I used to ride my bicycle all over the place when I was a kid. We grew up on bicycles. When we lived down on Snake Creek, we routinely rode any bike that we could get working down to the Dip (creek named for the yellow warning sign in front of it). I’ll never forget the Christmas the four of us kids were led outside by our parents to see a row of shiny new bikes waiting for us: bright green things with tassels on the handgrips, bone-white banana seats, and plastic wicker-like baskets with blue and pink flowers on them. Continue reading “Biking Toward Poetry”
Category: Musings
Musings on poetry and such
From Those Unknown to Us
I just read the great poet Pablo Neruda’s description of a lifelong inspiration in his poetry. He was playing in the lot behind his house when he found a hole in the fence:
“I looked through the hole and saw a landscape like that behind our house, uncared for, and wild. I moved back a few steps, because I sensed vaguely that something was about to happen. All of a sudden a hand appeared—a tiny hand of a boy about my own age. By the time I came close again, the hand was gone, and in its place there was a marvelous white toy sheep.
“The sheep’s wool was faded. Its wheels had escaped. All of this only made it more authentic. I had never seen such a wonderful sheep. I looked back through the hole but the boy had disappeared. I went in the house and brought out a treasure of my own: a pine cone, opened, full of odor and resin, which I adored. I set it down in the same spot and went off with the sheep.
“I never saw either the hand or the boy again.” Continue reading “From Those Unknown to Us”
Survival Through Poetry
I am normally about a decade behind on reading books, but my lovely sister Kelly who keeps me supplied with downloaded audio books has kept me somewhat current this time. Last month I finished listening to/reading Peter Heller’s The Dog Stars, which came out in 2012. It’s the kind of novel that poets love and one that takes a bit of a poet’s mentality to perhaps fully appreciate.
Please don’t let that turn you off, you non-poetry people out there (hey, what are you doing on my site, by the way?).
The story is compelling, the characters people you want to know, the setting futuristic (sort of), and . . . there’s a dog named Jasper, a blue heeler who will win over every reader’s heart. (Scroll down on this page to see the dog that inspired him.) Continue reading “Survival Through Poetry”
Not Meaning
The public radio show State of the ReUnion will be at our museum this Friday, Aug. 17, to interview me and others as part of a community story about Tulsa and surrounding areas. Since this show is not in our local NPR station line-up, I had not listened to it, but on the show’s website, you can hear all of its shows, plus see photos from the interviews.
I wonder what I will say . . .
I wonder where my poetry will be . . .
I wonder what the other people they interview will say . . .
I wonder where their poetry will be . . . Continue reading “Not Meaning”
I Have a Scary Story-Poem for You!
Howl of coyote, whimper of mouse,
Rustle in the grass near the poison oak.
Do you hear what she hears when you go out?
What’s in the silence between each frog’s croak?
Down by the pond where the creatures come
Ghosts in the air and the water shine.
The moon is new in the summer night
And black like the waters of a witch’s wine.
These are some sample lines from the story-poem I will be telling tonight during Ghost Tales at the Territory Tellers annual storytelling event! The Spirit of Oklahoma Storytelling Festival is in its 7th year at Seminole State College in Seminole. The festival starts this afternoon, June 7, and continues on Saturday, June 8 with a full day of stories and events, such as a silent auction, story swaps, and more. Continue reading “I Have a Scary Story-Poem for You!”
Poems for Tornado Victims
Some very well-meaning people are soliciting poems for a poetry anthology to sell to raise funds for Oklahoma tornado victims. Please don’t.
Material Reason
Say you manage to sell 100 of these books. The cost of making and shipping them will take up the biggest percentage of the money you get for the books. For a $15 book, you might make a profit of $1. Believe me—I know—I’ve done a lot of self-publishing. So, if you sell 100 books (very lofty goal), you will make $100. Continue reading “Poems for Tornado Victims”
Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry 