Today, if you hear his voice

Nephelococcygia From νεφέλη (nephélē, “cloud”) +‎ κόκκῡξ (kókkūx, “cuckoo”) +‎ -ῐ́ᾱ (-íā). 1. cloud-cuckoo-land, a utopia, imaginary place with unrealistic or silly people.  Dragons and dolphins mostly; Draping my waking eyes in dreams, Whilst stare I high above to see Forever in the shapes that more than seem. They grow me toward whom I’m meant to be, This they must and do achieve. A singing bird in flight, A wolf’s head, hippo, cartoon ear, AllContinue reading "Nephelococcygia "

for Gerard Manley Hopkins and the kingfishers he saw catch fire Oak, Elm and Cedar, Pitch Pine, Walnut, Spruce. Your names, dear friends, must speak and spell this place, And yet my habits baffle in disuse Of lips and lungs to lovingly embrace The shapes of Birch and Beach -- of Tulip Tree -- Unmaking ground beneath my feet, beneath WhichContinue reading "On Forgetting the Names of Trees "

When was the first time you saw the long shadOws? Can you bring to light the light that stretchedYour darkness out behind you like a sadNess? Or before you like the joy of sketchedTomorrows? Or both at once as it oftEn is? Remember the white gravel walkFrom back behind the barn where grass so softLyContinue reading "The Long Shadows"

If you know me, you know I love George MacDonald. I write down quotes as I read through his works. I haven't read them all yet, but I'm getting closer! This quote felt like it was close to a found poem all by itself, but it evolved into a sonnet below. "Does he not demandContinue reading "What I Know: A sonnet with the Marquis of Lossie"

A concave darkness, deep in eyes of stoneSees true and false in one uneasy breath;A bust and not the rest, no flesh and bone.The heartless head of one who dealt out deathIs, unsurprisingly, colorless, naught.His eyes are hollowed out by sculptor's skill,The iris is a void, the pupil wroughtBy tender scraping, scratching, smoothing ‘tilTwo delicateContinue reading "Bust of Pilate"

Thinking about feet and Matthew 7:24-27 on Maundy ThursdayWalking on the BeachDesiccation ready here,Crumbling sand crunches,Despite the wet sea breeze. Lumpy waves of wind-made moundsTo plod throughAs I seek the ocean’s prize;Not quite dunesBut dune-likeOn a smaller scale. Here, Near my home,The Jersey ShoreIs streaked with darker sand,Stirred throughWith bits of shells;This is a placeContinue reading "Walking on the Beach"

More than a score of years ago I learnedBig Dipper spills her cup into the North,Merak and Dubhe have forever burnedAn arrow aimed at North Star’s clear "Go forth!"It seemed like magic to know the way,No matter where I wandered, she was found,A trust in heaven that could keep at bayThe doubts of lefts andContinue reading "Reorientation"

after Deuteronomy 4:9Take care to watch yourself closely so as Not to forget the things your eyes have seen, Your ears have heard, the things your heart’s heart has Received and interwoven in your being. You must remember daily, or you run The risk of losing more than what you’ve known. Unknowing runs to eyes and ears undone; And hearts will shineContinue reading "Deuteronomic: A Christian Poet’s Manifesto"

Delicate hairsof my ear lobesQuiver gladlywith bulb whispersBreaking blindlyfrom beneath the ground. EyelidsClosing ‘roundMourning dove's minor thirdbring blood’s brightness to the harmonious humof all eyes see. KneecapsShivering with water’sRipple trill, thoseDazzled bonesEmbraced and embracingWhat peaks must tell. SternumSyncing with eachBore hole beat;the flickers are makingTheir signatureand singing this feast. Rough skinof my elbowsShushing sotto voceBelowContinue reading "Acoustic Body"

in Lancaster County, PA These birds woke up as rain lay down to sleepTo scatter dreams upon this false-spring field;February alive from somewhere deep, Reviving early with a hope to yieldThe harvest sooner than it has before.A warm wind seeping from beyond my prayersTo fill the feathers for these birds to soarFrom stubble into windbreakContinue reading "False Spring Birds"

I went to a conference last week where I met a bunch of poets. I got to read a previous version of this poem for a group and got some feedback. Usually not the result of an editing session, but this poem has been expanded. Kainos Ktisis for Francis Quarles A fourth dimension that's muchContinue reading "Kainos Ktisis: Second Draft"

Only to grow so old in love as these Beloveds in the rest stop parking here! For love that lasts much longer than my knees, For tenderness exceeding vision clear, The chance to prove that I could go so far! A husband who so carefully prepared The chair his wife would wheel in from the car. I watched him get it from the trunkContinue reading "How Long Love Holds "

After John 3  A long-legged spider  Just descended from the trees  Suspended by her thread,  She dipped her head in water  And rose up  As quickly as she came  Gathering hungrily  With forelegs, the thread  And her body,  Deftly ascending back into the branches,  Cradling between her head and thorax  A single drop of water Continue reading "Of Water and of Wind"