We certainly live in strange times! Truth seems to be whatever anyone wishes it to be, regardless. One of the great poets of the 20th century was Czeslaw Milosz, a Polish poet and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1980. Much has been written about Milosz who has been called a poet ofContinue reading ““It didn’t happen that way.””
Category Archives: Uncategorized
“pluck the day”
I have just returned from Edinburgh. It is many years since I attended Edinburgh University and continued to live there for several years. I made my way to my favorite used book stores, looking for treasures, curtailed only by the fact of limited space in my carry on luggage! No large checked bags! I wasContinue reading ““pluck the day””
Bits of String
I wish to express a big thank you to all my readers and please know how enjoyable it is to read your comments. I appreciate the time you take to write and share thoughts in response to the poems and prayers. Over the next few weeks I will be taking a short break from “posting”Continue reading “Bits of String”
Slow Learning
Today I share a blog I posted only a few months ago, in the season of Lent which precedes Easter. It is good to be reminded at times. There are some things we are slow at learning, and forgiveness is one such thing. I hope you agree. There are just too many poems in ScottContinue reading “Slow Learning”
Grasshopper
The last two lines of Mary Oliver’s poem The Summer Day can be found pinned to students dorm walls, stuck to fridge doors, written on School Yearbooks and spoken by corporate keynote speakers. I have used them in sermons over the years. However, perhaps more attention needs to be paid to the earlier lines inContinue reading “Grasshopper”
Sea-Fever
John Masefield was born on June 1st, 1878 in Hertfordshire, England. By the age of six he was an orphan and was cared for by an aunt who tried her best to discourage him from his addiction to reading! He left school and trained for a life at sea. The photo above shows HMS ConwayContinue reading “Sea-Fever”
Alterations!
A few weeks ago I was browsing through the library “stacks” at Webster University, in St. Louis, and I pulled from the shelf a book of Selected Poems by John N. Morris (1931-1997). This was a new find for me and what makes it even more interesting is that Morris taught at Washington University, hereContinue reading “Alterations!”
Rising Out of The Mist
To stand at what might be described as “the worlds great margins” is to stand in the midst of wonder, mystery and beauty of the world. To gaze over the rim of the Grand Canyon, to stand listening to the “smoke that thunders” as the mighty Zambezi river plunges into a vertical chasm or indeedContinue reading “Rising Out of The Mist”
Digging
Seamus Heaney’s first published book of poems was in 1966 and the opening poem in that collection was Digging. The same poem is the opening poem in a much later collection of his poetry entitled “Opened Ground” in 1998. Heaney certainly opens ground throughout his life, as he digs with his pen. As he sitsContinue reading “Digging”
On Waking
In his short book Essentials, the philosopher come poet, David Whyte, writes a beautiful poem which asks us to pause and ponder before we rush into the new day. He draws attention to that moment of waking and what is actually going on within our bodies and mind. In the cover flap of this bookContinue reading “On Waking”
Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings 