In which I explain how Yeats’s “When You Are Old and Gray” frames the dedication that opens my book.
Tag Archives: Julia Bates
One Man Loved the Pilgrim Soul in You
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "When You Are Old and Grey", Aging, Marriage, W. B. Yeats Comments closed
A Swift Birthday Poem for Julia
In which I use one of Swift’s birthday poems to celebrate my Julia’s birthday.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aging, Jonathan Swift, Marriage, Stella birthday poems Comments closed
The Witch that Walks in the Fields of Spring
Here’s a poetic warning that my wife directs to those who close their eyes to the miracle of May that is exploding all around us. Maybe we miss out on spring because we are plugged into our iPods or talking on our cell phones or texting. Or for that matter, blogging. Ignoring spring requires a […]
Dear Son, Far Off, My Lost Desire
I understand more with each passing year what Tennyson means when he says his love “is vaster passion now” and how Hallam is thoroughly mixed with God and nature. Tennyson goes on to say that the moral will of humankind—the “living will” that is the best part of ourselves as a people—can finding footing on this spiritual rock. And that the living water that springs from this rock will “flow through our deeds and make them pure.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alfred Lord Tennyson, death of a child, Easter, In Memoriam, Religion, Spirituality Comments closed
Purchasing Stockings: A 1950’s Memory
What with Qaddafi slaughtering his people in Libya and workers up in (metaphorical) arms in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio, the world seems a chaotic place at the moment. Today, for respite, I offer a poem that will take you to a quieter time–quieter, that is, if you remember your childhood as being a quieter time. […]
A Delicious Poem for Your True Love
My wife was sitting at a stoplight a few years ago when she heard a National Public Radio story about a fifth taste, the other four being sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Often we know it by the name given it by the Japanese, who first identified it early in the 20th century, although we […]
