Poetry and insights
I’m in love with words, and I love to use the right words to create poems that have clarity and character. I think of my work as “literal poetry.” I don’t put my pen down until I’ve said exactly what I feel, exactly what I mean to say, so that you, as the reader or listener, will have no doubt about it. I want to write poems that don’t need to be explained—what you see is what it is. I want to write poems that express deep human emotions, and very thoughtful observations, and very precise meanings. I am a poet, a writer, a teacher, a moralist, a historian and an unflinching student of human nature. I think a lot. I strive to express truth and give context—both rational and emotional—to reality. I think words can be pictures, and lovely songs, and bodacious scents, and private flavors, and early morning caresses that wake each part of me, one at a time. I know some of those words, and, from time to time, I write some of them.
“zéphyr,” music, sing…my poem
one more harmony
“…the tongue is a fire…”…James 3:6
how does it taste?
“…a siren’s song…”…a new book, my poem
a symphony of words
“the quiet fire and you…”…“Reverie,” my poem
your happy smiles
“The prayer of the humble…”… Sirach, 35:17
give it a try
Book Reviews and insights
Reading is part of my life. Old books are companions—they have a palpable essence that will never be duplicated in an eBook reader. I can live with books, inter librorum copias. I don’t read too many novels, although I’m partial to 19th century American and English writers like Dickens and Hawthorne and O. Henry. I’m happy when I’m reading aloud. I wish that I may live long enough to read at least most of the books in my library.
“…hirpling with pain…” Beowulf got it right
dragons are losers…
Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism (book review)
Temple Grandin has a lot to say…
The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything (book review)
which pictures do you like to draw?
A deadly masquerade of amour…Les Liaisons Dangereuses
it’s more than talk…(book review)
Bitterly Divided: The South’s Inner Civil War (book review)
David Williams says secession wasn’t popular
Historical insights
I think it’s difficult to be a sensitive and sensible human being without some knowledge of history and its enduring elements. An insufficient understanding of history is an impediment to decent participation in human society. I am particularly intrigued by the systematic methods of the French Annalistes to examine the deep structures (longues durées) of history. Awareness and understanding of history allows us to create and sustain a mindful context for our past and present adventures.
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Politics: thoughts and insights
Yelling isn’t my style. I am a committed and, I think, well-informed liberal progressive. It’s my intention to avoid presenting any political commentaries that are doctrinaire, abusive, deliberately hateful or contrary to “…a decent respect to the opinions of mankind…” Maybe you’ll recognize those words from the Declaration of Independence. I respect the value and the necessity of dedicated support for the preservation of the public good. I’m willing to offer my considerations of what constitutes the public good.
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Tidbits
Occasional items that tickle your funny bone, or point your mind in a new direction, or invite you to stop for a moment and listen to what your heart is telling you.
“Boil up” and other good manners…
The “Hobo Ethical Code” is worth a quick read.
Will the last monkey cry?
the new reality…
Brian Doyle, “Joyas Voladoras”
the word whisperer…
“…the truth is putting on its shoes.”
Mark Twain gets it right, again…(quote)
Book review: “Bartleby, the Scrivener”
Loneliness, almost unspeakable…
Book review: Address Unknown
A friendship corrupted by Nazi hatred before WWII…
You’re down to one piece of bread…
…would you share it with anybody?
“…a merely decent human being.”
May Sarton, on the lookout…(quote)
Movie review: Same Time, Next Year
all-American adultery, oh yeah…
Mary Jane Oliver, R. I. P.
She wrote so many of the right words…