Monday morning, as I looked out the windows of The Observatory (our family room), I saw a grey heron down in the creek. At first, I was content to simply admire him from afar. Besides, if I went outside and down to the water’s edge, I’d surely scare him off. But the lure was just … More An Invitation to Reflect #Poetry #Heron #Nature
A quiet evening by the open window reading Andrew Klavan’s The Truth and Beauty. The neighbor’s window air conditioner humming incessantly in the background. William Wordsworth’s timely sonnet about the pervasive nature of our modern world. A train whistle in the distance. The bread and the wine. What follows is the synergy of those experiences … More The Communion of Quiet #Poetry #Communion #Quiet #Nature
My daughter brought home a container of Magnetic Poetry, the Receivables Custom Edition, from work last week (she works at our local library). Since then, the refrigerator has become the deepening ground of our home with everyone chipping in to various poetic “masterpieces,” including the eight and ten-year-olds (grandma has not felt poetically inspired as … More The Addictive Nature of Refrigerator Poetry #Poetry #MagneticPoetry
True love is the deepening ground of life. Unfortunately, so few are willing to labor together in the field, transforming the hard soils of life into the oasis offered to us in true love, especially in the midst of trying times. Most so-called “love” peters out just inches into the earth. So few are willing … More Are You Digging a Well or Just Making Holes? #Love #SoulMate #BlackoutPoetry #Poem
It’s not Wolf Creek, but it will have to do. If I could have had a decent camera with me a few Sundays ago as I floated down the creek that borders our property, staring up into the cerulean sky with only a few cumulus clouds floating by, then I could have captured the exact … More Surrendered: Another Lesson from Wolf Creek #Poetry #Peace #Hope #Rest #Sonnet
The academic year winds down, and all the responsibilities and tasks that come with it come crashing in like a tsunami. At the same time, gigs are picking up and I’m readying myself to serve as an AP reader in early June. In the midst of this, I tweaked my neck and it’s taken multiple … More Streamed Life: Lessons from Wolf Creek #Poetry #Life #Rest
A week away from the normal routines of life is refreshing, even if it comes with other, pressing responsibilities. We have just returned from New Jersey where my son and daughter competed in a regional speech tournament. While there, I spent most of my time either judging rounds (ten, to be exact) or watching my … More Blackout Poetry for a Quiet Morning #Poetry #Morning #Solitude #NPM22
Having not actually written anything new recently, a quiet hour to write (or blackout) tonight was a gift. Flipping through the same book that I have been using for nearly six years, I gratefully unearthed the following poem just in time for Resurrection Day, known to many as Easter. The celebration that finds its source … More A Poem a Day: Blackout Poetry for Resurrection Day #Poetry #Resurrection #Easter #NPM22
About a year ago, I shared a sample of blackout poetry: essentially a found poem drawn from an already published text. In my case, I have been crafting my poems from a discarded book I picked up at our school library. I have titled that collection Odd Things, as each poem appears on the odd … More A Poem a Day: Blackout Poetry #Poetry #NPM22
The discovery of the Endurance earlier this month is a prophetic message for us all. Even as the vessel itself was prophetically named Endurance because of what Shackleton’s legendary expedition would entail, so we too are on a journey that requires endurance, skill, and courage. In meditating on a few articles I read on The … More Finding Endurance: More than Just Shackleton’s Ship #Poetry #Endurance
the deepening ground 