Category Archives: poems

If I recall correctly, this poem sprouted from five word-seeds, including immutably, ineluctable, and ostensibly. I love the sound and weight of these words. On one hand, we’re told by writing “experts” to avoid overusing adverbs, but used fittingly (cough, cough), they add flavor, like any good seasoning, to the main course of the poemContinue reading “Practiced Faith”

January 1st has historically been a time for reevaluating one’s life and planning for the future with greater purpose and resolution. It’s that bridge suspended between years (although it begins the new year), linking the past and the future in a fleeting present. For me, it has become a reminder of loss and the fragilityContinue reading “An Ending and a Beginning”

Last week I willingly missed a moment. I neglected the divine intrusion for a bowl of gruel (not literally – just a bowl of Panda Puffs cereal) before heading up to my bedroom to teach English all day. I slept in, forgetting that I would have to dig out from the snow – most importantly,Continue reading “Don’t Miss the Divine Intrusions”

“No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will makeContinue reading “Overcoming Infamy”

Psalm 100 A psalm of thanksgiving. 1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!2     Worship the Lord with gladness.    Come before him, singing with joy.3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!    He made us, and we are his.    We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;    go into his courts with praise.    Give thanks to himContinue reading “THANKSGIVING”

“This life’s dim windows of the soul / Distorts the heavens from pole to pole / And leads you to believe a lie / When you see with, not through, the eye.” William Blake, from The Everlasting Gospel Before we put a hard stop on life to celebrate Thanksgiving with our loved ones, perhaps weContinue reading “Deception: Are You Seeing With or Through the Eye?”

A poem jumped me today in the busy thoroughfares of my daily routine. Unawares, it crept up in my soul in three exclamations: “O darkness! O deception! O death!” The antidotes followed immediately on my assailant’s heels: “Light! Truth! Life!” And the following sonnet was conceived. Like many of the Old Testament psalms, this sonnetContinue reading “The Light, The Truth, The Life”

ob•tes•ta•tion n. The act of protesting; a protesting in earnest and solemn words, as by calling God to witness; protestation. n. An earnest or pressing request; a supplication; an entreaty. Likely, obtestation isn’t in your daily vocabulary. It wasn’t in mine, until today. The word even baffles most spellcheckers. But no better word encapsulates whatContinue reading “November Obtestation”

I first encountered “The Raft of Medusa” (1818-1819) by Théodore Géricualt this past summer through Eric Bess’s article “Hope for the Impossible” from the June 8th edition of The Epoch Times (I strongly recommend the article!). I’ve revisited the painting repeatedly over the past five months, continually meditating on the faces and figures strewn aboutContinue reading “Fix Your Eyes on the Horizon”

God speaks to me through Red-tailed Hawks. I don’t really remember when it started, but I have been drawn to hawks for many years. Perhaps it was reading Robinson Jeffers’ poem Hurt Hawks under the direction of my cooperating teacher, Jack Warner. Maybe it was visiting the aviary in Pittsburgh, where my children held sticksContinue reading “To Soar on Wings Like…Red-Tailed Hawks”