I don’t write in a journal everyday, but I have accumulated many entries over the past 50+ years beginning in 1966. Some items evolved into longer works. Among the leftovers little pieces survived. I thought a collection of these with a piece culled from the same date in a past year would make an interesting yearbook. The consistencies and inconsistencies of mind, skipping back and forth across time, provide varied perspectives. It is difficult to remember the context of the past we’ve lived; we also make suppositions about times that predate ourselves.

The few alterations from original drafts were to improve clarity. The worst of my work is not included. There remains enough mediocrity and immaturity to make me feel humble and you feel smart. There are also moments of accidental insight and incidental humor.

Author Stephen Crane referred to his little pieces as pills…apparently they were small and somewhat hard to swallow, but good for you.


Comments Welcome!

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

What in this life are you preparing to do elsewhere


June 29, 2013 (I was 68)

What in this life are you preparing to do elsewhere
What of interest but not of occupation
do you regard as unformulated pursuit
Artists in stone paint and glass define enchantment
Do you feel an inherent connection
a recognition that your presence fits
into a realm you’ve never visited
Where are those semi-familiar places
some part of you intends to occupy next time

This time team sport lost to individual endeavor
after a dedication to unity others did not share
Public dance gave way to secluded solo
I sat along borders of self-realization
watched visions pass behind closed eyes
breathed and hummed serene accompaniment
opened eyes to glimpse the sparkle of the mutable
Now I shall catch the attention of talented youth
who will become my great-grandparents
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