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!

Friday, April 12, 2019

I have staked out my territory


April 12, 2014  (I was 69)

I have staked out my territory
I know where you want to go
No fences are necessary
my scent keeps you away
I walk the perimeter of what I want
and every tree within is mine
it’s been a long time since I needed much
a fragrant shade where breezes cool
a log or two to heat my room
Each day less use for more than I can grow
Each night a new tale to sow
The electron library in the cloud
strikes me into universal virtuality
close enough to all I ever wanted to be
to bother straining for anything you might call reality
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