poems
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For the first time in at least five years, my wife and I escaped for a five-day getaway to celebrate our anniversary. Our destination: Presque Isle, Pennsylvania. Our only goal: time to be quiet and enjoy the gift of one another and the beauty of creation. We were dazzled by the stones and small shells…
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Stepping out my backdoor on a typically busy Sunday morning, I was compelled to stop and listen to the varied carols of a mid-May Western Pennsylvania morning. Rather than move forward with my task of moving the car up to the road to pick up my family and load the instruments, I simply bathed in…
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Spring comes early for a twelve-year-old. No sooner had Wolf Creek thawed and warmer weather returned than my son came asking to go in the creek. A western Pennsylvania April isn’t the ideal time to return to the waters. As T. S. Eliot so aptly put it, “April is the cruellest month” (The Waste Land).…
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Here’s a short poem I worked on throughout the month of March but never got around to posting. I honestly can’t imagine what it’s like to struggle with insomnia. I’ve never had difficulty falling asleep nor have I been plagued by night thoughts. Sure, I’ve had a few nights where, in the heat of the…
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For over seven years, my friend and fellow writer, James, and I have met every few weeks at our local Dunkin’ to carve out an hour and a half of dedicated time to write. Admittedly, it’s not the most conducive atmosphere for creativity, but beggars can’t be choosers. I’d much rather have a local pub…
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Unsurprisingly, the new year did not usher in a slower season of life. Any resolution to visit The Deepening Ground more regularly to leave poetic breadcrumbs that lead out of the suffocating press of modernity failed within days of the calendar flipping to 2026. That’s not to say that I wasn’t writing nor that I…
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For months, I’ve carried the call of the Sandhill Cranes in my heart. They were passing over my home on an early Saturday morning as I was leaving to proctor the SATs at my high school. It was a divine interruption – a hard stop on the feverish rush of modern life. Since then, I’ve…
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Over the summer, we experienced a substantial lack of rain. Now this isn’t England, but Grove City usually has its share of rainy days. We savor the sunny ones as they seem to be as rare as European White Truffles. And yet, I was far too busy to notice. As the summer came to a…
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As summer’s curtain drops and the stage resets for another academic year, I return to my only camping excursion in late June with my second youngest son. We gathered with a group of friends and fathers to camp and kayak. The food and fellowship were wonderful and our time on the Allegheny River, including stops…
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Last week we returned to St. Paul, Minnesota for the national speech and debate competition hosted at the University of Northwestern. While there, I got to spend some quiet time on the dual bench glider swings on the university’s small island, known for its Island Chapel (follow the link beneath the photograph for the chapel’s…
the deepening ground 