edge, the reader can feel the mud between his toes.
The story line is simple and singular. The challenges of life in the wild are all too easy to experience vicariously. There is learning.
There is the satisfaction of the preferred outcome.
* * * * * *
Book review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania (book review)
consistent tension, a page turner…
by Erik Larson
–
As with another eye: Poems of exactitude with 55 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
* * * * * *
by Richard Subber | Sep 12, 2026 | My poetry, Poetry, Reflections
a thing of great wonder
getting closer
The word “finality”
seems to be on my mind,
I don’t think the end is near,
but I think of it more often.
I don’t think I’m afraid to die,
but it can be a thing of wonder.
My younger me had almost no time
to think of ending,
but now it seems more real.
July 12, 2026
* * * * * *
My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: The Blithedale Romance
by Nathaniel Hawthorne, not his best…
–
In high meadows: poems abide with 60 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
* * * * * *
by Richard Subber | Sep 10, 2026 | Book reviews, Books
prepare to be delighted
Book review:
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
by Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (1859-1930)
New York: Mysterious Press, 1903-1904, 1987
304 pages
Doyle revived the 19th century Sherlock Holmes stories at the turn of the 20th century.
The 13 stories in this collection are notably like the rest of the notable series—can you doubt that Holmes is a masterful detective?!
In the first story, “The Adventure of the Empty House,” it becomes apparent that Holmes did not die with Moriarty at the remote chasm. Maybe no one ever believed it to be true.
If you like the Sherlock Holmes style and successes, you’ll like The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
There’s no mystery about how sincerely these stories compel a reader’s delight.
* * * * * *
Book review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
A poet is a “maker”
…and it doesn’t have to rhyme…
–
My first name was rain: A dreamery of poems with 52 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
* * * * * *
by Richard Subber | Sep 8, 2026 | Language, My poetry, Poetry
each layered wave…
Ashore
This place, it has no words for me.
The ocean makes its thrum,
it pulls the bow across the longest string…
Each layered wave aspires to end in surf,
and lightly bears its encumbering crest,
wavers at the sandy lip
and rolls beneath the swell,
makes room for every motion
that was born afar in blue water,
and sidles now to make a final turn,
becomes mere rhythm…
May 6, 2021
Ogunquit, ME
It was high tide at the Beachmere Inn.
The broad curve of the bay accepted the languid procession of modest waves…
it all seemed so unexceptional,
but I know that each wave is unique until it gets to the shore line.
The tableau did not speak to me.
I know that my presence was not needed.
Published in Creative Inspirations, January-February 2023.
My poem “Ashore” was published in my eighth collection of 57 poems, Empyrean: new poems.
You can buy it on Amazon (paperback and Kindle),
or get it free in Kindle Unlimited, search for “Richard Carl Subber”
* * * * * *
My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
A Farewell to Arms (book review)
classic Ernest Hemingway
with relentlessly realistic dialogue…
–
In high meadows: poems abide with 60 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
* * * * * *
