Here is my (mostly accurate) running life list of my published writing—print and online—in descending chronological order of the year of publication. Sadly, a number of these journals, magazines, and websites are no longer publishing—the fate of so much literary these takes of screen supremacy over words. Still, gratitude to all the venues who continue to put the word out there. Even when the odds (and finances) are against success…
When the peonies pop and the big leaf maple trees towering in our backyard habitat finally stop dropping their messy millions of flowers. When it heats up just too much to have me wishing for rain so I can be spared the hauling of watering cans to drench the many, many potted hostas and upright begonias and trailing fuchsias and ferns that congregate on the flagstone patios front and back…
My prose poem, “The Singer,” has won Second Place in the Oregon Poetry Association 2026 Poetry Contest for Members Only. Contest winners will be invited to read their winning poems at the Oregon Poetry Association’s 70th Anniversary Conference to be held at the convention center in Salem, Oregon on August 28 & 29, 2026…
My poetry triptych, “On the Precipice in This Perilous Moment”, has been published in Volume 6 of wildscape literary journal. The theme of their Spring 2026 issue is: calm // storm. wildscape was established in 2024 as an online literary and art magazine showcasing poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and visual art. My three-part poem surveys the landscape of this country since the return of the convicted felon to the White House on January 20, 2025…
My tree is growing. Started small, smaller than I would have liked. Seemed a few sticks until Phil the Expert Gardener gave it a creative and healthy pruning a year or so ago. And now, here we are, still here after four or five years, and the tree, well, it is finally delivering: Leaves that are hearts. Blossoms that nestle in the crook of branches. Branches that the assorted birds and pollinators frequent on their way to the water feature that graces this circular patio in our grass-less front yard
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My golden shovel, “Verdict,” has been accepted for publication in Volume 3 of the Antifa Literary Journal. It is based on an oft-quoted stanza from Seamus Heaney’s The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles’ Philoctetes. This golden shovel is a poetic form in which the last word of each line is made from the words of a preexisting poem to which the poet is paying homage. This form was invented by Terrance Hayes whose 2010 poem, “The Golden Shovel,” is based on “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks. Her short poem begins with this epigraph: The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel. That is where Hayes got the name for his new form…
A few days after my last post, an illegal war of impulsive, mercurial volition was launched on the country of Iran by the mob boss …
This heirloom narcissus—whose name escapes me now—decided to bloom on the coldest day so far this winter, when a wintry mix of rain and snow has insisted on tumbling thickly out of the sky already three times today. The clouds are pale gray bruises in front of brilliant slices of blue. Other flowers are blooming as well—hellebore, camellia, a few scattered snowdrops hither and yon
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And the witch hazels are blooming in our backyard habitat garden. Crimson, fire-engine red, and this sunny, cheerful yellow. I just learned that the North American species of this shrub are occasionally called winterbloom because (obviously) that is when they come into flower. Good for them for cheering us on to spring. I suspect more than a few of us need such harbingers now. Saturday we did not, for the first time in forever, march in that anti-ICE rally that ended up being tear-gassed and flash-banged down in southwest Portland as they peacefully made their way to the building ICE rents on Macadam Avenue
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My poetry triptych, “On the Precipice in This Perilous Moment,” has been accepted for May 2026 publication in wildscape literary journal. The theme of their Spring 2026 issue is: calm // storm. My three-part poem surveys the landscape of this country since the return of the convicted felon to the White House on January 20, 2025. The first part was written in June 2025…
Unscrew the cap of the glass bottle of a beautiful black-blue ink. Submerge the barrel of the pen into the neck of the bottle. These days, the fanciest of pens have a plunger mechanism that makes them oh so easy to fill. Sometimes I find it takes me a few tries to get it right. Wipe the pen nib off with the soft, ink-stained linen dish towel scrap I keep in my desk drawer just for these occasions. Find a blank sheet of paper, bear down, wait for the line to flow…
