treadmill thoughts…“and old sneakers,” my poem

treadmill thoughts…“and old sneakers,” my poem

again is anew…

 

 

…and old sneakers

 

We move, we huff,

we quiver, we chant,

thoughts galore will tumble

   as the hot routine deepens,

 

the workout is good,

no doubt,

we mime the young

   as we get old,

we walk the track,

the countless reps,

the 1-2-3, the look-and-see,

the bobbled step,

the front and back,

the in-and-out…

 

This cheerless time,

this silent gym,

this jumbled gear,

the shadowed clock…

look the same as yesterday,

but…

 

I conjure me,

a brand new thought,

a slower step,

I see a different future,

the silence is a private tune,

 

I whisper behind my eyes

   that more is more,

again is anew,

the moving is progress,

it is long moments in my life.

 

November 24, 2024

  *   *   *   *   *   *

My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2025 All rights reserved.

 

Movie review: Same Time, Next Year

it’s all-American adultery, oh yeah…

click here

Writing Rainbows: Poems for Grown-Ups with 59 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”

 

Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.

*   *   *   *   *   *

no kicking or biting…says Seneca

no kicking or biting…says Seneca

don’t bite back…

 

 

“How much better it is to take the opposite course

   and not to match fault with fault.

     Would any one think that he was well balanced

        if he repaid a mule with kicks

          and a dog with biting?”

 

Seneca (4 BC-65 CE), On Anger (De Ira), 3.27.2

*   *   *   *   *   *

Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2025 All rights reserved.

 

Book review: Seven Gothic Tales

by Isak Dinesen,

lush and memorable stories…

click here

Writing Rainbows: Poems for Grown-Ups with 59 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”

*   *   *   *   *   *

Range: Why Generalists Triumph…book review

Range: Why Generalists Triumph…book review

Prepare for the future, don’t try to plan it…

 

Book review:

Range:

Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

 

by David Epstein (b1983)

New York: Riverhead Books, 2019

355 pages

 

We don’t know the future.

We can prepare for it to happen by sampling life and all it has to offer.

 

We don’t have to choose a career track

or a life path all at once when we’re young.

 

Most successful, satisfied people change jobs and change goals during their lives.

 

“Compare yourself to yourself yesterday, not to younger people who aren’t you.” (p. 290)

 

Don’t “decide what you should be before first figuring out who you are.” (p. 289)

 

Michelangelo “left three-fifths of his sculptures unfinished.” (p. 164)

 

“Instead of working back from a goal, work forward from promising situations.”

Quote from Paul Graham, cited on p. 163

 

You don’t have to start out committed to one specialized goal or career or life path.

It’s OK to experiment with life, and to keep switching to another thing that interests you more.

It’s OK to take advantage of a lucky break, and make a move in a different direction.

Epstein says it more convincingly, in more detail, with plenty of facts to back up his argument in Range.

p.s. Epstein didn’t start out planning to be a shrewd observer of human nature, but he got there.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Book review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2025 All rights reserved.

 

“Fishering,” by Brian Doyle

…what meets the eye…

click here

many waters: more poems with 53 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”

*   *   *   *   *   *

friends can touch…my poem

our little space…

 

 

touch

 

…some easy talk is all we need,

brief moments are the time,

 

quick smiles come and go,

and linger

   and last,

 

familiar words we share,

we cross our paths,

we laugh in our little space,

 

our fingers touch,

and touch,

we’re friends, we know that much.

 

September 23, 2024

Published in March-April 2025 issue of Creative Inspirations

*   *   *   *   *   *

My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2025 All rights reserved.

many waters: more poems with 53 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.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Tabula Rasa: Volume 1…book review

Tabula Rasa: Volume 1…book review

a literate TO DO list

 

 

Book review:

Tabula Rasa: Volume 1

 

by John McPhee (b1931)

New York: Picador, 2023

180 pages

 

It’s potentially thrilling when a talented author decides to clear his plate and clear his mind of the old ideas that haven’t been transformed to words.

I dare to suggest that McPhee’s title, Tabula Rasa, was chosen with tongue firmly pressed against cheek. His mind was working and his imagination was full when he picked the best words for his TO DO list.

Some of the appeal of Tabula Rasa is that his short pieces (50 of them) were collected but not organized. Each one is at least around the corner from the next one, and it’s easy to guess that McPhee never was bored while he wrote them.

This is a literate and thought-filled way to clear the deck.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Book review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2025 All rights reserved.

 

many waters: more poems with 53 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”

*   *   *   *   *   *

Stonehenge…the stones know…my poem

Stonehenge…the stones know…my poem

they do not tell…

 

 

Stonehenge

 

We look like a circle of stones.

We know why we stand here

   but we do not tell,

perhaps we knew the beginning of time,

time means so little to us,

the ages come and go,

our circle stands, unmoving,

reflecting each break of day,

embracing the dawn of dawns,

remembering the chants of long ago,

accepting the credulous chatter

   that fills our spaces,

accepting the lightest touch

   of each fingertip

      that seeks so many answers

         to so many questions,

knowing that we exalt pure stillness,

indeed, knowing that the lintels

   betray the ignorance

      of beguiled masons,

knowing that we

   are the upright fingers of the gods

      that point to havens

         above the sky,

knowing that we may rest on earth

   until the unknown end of time.

 

December 28, 2024

*   *   *   *   *   *

My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2025 All rights reserved.

 

Play review: A Doll’s House

Henrik Ibsen’s classic on abuse…

click here

many waters: more poems with 53 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.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Pin It on Pinterest