Tag Archives: philosophy

Celebration 6

Posted on by
79

Snoopy

6

Today is my birthday. Six months ago I did not think I’d see this day. But here I am, celebrating Stephanie’s smile, the morning’s first sip of coffee, snowflakes (just a few, but hey!), modern science, the wisdom of Snoopy, friendship, love, and yes, my continuing existence. I am a lucky man.

Prayer

Death does not choose you at random
but approaches at your pace, rumbling
downhill or floating in the air,
debris or dandelion fluff,
concealed yet evident.
Listen: a small cloud bumps another,
merging into one larger being —
can you hear its ecstasies?
All the world’s souls, gathered.

“Prayer” was first published in Soul-Lit.

Poems Published at Resurrection Magazine

Posted on by
16

shadow behind

A handful of my poems have been published since January, and in the grip of my illness I did not properly acknowledge the publications. I hope to make up for this, at least in part, by providing links to these journals.

My poems “IWhile You Slept,” and “Surrounded by Myself I Remain” were published at Resurrection Magazine this past Spring.  I am grateful to editors Ingrid M. Calderon-Collins and John Collins for taking these pieces.

Poems Up at The Big Windows Review

Posted on by
20

moon through trees

My poems “Nothing Happening Again and Again,” “What Is the Sound of the Cold Moon,” and “Olive Oil Cake” are up at The Big Windows Review. I am grateful to editor Thomas Zimmerman for taking these poems, and for his generous support over the years.

Poem Nominated for Best of the Net

Posted on by
56

stormy

I learned a few days ago that my poem “In the Stillness of After” has been nominated by Sunlight Press for a “Best of the Net” award. I am grateful to editors Rudri Patel and Beth Burrell for this honor. 

Poem Published at Amethyst Review

Posted on by
32

banjo

A handful of my poems have been published since January, and in the grip of my illness I did not properly acknowledge the publications. I hope to make up for this, at least in part, by providing, at this late date, links to the poems in these journals.

“While Listening to Fleck, Hussein and Meyer, I Consider Children’s Book Titles, Hops and the Ongoing Search for Meaning,” was published at Amethyst Review in January. I am grateful to editor Sarah Law for taking this sonnet, and to Stephanie L. Harper, who provided the title during a fundraiser for Tupelo Press iin August 2016. Little did I know that four years later Stephanie and I would be married. Ah, the power of poetry.

Poems Published at Abandoned Mine

Posted on by
23

file000393008610

A handful of my poems have been published since January, and in the grip of my illness I did not properly acknowledge the publications. I hope to make up for this, at least in part, by providing links to these journals.

My poems “In the Middle of the Rest of the World,” and “Driving By I See Different Flesh in the Field” were published at Abandoned Mine this past February.  I am grateful to editors Jasen Christensen and Robert Grant for taking these pieces.

Poems Published at The Globe Review

Posted on by
26

Map with glasses

A handful of my poems have been published since January, and in the grip of my illness I did not properly acknowledge the publications. I hope to make up for this, at least in part, by providing links to these journals.

My poems “Another Night at the Breach,” “At World’s Edge,” and “Cactus Needle” were published at The Globe Review this past spring.  I am grateful to editor Blanka Pillar for taking these pieces.

Poems Up at Wildness

Posted on by
22

Seymour

My poems “Not Language but the Possibility” and  “Reduced to Translation” are live at Wildness.  Many thanks to editor Michelle Tudor for taking these two poems.

Celebration 5

Posted on by
67

nine

5

Woe is me! Break out the tiny violins! I am in full-whine mode!

Numbers, numbers, numbers, numbers. Add, divide, multiply, subtract. Take note, shift columns. Despair. For months, the numbers have been backhanding me, to and fro, up and down. Bullying, mocking, teasing mercilessly, always heading in the wrong direction. Property taxes have increased. Life expectancy has plummeted. The bank account is steadily dwindling. With my illness, work, or a job, isn’t really feasible, though occasionally I sell a book or two (not mine, mostly scholarly or collectible tomes), which brings in a few bucks. And inflation! Everything costs more. Just a few years ago I seldom paid more than a dollar a pound for chicken thighs. Nowadays we’re lucky to pay four times that amount. And so it goes.

But, a few weeks ago, the numbers finally stepped in firmly on my side! In May, scans showed that my lung cancer had spread to the brain; nine small lesions were found, cause for concern, as you might imagine. Now, nine is a fascinating number, majestic, mystical, some might say. Multiply it by two, and you get 18. Add the two digits that comprise 18, one and eight, and you get 9. Multiply it by three: 27. Total the two digits forming 27, and you get, yes, 9. Multiply it by four, by five, by six, by seven, eight or nine. Fifteen. Twenty. Add the digits that comprise the sum and you return to nine. Interesting, no?*

But I’ve digressed. Nine is not the digit one wants to hear when discussing the number of lesions manifested in one’s brain. That was the situation a few months ago. But now, apparently, the numbers have taken my side, and I no longer need concern myself with that figure. Recent scans revealed that the lesions have resolved; they’ve disappeared! In other words, the treatment is working. Oh, the cancer is still with me elsewhere, but after months of bad report after bad report, the news is finally trending in the right direction.

So today I praise the magical number nine, which, in my case, has transformed itself into nothing, a circumstance most worthy of commemoration. What numbers do you celebrate, and why?

*If this sounds familiar, you may have read my essay originally posted here in February 2014.

Poem Up at The Headlight Review

Posted on by
31

Shakuhachi

My poem “Self-Portrait as Shakuhachi” is live at The Headlight Review.  I am grateful to the editors for taking this piece.