Are you working on the main thing?

Are you working on the main thing?

The main thing is what counts…

 

 

Michelangelo “left three-fifths

                          of his sculptures unfinished.”

 

Maybe other projects came along.

Maybe the patron changed his mind.

Maybe Michelangelo got tired of working on those pieces.

Maybe he forgot.

 

Point is, don’t worry if you don’t finish everything you start.

Figure out what the main thing is, and do it.

 

from

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

by David Epstein (b1983)

New York: Riverhead Books, 2019

quote is from p. 164

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Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2025 All rights reserved.

 

84, Charing Cross Road (book review)

Helene Hanff, on reading good books…

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”

*   *   *   *   *   *

“…and hides our dreams…”…“dew not,” my poem

“…and hides our dreams…”…“dew not,” my poem

see it clearly

 

 

dew not

 

Away, you foggy dew!

 

…in hazy morn it seems so clear,

our views of life embrace still air,

we want no clouds across our path,

we want no wind to fill the space

   that brings the distant beauty near,

we want no rain

   that draws our eyes

      to up and up,

and wets the skies

   and hides our dreams.

 

We want the void that touches all

   and leaves no mark,

the see-through part

   that makes each thing

      some thing to see,

the empty place

   where foggy dew

      is always a stranger.

 

December 29, 2024

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

 

Book review: A Cold Welcome

The culprit was global cooling,

          500 years ago…

by Sam White

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”

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“see the new possible…”…“caper,” my poem

“see the new possible…”…“caper,” my poem

think of new tomorrows…

 

 

caper

 

“The impossible closes around

like a smooth lake

on an early morning swim.”

 

…and you taste it,

and stroke through it,

the unseen ripples chase you

   as you push your little wave ahead,

you think of new tomorrows,

and you make a silent promise,

and you see the new possible

   as it capers on the morning shore.

 

December 23, 2024

The quote is from “Everything that is not you” by Jane Hirshfield. It inspired me.

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

 

Book review: Tales from Shakespeare

summaries by Charles and Mary Lamb…

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.

*   *   *   *   *   *

the true, the beautiful…

it’s there, look around…

 

 

“Eighty percent of everything

that is true and beautiful

can be experienced

on any ten-minute walk.”

 

from Somehow: Thoughts on Love

by Anne Lamott

New York: Riverhead Books, 2024

194 pages

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Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2025 All rights reserved.

 

Book review: The Bridges of Madison County

If you’re looking for

highly stoked eroticism

and high-rolling lives

that throw off sparks when they touch,

look elsewhere.

by Robert Waller

click here

In other words: Poems for your eyes and ears with 64 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”

*   *   *   *   *   *

singing the easy tunes…“la cage,” my poem

singing the easy tunes…“la cage,” my poem

I’ve seen other creatures…

 

 

la cage

 

I could be wrong,

I think I’m a bird.

 

It’s hard to put it into words

   ‘cause I can’t talk

      in exactly the way

         the big creature does.

 

The creature can’t sing, of course,

I’ve sung the easy tunes

   so many times,

but all I hear from the creature

   is “la la la”

      and “mmmh mmmh,”

without a speck of joy.

 

The creature gives me food,

although the seeds are really old

   and the bugs are already dead!

and nectar?

oh well, I’ll keep waiting…

 

The hairy thing that barks

   doesn’t jump up any more,

I stopped being scared.

It’s a good thing I’m up so high!

 

I did get to fly once

   when the creature

      forgot to shut the little door,

but I didn’t go far,

my little arms got tired,

then I moved around three times

   and then the creature grabbed me—

it didn’t hurt—

and now I’m back inside.

 

I can see through the wall,

the sun is sometimes bright,

the sticks with greenish things

   go up and down,

and back and forth,

I’ve seen other creatures

   that sort of look like me,

I heard one sing my song.

 

A while ago, when it was dark

   I think I had a thought…

I’m sitting here… 

I can’t remember it.

 

December 7, 2024

“la cage” was inspired by “A Caged Bird” by Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909)

excerpt:

“High at the window in her cage

    The old canary flits and sings,

  Nor sees across the curtain pass

     The shadow of a swallow’s wings.”

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

 

Book review: Shantung Compound

They didn’t care so much

   about each other…

by Langdon Gilkey

click here

In other words: Poems for your eyes and ears with 64 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.

*   *   *   *   *   *

“before it’s light…”…my poem

“before it’s light…”…my poem

one more round…

 

 

before it’s light…

 

It’s not quite day,

and I haven’t completely

   shrugged sleep from my thoughts,

 

I’m thinking this is the short time,

this is “get started” time,

this is the gossamer moment

   for pulling on the bright shirt

      and welcoming one more day,

one more morning,

one more round of life,

one more chance

   to get it mostly right,

 

I’m thinking nothing new here,

just like yesterday,

do good things,

get ready for tomorrow.

 

October 2, 2024

 

…waiting for breakfast at Easter’s Country Kitchen, Hingham, MA

 

Published in Creative Inspirations, Jan-Feb 2025 issue

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

 

Book review: Hag-Seed

by Margaret Atwood…it ain’t Shakespeare

click here

Seeing far: Selected poems with 47 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.

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