Can you feel the memory of this place? Or does the weight of time erase Blood from the root, leaving only fear? Do you know what happened here? In 1893 they hung me from a hickory tree; Still hungry, they tore its branches free And cut my clothes for souvenirs Like something great had happened … Continue reading The Ballad of Thomas Smith
Ammonites and trilobites embedded in this rocky frame tell the story of a journey from obscurity to fame. As we step this mortal pathway, knowing not which way to go, birds still spiral up to heaven, with the valley spread below. Once a million creatures swimming, then upon an ocean floor, trilobites and ammonites advance … Continue reading Trilobites
In Virginia, spring can feel like a fickle friend, whose arrival is always being delayed for reasons you suspect are not as urgent or inexorable as her letters make them seem. You forgive the aggravation, thinking ahead, surely, to the good times close at hand; in your mind, she approaches — finally! in a whirl … Continue reading An Eager Hostess, Awaiting Spring
The poet emerges at sunrise: alone, as always, and without plan; when else can he perceive the way the lark’s sudden departure sends a crown of halos rippling toward the bank? His words cast common objects in an unfamiliar light, finding sacredness in the profane and humor even in darkness. “Yes,” we say, “it is just … Continue reading The Poet at Sunrise
Winter has come to this place and I to it am bound, finding not one last brilliant leaf believing it would never grace the ground. Traversing a cold so still, the only sound our trampling, in clumsy sacrilege, shriveled foliage that just weeks ago filtered autumn light like glass stained by the master’s hand, now … Continue reading A Tree in Winter
Today When I was a child I saw the world through eyes that shone with every color – of turquoise, emerald, crimson, gold, and each rich shade of sister and brother. But when this vision grew too bright, I made myself a private night. Dark shades I wore to block the day – Today I decided to put … Continue reading Today – A Poem
There was a wall of wood and stone that all could touch but none could own. It rose up like a fortress made to guard the village in the glade and show the hungry their way home. How old was it? No one knew; but in its shade the stories grew: tales of danger and … Continue reading The Parable of the Wall
The Front Porch Philosopher 