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the deepening ground

the deepening ground

  • Poetry According to Billy Collins #Poem #Poetry #Humor #Writer’sBlock #BillyCollins
    16 Aug 2023

    Poetry According to Billy Collins #Poem #Poetry #Humor #Writer’sBlock #BillyCollins

    Nursing a rough case of writer’s block. Summer has been full (as always), and time to write and reflect upon all that’s happened or sit in the still of a quiet day and just soak in the moment has been rare indeed. My mind has turned towards teaching,…

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  • The Swan Song of Cygnus: From Fools to Beloved Children #Constellations #Cygnus #Swan #Fool #NorthernCross #Song
    27 Jul 2023

    The Swan Song of Cygnus: From Fools to Beloved Children #Constellations #Cygnus #Swan #Fool #NorthernCross #Song

    Rather than draw from one of the Greek myths for this song, I went to the Roman story of Cygnus, Phaethon, and Helios. (Read a short summary HERE) The contrast between Phaethon and Cygnus immediately struck me, and I saw in Phaethon both Adam in the Garden of…

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  • Midsummer Wisdom from Mary Oliver #Poem #Poetry #Summer #Moth #Luna #End #MaryOliver
    20 Jul 2023

    Midsummer Wisdom from Mary Oliver #Poem #Poetry #Summer #Moth #Luna #End #MaryOliver

    Midsummer passed without much fanfare. Yet for me, it’s a harbinger of late summer and the beginning of another school year. Like nearly every summer, the days flit by without much structure, despite attempts to bring order to the wonderful chaos, and now I begin to feel that…

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  • Taking Time to Sabbath: Wendell Berry, Wingspan, and My Wife #Poem #Poetry #Sabbath #Game #Bird #Wingspan #Cherry #Family #Wife #WendellBerry
    9 Jul 2023

    Taking Time to Sabbath: Wendell Berry, Wingspan, and My Wife #Poem #Poetry #Sabbath #Game #Bird #Wingspan #Cherry #Family #Wife #WendellBerry

    Savoring the pace of summer here at home with my family! Sure, there are projects that need to be addressed such as the “new” doors that need to be stained from the addition we put on back in 2020. I need to touch up the rust spots on…

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  • Photo of the Day Poems: The Bent Heart #Poem #Poetry #Photography #Forest #Heart #Bent #Mongolia
    28 Jun 2023

    Photo of the Day Poems: The Bent Heart #Poem #Poetry #Photography #Forest #Heart #Bent #Mongolia

    I have held off on sharing this poem for years, though I love the image and the structure (rhyme and meter) of the poem itself. I don’t believe I wrote this poem from a place of hardness of heart; truly the image inspired the work that follows. Nor…

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  • “A slice of lime” by d.a.simpsonwriter #poem #poetry #writingcommunity
    22 Jun 2023

    “A slice of lime” by d.a.simpsonwriter #poem #poetry #writingcommunity

    Here’s a great post I read this morning from a poet I follow online. I love the use of gustatory imagery in the opening lines and all the varied light imagery that builds to that beautiful meditation on “light everlasting.” Such a hope-filled reminder of the Light that…

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  • Common Treasure: Sons, Streams, and Pop Bottles #Poetry #Poem #Son #Father #Stream #Bottle #Treasure #Song
    18 Jun 2023

    Common Treasure: Sons, Streams, and Pop Bottles #Poetry #Poem #Son #Father #Stream #Bottle #Treasure #Song

    Fathers, like children, are one of those common treasures often overlooked. Though the poem that follows has no direct relation to Father’s Day proper, I share it as a reminder (mostly to myself) to slow down and savor the common treasures of life like time with your children…

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  • Summer’s Song: Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Hope in the Presence of Care and Evil #Poem #Poetry #Summer #Care #Evil #Song #PaulLaurenceDunbar
    8 Jun 2023

    Summer’s Song: Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Hope in the Presence of Care and Evil #Poem #Poetry #Summer #Care #Evil #Song #PaulLaurenceDunbar

    By the calendar, summer has yet to fold back the cluttered page of Spring. By the end of the school year, summer has spread out like endless fields before me. As I wrap up grading student essays for the AP English Literature exam tomorrow (it’s been a prose…

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  • You’re Never Moving Forward if You’re Always Looking Back #Constellations #Lyra #Orpheus #Eurydice #Loss #Song
    29 May 2023

    You’re Never Moving Forward if You’re Always Looking Back #Constellations #Lyra #Orpheus #Eurydice #Loss #Song

    Like many of these songs, I’ve wanted to avoid the obvious retelling of the classic mythological tales that these constellations represent, but I found this story so compelling that I chose to structure my stanzas around the four movements or seasons of the life of Orpheus. What stood…

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  • Photo of the Day Poems: Ebullience #Poem #Poetry #Photography #Ebullience #Animals #Chimpanzee
    21 May 2023

    Photo of the Day Poems: Ebullience #Poem #Poetry #Photography #Ebullience #Animals #Chimpanzee

    Ebullience: (noun) the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts or feelings : exuberance “Ebullience.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ebullience. Accessed 21 May. 2023. Ebullience by Vincent H. Anastasi 2019 The baby chimpanzee: upside-down jester on its mother’s knee (mouth wide, tongue out) face of buffoonery, twisted strands…

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