Tag Archives: poetry

January 4, 2026 · 5:09 pm

There will come a time

I am going to just warn you now, this post will ramble but try to connect the dots at the end.

I just finished my walk about 20 minutes ago. And I thought about a lot of things, had a lot of dots on the paper of my mind. But let’s start in the middle of my walk.

There is a small cemetery, Sunset Memorial Gardens, that I walk past on one of my routes through my neighborhood. Sometimes, I stop to sit and reflect. Today was one of those days. As I sat down on a bench the “Love Theme from St. Elmo’s Fire” started to play in my earbuds. St. Elmo’s Fire is one of my favorite movies, so it got me thinking.

I took a couple of pictures to share on social media. I tend to take unique pictures on my walk just to share. While I was taking the photos I noticed that there were two fresh mounds of dirt. One of the grave sites did not have a date on the tombstone, but the second one did.

This is when the dots filled my head.

Here I was standing by her grave on January 4, 2026. Janice was just days away from the New Year when she passed away.

I, we all do to a degree, take time for granted. I have a specific pair of shoes I use for my walks. I am in the middle of logging the steps I take on my walks in these shoes for a blog post when I get new shoes.

I am assuming I will be here in 6 months. That I will be able to walk, to listen to music, to think, and write poetry.

For my faithful readers, you know that I’ve learned 6 months can change everything (A Tweet about a Death Goes Viral).

As I continued on my walk I was deep in thought about life. A poetic line came to mind, “There will come a time…” (I’ll share the poem later in the blog).

Thinking about the poem led me to something that has been heavy on my heart lately… about how much I have failed in accomplishing my big dreams. I let myself down all the time. I have books I want to write. I want to learn to play the piano (or at least write this song I have). I want to help people write better (this is an idea in the works).

But instead… I fail.

Like all of us, life tricks us into believing there is time. And the trick is that there is time… until there isn’t. And we don’t know when that time will end.

On the home stretch of my walk, I spotted an older couple walking their dogs on the golf course, at times holding hands waiting for their second dog to catch up.

It was a beautiful site and reminded me that no one knows how much time they will have. But we are all given a life. And we do get to decide on how we live it. Failing at dreams, walking on a 60 degree January day, or making it home to be a dad…when I got home my second daughter needed help getting her boomerang (she got for Christmas) down from the roof of the house.

Some dreams are so big they have to be accomplished everyday.

Ohhh, yeah, I wrote this poem while walking too. This is the draft from my notes. The final poem will be worked on later.

“There will come a time”

There will come a time

Because of a dead watch

When I will stop moving

My hands across my face 

To check how well I shaved

To start a new day

There will come a time

Because of the sunset

That I will be encased in darkness

Like Orion

Dreams stuck in position

Of a constellation of the past 

There will come a time

Because of the last page

That I will no longer

Be able to write

A single word of a poem

Or love letter for her to read

There will come a time

Because of the rules of LIFE

I will reach the end

Have no more turns to spin the wheel

Get an action card

Have a pet

Or fill my little green car

With people I love

One last thing, here is the song that played as I came home.

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December 31, 2025 · 8:19 pm

2026 Word

Next year starts 2026. As we have done since 2015,each member of the family chooses one word for the next year. We each share the reason behind the word, and then design our display. This year we are using small wooden clipboards. 

As you can see from the picture my word is MAGIC. 

There are a number of reasons behind my choice for the word. I want to create more magical moments, which I tried to do this Christmas, actually, when Santa visited our house for everyone. There were 8 filled stockings under the tree (my six children and my new daughter-in-law and my son’s longtime girlfriend). And yes, Santa visited my wife, even if she didn’t get a stocking, she had presents under the tree.

But to have magical moments I have to be active as a father, a husband, and even as a poet. Magic doesn’t happen staring at a screen. It happens when my children laugh, my wife smiles, someone replies to a poem I wrote. 

I have some really big goals this year. Accomplishing them will be magical. Jon Finch once said, “Magic is the poetry of impossibilities, each trick a stanza in the verse of wonder.” And I am a good poet.

Here is to a magical 2026.

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December 22, 2025 · 9:00 pm

Christmas Letter 2025

Well, it was 60 degrees today. Only a few days away from Christmas, and I was walking in shorts this afternoon. My youngest daughter said it shouldn’t feel like spring right now.

But it does feel like Christmas for me… Everyone, plus significant others, will be home for Christmas morning. And mom and I have decided that Santa is coming for everyone this year. That means stockings and everything. I can’t wait!

But that is in a few days, there were a number of cool days in 2025.

One of the best days from this last year was seeing The Outsiders musical with my wife and three younger daughters. I wondered how they would make such an iconic book into a musical. I was impressed, and even teared up at different times during the performance. 

Speaking of music, my Spotify top 100 songs were a mix of classic and more modern music. My number one song was Dermot Kennedy’s “Moments Passed” and in conjunction with the blog post, “Song Number 25”, my 25th song was “Overrated” by Thriving Ivory. 

The coolest musical events though came from two interviews Dante and I conducted for our podcast, The Creative Moment. We had the honor of interviewing Rascal Martinez and Chris Glover, known as Penguin Prison. It was fun learning about how the muse works in the musical world.

But we didn’t just interview musicians, we talked to LMDesign8, a virtual and real world artist, and Konn Lavery, an author that writes horror novels and stories.

In a few months we will host our 100th episode! Stay tuned for that milestone.

On a personal note, I recently released a new collection of poetry, Life in Poetic Form. And released an audio poetry EP, Open Mic, which is available on all streaming services. Even though I had over 10 major rejections for my writing, not just poetry this year, I believe that my writing can make an impact for others. So, I write…

I am finishing up two books during break. I will then meet my goal of 60 books this year! One of my biggest surprises was the two volumes of the graphic novel, Starve. The series was written in 2016, but I came across the first collection in a book store. Then I ordered the second volume because I loved the story. This is the wonder of books, the timelessness of a story in physical form. The power of browsing a book store. The slight chance of finding a story that brings wonder and joy into your life.

This year also reinforced that magic of recommendations. Of the connection people build by suggesting a book they love to someone else. I read the book, Stoner, by John Williams, because it was recommended to me by a Twitter (I know its X…) friend. We talked about the book on X as I read it. I loved the book. Again, the power of books / stories to build connections in this world.

I’m not sure what 2026 will bring. How many rejections I will read. How many blog posts I will write. What new music I will hear, or new stories I will read. 

But I know I will continue to try to build connections, to share poetry, and to let love lead me through the next 365 days.

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June 13, 2025 · 12:39 pm

I Untie My Shoes

For the last couple of months, I have been untying my shoes when I take them off. Yes, that means I have to tie them when I put them on.

Yesterday I spent almost an hour trying to find the right word for a poem. A single word. I was working with meaning and syllable count for that word, but still, I spent time finding the right word.

My screen time is down almost 15%.

Over the last 11 weeks my steps have jumped up over 3,000 more steps a day.

I’ve heard the quote, “How you do one thing is how you do everything,” used in movies and TV shows lately. 

Each day we have 24 hours. Everyone. 

How we use it is the fundamental factor to the quality of our lives. Even when bad things happen, or unexpected challenges, it is our responsibility to decide how we deal with the time we are given.

I have decided to untie my shoes when I take them off.

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June 4, 2025 · 11:21 am

PAD 2025: Poem 5

On day two Robert challenged us to write a poem “from where I am sitting.” The idea was to pay attention to the world around us. My poem stays true to the heart of the prompt, but was written during a walk.

“After the Rain has Stopped”

I am walking 

after the rain has stopped.

Mix of earth and evening

sits heavy in my lungs.

Grey clouds fading back to white

releasing the gloom

of the day. 

The sun’s last rays

play with the mosaic blues

above me.

A painting even Michelangelo

would sign his name to.

The promise of spring

tickles my nose

and my heart moves to the

music of the birds

perched in the trees,

as if they are God’s choir.

This street morphing

into an aisle between

the pews of hope

and wonder.

–

I am walking 

after the rain has stopped.

Finding myself

In the middle

of a sacred liturgy.

There are a number of reasons I wanted to discuss the creative process of this poem.

First, nature is a powerful source of inspiration. Robert Frost, William Wordsworth, and so many others have drawn inspiration from nature. Be it from walks (even Stephen King walks) or quiet moments in nature. Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is an example of how deep a moment in nature can be.

If you feel like you have writer’s block, I suggest taking a walk in the park with the focus paying attention to the world around you, like the prompt for the poem. You will be inspired.

Second, I will be honest here… the idea of this poem was actually written the night before the prompt. My Notes app is filled with poetic lines, random thoughts, and even full first drafts of works. As life aligns sometimes, it was a perfect fit for the challenge. I reworked the draft from the app, even thought of using the viator poetic form for the final draft, but liked the free verse flow of the descriptions. 

But here is the important point, being able to draw on ideas from notes or drafts. Besides my app, I keep notes, write single lines, and even draw drafts of ideas on any paper I can find when inspiration hits.  At this moment, I have a single line in my Notes app that I can’t get out of my mind, but I haven’t been able to cross that inspirational bridge to create something yet.  That is cool, and yes, frustrating. But I am excited for that moment when the line becomes more.

The third aspect is the use of imagery to bring forth the theme of the spiritual feeling I had during the walk. The use of literary elements is the art of poetry, of writing. Literary elements allow us to describe all the abstract feelings we have as humans and allow us to share those feelings with others in a way they can relate to. That is the bridge art builds for us. To connect us. To reveal the powerful aspect of this life. We are never alone in our emotions, both positive or negative.

I hope you enjoyed this small series of my creative process for a few of the poems I wrote for the Poetry a Day challenge.  Share your process or thoughts in the comment section.

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June 2, 2025 · 8:56 pm

PAD 2025: Poem 4

One of the most creative poetic forms is the nonce. Which is a poetic form the poet designs for a specific poem. The poet decides the rules for a poem. On day 20 the prompt was rest. I had a line start in my head, “In the stillness of love.” 

And I wrote this poem. I am using the photo option because I couldn’t figure out how to get WordPress to keep the line breaks correct.

The idea of the rules came to me as I started the first draft. The first rule was that I would use a descriptive word followed by a simile. Through the edits, I had to work with both the descriptive word and a creative simile to match it. The third stanza went through a ton of revisions.

As I rewrote my ideas, I noticed that I had unintentionally used alliteration in the first stanza. So, I added that as a rule, and had to rework the second and third stanza again. I didn’t want the alliteration to be overbearing, but wanted it to be clear as the descriptive word was introduced in the second line.

I also went with the imagery of my hands in a type of prayer. Again, this idea came from the first stanza. Which happens sometimes, the base idea is easily transcribed on the page, then the poem is constructed from there. Honestly, the first stanza is almost as is. It is the example of the power of the muse. The other two stanzas took work.

I also like using line breaks and spaces in my more free form poems. It is something I did when I was a younger poet. I like how spaces and tabs can create flow, tells the reader to breathe. As I reworked the poem, the line breaks started to materialize as I scribbled on my yellow legal pad. But the final rules for the look was cemented when I transferred the poem to a Google doc. I could firmly set the rule for spaces and see how it moved on the page.

Because of the challenge of writing and posting a poem in a day, I went with the ending as I wrote it. I am unsure of the ending at the moment. I may revise it later, but the poem is presented here as it was written for that day. 

Have you ever designed your own rules for a poem? Share your experience in the comment section.

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May 31, 2025 · 4:46 pm

PAD 2025: Poem 3

On day three of the PAD challenge Robert asked us to write a short poem. Nothing longer than 10 lines. Now, there are quite a number of short poetic forms, Robert provided a few in the overview of the prompt for the day. Creating a poem in a few lines, and with the presented rules of a particular form can stretch one’s creative mind.

Throughout the month I wrote some short poems because of how the prompt inspired me. For day three I specifically wanted to use a poetic form. Without any idea for the poem, I decided to write a Shadorma. I like this poetic form (you can expand the poem by making stanzas from the guidelines).

But I had no theme or prompt word to go with it. So, I had a different hurdle to overcome. Here is the poem I wrote that day. I will discuss how I got the idea afterwards.

My heart is

a candle whose flame –

surrounded

by darkness –

jumps and sparks trying to keep

the light from fading.

Writing in poetic forms has a built-in challenge. Meshing my ideas within the rules of a form can take days, even weeks for me to accomplish. Throw in a short poetic form, and write it in a day for the PAD challenge and I sat there drinking my coffee with my head spinning.

With or without a poetic form, short poetry is not easy. The theme and intensity of an idea has to come through in just a few words or lines. And it has to hit the reader, hard. At least I think it does. Short poetry should be like drinking a shot, full flavor that then sits warm in the reader’s mind.

The idea for this poem started with the candle that sat on our island. We tend to keep a candle on the island that we light at the end of the day. Just a part of our family routine. I noticed the burnt wick, dark and frayed. Then, I started to consider how bad the year had been. I then considered the sayings about a single light against the darkness. In my mind I saw a candle in the middle of darkness, how small the light was. I thought about how fast the darkness would be complete if the fire on the wick sputtered and went out.

I had my idea. 

I used my lunch period to work through the poem. I started with the metaphor, “My heart is a candle…”  I actually had to work line 3 and 4 through a few different versions. These lines are only three syllables long. I wanted the tension of the darkness surrounding the flame to come through, to have that tone of sadness to hit and stay throughout the poem.

Here is where punctuation makes a difference in the poem. I could have used commas. But the emdash created the tone I wanted for the weight of the darkness. I then continued with the imagery of the flame that was fighting to stay alive.

Writing this poem encompassed the importance of punctuation, the challenge of short poetry, and how everyday objects, the candle on the island, can be the spark for inspiration. I think the poem also reinforces the power of writing in a poetic form, it can make you really delve into word choice, theme, and expression that you might not normally do.

Let me know what you think of the poem, or of any of the ideas I discuss in this post. Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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May 30, 2025 · 9:06 am

PAD 2025: Poem 2

Robert Lee Brewer has some favorite prompts he uses for the PAD challenge. One of them is the BLANK prompt. Robert gives a word and the filler BLANK with it. As poets we are supposed to use it as the title of the poem. This poem was written for the prompt, New (Blank).

“New Hands”

I wish I had new hands.

These do not write great poetry

or handle precious things properly.

–

My hands are callous and scarred

from traveling too far 

from other hands

that only wanted

to know

I would never let them go.

–

These hands have broken 

bread with no intention

of keeping

the promises set

at a table

I was invited to

but no longer 

have a seat at.

–

I wish I had new hands.

These ache

with the weight

of carrying

the expectation

of caring 

for a family tree

I’ve never enjoyed 

the shade of.

I planted my own sapling

in soil I created

by breaking the stones

that held generational sins.

–

I wish I had new hands.

These are pale

from years spent in darkness,

fighting against the scales

Fate used in measuring

my worth.

No matter what I paid,

what dreams I placed 

on the plate,

it never balanced

my life’s fulcrum

because Fate

kept its thumb

on the plot

I thought I was writing.

–

I wish I had new hands.

These are failing

in doing the work

of living a life

worth holding on to.

Poetic Form: Spoken Word

I sat with the idea for this poem for a while because of doubt. I am not sure what triggered the idea of having new hands, might have been just noticing my hand as I drank my coffee, but I was unsure of the idea. The idea of replacing my hands simply seemed unrealistic.

The line, “I wish I had new hands” just kept running through my head. I considered some poetic forms that use a refrain for the idea. Poetic forms like the quatern, the dansa, and the kyrielle. But as I wrote down a few lines, the forms didn’t feel right.

I actually tried to come up with some new ideas for the prompt, like “A New Day”, “New Words”, and some other ideas written on a post-it note. But I couldn’t shake the idea of new hands. I couldn’t shake the doubt either.

In fact you can read the doubt in the first stanza. 

I’ve learned over the years to trust the muse more than doubt. It is hard, but once I take the first steps into the idea my creativity takes the wheel. Besides a few edits, this poem is as it was written on the yellow legal pad I used for writing during the PAD challenge. I wanted to write in longhand for each first draft during the challenge.

I also stayed with the more negative idea of why I needed new hands. But kept the idea of a refrain to start each section that dealt with the reason for why my hands were falling. I also focused on how the poem sounded as if I was at a poetry slam. That is why there is inconsistent rhyming, alliterations, and different line breaks.  I do hope to use this poem in a poetry slam this summer.

The writing of “New Hands” highlights the battle I face sometimes between doubt and the idea the muse gives to me. 

Please feel free to share how you deal with doubt in the comment section.

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May 27, 2025 · 8:32 pm

PAD 2025: Poem 1

I thought it would be fun to share my creative process for 5 (of the 30) poems I wrote last month for the Poem A Day challenge. I did something like this in February and I have always enjoyed the stories of inspiration from artists. I have a number of iTunes Originals albums that combine an interview with music from the artist. So in that vibe, here is the first of five blog posts about writing poetry. Side note: I use the prompts provided by Robert Lee Brewer of Writer’s Digest.

Day 11 Prompt: Nature

“Clouds”

Even 

when they look like a child cut them out of white fabric, 

clouds are in constant motion. 

Edges shifting, 

water vapor colliding with dust. 

Internal turmoil

that we can not see, 

only feel when we get caught in the rain. 

Poetic Form: Descort

First, the descort poetic form is one of my favorite forms to write in. The rules are simple, no line can be the same in the poem. That means no rhyming, different syllable count, no repeat of literary elements. Each line is unique. I love the challenge this form gives.

During the month of April, I tried to learn the prompt for the day as soon as I could, usually as I took the first sips of my coffee. That way I could think about it and try to write a rough draft during my lunch break. But on this day the idea came to me on the drive to school. Ironically, this is the second poem that was inspired during the same time (The Creative Process). 

The horizon is clear for the last part of our drive to school, and the sunrises can be beautiful. On this day the clouds caught my attention, they were moving, shifting. And here is where ideas can be generated because you are thinking about something specific. The muse can be called. You do not have to wait for inspiration.

Knowing I had to write a nature poem, my thoughts started to center on the clouds, and why they changed. Even though I wasn’t looking at rain clouds, I thought about what triggers the cloud to release the rain. 

When I got to school I researched how clouds generate rain and what conditions allow for the rain to fall. I had already decided that the theme of the poem would be centered on us (people) not knowing what a cloud was going through. A metaphor for people not knowing what other people were going through. Also, I had already decided that I was going to use the descort form because of its shifting style. In this case I felt the form perfectly matched the theme of the poem.

After researching how rain worked inside a cloud, I jotted down my main ideas. Very rough first draft.

Now, there is a mix of magic and artistic goals in any work of art. I wanted the poem to start out on a positive note, then move to the rain, and finish with the reveal of the theme. I knew I wasn’t worried about rhyming, but I did have to pay attention to my line breaks because each line had to have a different syllable count.

I think I revealed the tension of internal conflict well in the opening three lines (in fact a single sentence). Then I used the information I learned about rain and finished with my theme. That we don’t know the internal struggle of clouds (people) until we have been caught in the rain.

This poem’s creation came rather quickly, but highlights the importance of researching so that descriptions can be accurate, and that creativity can be generated with a focused mindset.

Let me know what you think of the poem, or if you just want to share your creative process with me in the comment sections.

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February 28, 2025 · 4:29 pm

The Creative Process Part 2

Every week there is a poetic battle challenge (X account is @The_PoetryArena) I compete in on a regular basis. Prompt word is revealed on Wednesday. Then poets submit their poems on Friday / Saturday. Five poems are selected as finalists on Monday. The community votes on Tuesday and then Wednesday the winner, crowned as the Voice Of Valo(U)r, provides the next prompt word.

This morning the muse hit me again as I was driving to school. I had this idea of “sheltering in place”. And I honestly don’t know where the idea came from, but as I was driving the idea blossomed into an idea of a newscast stating the command.

Again, when I got to school I started jotting down the idea. The first draft was kind of short and actually more like just the idea. I had some lines down but more notes of imagery and theme.

Then came the second draft.

The poem wanted form. This honestly is the magic of writing. I didn’t actually research more traditional poetic forms, I ran with the idea of using a rhyme scheme of AxAxBxBx and so on. I did think about syllable count per line, but decided to run with a more natural break in the lines.

As you can see I had to actually identify the rhyming lines because as I edited for flow and word choice, I got lost on which line needed the rhyme.

Another magical aspect about this poem is that I had no idea how it would end. As I wrote the poem, the theme emerged through the rhymes and play on words. And I also felt the weight of what is going on in our country mix with the tension of what I believe life should be about, come through in the lines as I wrote. I wasn’t planning on a happy ending… but it is an honest ending.

I did some heavy editing on the second draft, then transferred the poem to my computer so I could submit the poem to this week’s battle. And so, it will be interesting to see the poetic journey this poem takes.

The overall process was the same for each poem, but this time there was more work involved in the final draft. Even though I wasn’t using a traditional poetic form (which sometimes calls for a lot of editing) this poem’s creation was more intense. I had to mesh the rhyming rules with my idea. That work was a joy though.

Feel free to comment about your creative process in the comment section or on social media.

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