Paths Crossed

We were sitting in her office, and she blew a cloud of smoke into the air above us,her lips positioned … More

Of Two Minds

As I approach I’m first struck by the enormous rose quartz rock, a natural monument crag,that marks Ralph Waldo Emerson’s … More

Poeming

When I see a poem coming down to around, say, 24 lines,I begin to consider whether I’ll compose it as … More

A Hallmark Moment

My friend calls to tell me a co-worker,rushed to Queen’s Hospital the night before,had undergone an emergency quadruple-bypass. The others … More

I Am, I Said

People can be such drive-by critics, those looking for value.But maybe I prefer that, not being seen, comparedto rubbernecking quick-stoppers … More

The Clock on the Wall

Exactly a year from now, I wonder ifI’ll be sitting at my computer writing something?I believe I foresee a good … More

A Creativity Mystery

I learned recently that Claude Monet wanted mostto paint the air between himself and his subject.I’m still trying to wrap … More

Passersby

From who has been to who will be here?Questions to answer like a color commentator.Opportunities I choose to select people,picture … More

Psst

You know that’s a word, right?It’s one of those onomatopoeia types.Those that come from a sound.Like when you’re trying to … More

Real Good Poems

How hard should a reader have to work to get something out of a poem?Would digging a hole to China … More

Looking As If She Were Alive (for Robert Browning)

The last meaning what? This guy.I’ve read enough stories, seen enough movies and TV showsto know that there’s always the … More

Save As and All That Jazz

This morning I’m frustrated.  Again. It’s a dating problem.  Story of my life. Ignoring, forgetting, misremembering, a typo. Each day I save … More

Life’s Run

Milton stumbles shakily around Mānoa Valley amid traffic. Petrarch perambulates Punchbowl Cemetery perusing stark headstones of veterans. Shakespeare window-shops for … More

What the Cat Typed

I jolt awake in the dark.Well, it would be dark except my computer,as have I, has come out of sleep … More

All the Hours of the Day and Night

I don’t know which of the 12 hours I love more,the half that’s a.m., or the half that’s p.m.I’d always … More

Where There’s a Will

A pint can’t hurt.Why do I always think that?More likely a pint can’t help. This writing implement depresses me.They are … More

Spring, Madison, Wisconsin, 2022

It’s another spring coming that I won’t be back in Madison,go there to write, my personal writing workshop, a retreat,where … More

This is an ex-poem

This used to be a poem, but now it’s not. I tried to make it pretty, but it didn’t turn … More

Nantucket

There once was a bard from Hawai‘iWho penned little poems as a hobbyFrom the time he learned lettersHe got better … More

The Tellers of the Tales

They are the scalpels into the heart of the storyCatalogers of the tales of life, of death, and beyondSpeakers of … More