Unfurling within form
I have been occupied lately trimming the ivy away from statuary faces on the fence, the edge of the brick walk, and from the Red Queen who surveys the rock pool, thinking about poetry as I worked. There are certain opposing principles which, to my mind, are always yoked in dynamic balance (or imbalance): classicism/romanticism, reason/passion, [...]

With a buoyant heart . . .
I have dropped the workshop. Two missed classes due to my father’s death led both the prof and myself to the conclusion that I had missed too much and that I would be better off withdrawing and taking the class again at a later time. I can breathe again, as though miraculously restored. [...]

Memorial poems
We returned a day or two ago.  I was reluctant to leave my family back in Illinois, though it was good to be home, back among my animals and books and garden. I completed the poem for my father the day before leaving town, and had it printed with two others, all centered around the image [...]

Uncanny moment
Sitting at the table in our garden yesterday morning, working on the elegy for my father, I looked up to discover a small blue bird perched on the table looking at me.  Instantly it flew off.  It seemed too small to be a bluebird, so I would guess that it was a blue bunting. In many cultures [...]

Elegy
My father died this afternoon, peacefully in his own bed.  Mother was with him Around midnight I went for my usual walk with dog & cat.  Sky was clear with bright stars.  This night, for the first time, the Pleiades are visible in the northwest. I have been asked to write an elegy for the memorial service.  I feel completely inadequate [...]