In this episode, I challenge that idea.

Drawing on a line from Michel de Montaigne—“You do not die of being sick, you die of being alive”—I explore what it really means to be alive, and why pain, loss, uncertainty, and struggle are not signs of failure, but expressions of life itself.

But understanding that intellectually is one thing. Living it is another.

When life becomes overwhelming, many of us respond in fear. We avoid. We run. We freeze. And in doing so, we don’t just avoid pain—we begin to step out of our own lives.

This episode is about that tension:
• The difference between knowing that struggle is part of life… and actually facing it
• Why avoidance feels natural—but costs us something deeper
• And how, in trying to protect ourselves from pain, we can lose touch with our own lives

This is Part 1 of a 2-part series. In the next episode, I’ll explore what it looks like to stay, to move, and to live with integrity in the middle of it all.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My books of poetry are availabe for purchase at

Amazon.com

["The Ghost of a Beating Heart", "My Mother Sleeps" and "Haiku Village"]()

It’s an invitation to look at the weight we carry with different eyes—to see our struggles not as proof that we’re failing, but as the raw material for something deeper, stronger, and more meaningful. I brought in a line from Epictetus that has been sitting with me lately, and we explore what it means to transform our suffering instead of being crushed by it.

And as a way of saying thank you, I wrote this haiku in calligraphy, framed it, and I’m giving it away.

Giveaway details:
Email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com with “healing alchemy” in the subject line.
I’ll put every entry into a drawing and choose a winner at random.

Thanks for joining me.

“may I be I is the only prayer—”
— e. e. cummings

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My books of poetry are availabe for purchase at

Amazon.com

["The Ghost of a Beating Heart", "My Mother Sleeps" and "Haiku Village"]()

We hold on so tightly sometimes—trying to shape outcomes, control people, or force clarity when life just isn’t ready to give it. But nature reminds us: the leaf releases when its season is done.

In this week’s episode of The Poet (delayed), I talk with my friend Sarah Daniels about the quiet strength of letting go—about learning to release what we can’t control, trusting the timing of life (or God, the universe, whatever name you give it), and finding peace in that surrender.

Letting go isn’t easy. It’s uncomfortable. It’s scary. But it’s also where calm begins.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My books of poetry are availabe for purchase at

Amazon.com

["The Ghost of a Beating Heart", "My Mother Sleeps" and "Haiku Village"]()

Special Guest: Sarah Daniels.

This is an honest meditation on grief, growth, and the strange alchemy that happens when we turn toward our pain and find each other there.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My books of poetry are availabe for purchase at

Amazon.com

["The Ghost of a Beating Heart", "My Mother Sleeps" and "Haiku Village"]()

Sometimes our gut warns us to leave, but we stay.
Other times, it calls us to act, but fear keeps us frozen.
And in both moments, the mind often steps in—trying to quiet what the body already knows.

This week on The Poet (delayed), we explore what happens when we ignore that deep inner rumble. Why we override our intuition. Why we stay when we should go. Why we hide when we’re being called to step forward. And what it might look like to finally trust the wisdom of the gut over the noise of the mind.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

I was joined this episode by Chris and Elise Jones and Ali Talbot. We gathered in the warm, book-lined library at Chris and Elise Jones’ home and just talked.

We read Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem Go to the Limits of Your Longing, and from there we let the conversation unfold naturally. We talked about suffering — not in a heavy, hopeless way, but in the way you talk when you know that pain and beauty are woven into the same thread. We explored what it means to surrender to life’s difficulties instead of resisting them. We laughed about childhood memories, tofu meatloaf, and the glory of Saturday morning cartoons. We got real about trauma, caretaking, creating from heartbreak, and what it means to show up for each other when life breaks us open.

This episode is about sitting with what’s hard, about finding connection through vulnerability, and about how creativity — whether it’s poetry, baking, music, or just making something out of pain — can save us in quiet, powerful ways.

It’s also about joy. Tangents. Belly laughs. Tears. Root beer ice cream sandwiches.

Give it a listen. It’s not polished, but it’s real. And sometimes that’s exactly what we need most.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My books of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, The Ghost of a Beating Heart and Haiku Village are availabe for purchase at

Amazon.com

Special Guests: Ali Talbot, Christian Jones, and Elise Jones.

Descension

Something is shifting.
It has felt heavy and loud
in my soul for a while.
It twists in my stomach
And lurches upward
Squeezing my heart
Tighter and tighter until
I can’t breathe
Then it weaves its slimy black sludge claws
Into my mind
And plants seeds of doubt, fear, hopelessness
Until they bloom
Oozing the thick tar of my descension
What does it mean?
Where does it come from?
I thought I was through
I thought I was in the clear
Didn’t I already learn this lesson?
And I notice the giant black infection
Of fear
expanding, enveloping me
In its unrelenting grip
What am I afraid of?
Fear, what are you trying to show me?
I move toward it now
I embrace it back
Shining every shred of light I have left
Toward it
Begging it to tell me what it wants
And I see
Tiny pricks of light
Piercing through the thick, black darkness
I left my light, my energy, my joy, behind
Somewhere on the trail
Like a lost glove
Being blown away by the wind
Left to dance its way through the wilderness
Is it even still mine?
Did someone find it?
Did they pick up
And turn it over, curious who it belonged to
Did they take it home and try it on?
Did something about my essence affect them in some way?
I miss it
Why do I keep doing that?
Giving away my light?
When all I’m trying to do
Is shine on those I love
On those who need a light in their own darkness
Because I know how deeply painful and dark it is
To wander this world in the dark
Alone
Maybe I overwhelm and blind with my light because I feel so desperate to connect
Yet somehow, my light is too bright, too glaring, too intense
Even for those who, at first, thought they liked basking in the glory
And I remember that even the Sun, who shines unapologetically, gets too hot sometimes
And may unintentionally burn you
But she keeps on shining
And we love her for it
And we welcome the clouds and the rain and night and the winter
And when they come, we miss the Sun
And long for her return
For the pink spring sunrise
For the glowing summer sunsets
And bright autumn mornings
I wonder if the Sun misses me too when the night comes
I wonder if she feels lonely and scared too
Maybe she sees me
As much as I see her

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My books of poetry, My Mother Sleeps and The Ghost of a Beating Heart are availabe for purchase at

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Sherrie Love.

It’s a meandering, thoughtful exchange—about art, life, and the things we’re still trying to understand. After dropping off his work, we made a stop at Hemingway’s grave and memorial, a silent moment that seemed to echo the themes of the trip: legacy, voice, and what we leave behind.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Jason Wheatley.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Christian Jones.

What emerged from the struggle, though, was something far greater. Chris shares how the hardship brought him closer to the people he hiked with, including his wife, and how those shared miles—step after painful step—forged memories and connections that will last a lifetime. It’s a story of endurance, humility, and discovering the strength that comes not just from finishing, but from walking the hard road with people you love.
I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed.

You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Chris Hales.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My books of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, The Ghost of a Beating Heart and Haiku Village are availabe for purchase at

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Josh Baron.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

Amazon.com

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My books of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, The Ghost of a Beating Heart and Haiku Village are availabe for purchase at

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Howard Burkholz.

We also introduce Torchlight, a new monthly program we’ve launched to bring people together through art, music, and poetry. Each month, we invite local artists, musicians, and writers to share their work, with occasional open mic nights to encourage participation from the community. It’s all about connection, creativity, and creating space for shared expression.

Tune in for a conversation about why what we make matters—and how it can light the way for others.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Ali Talbot.

This episode is about choosing a meaningful life — and the courage it takes to do so.

To Satch

Sometimes I feel like I will never stop
Just go on forever
Till one fine mornin
I'm gonna reach up and grab me a handfulla stars
Swing out my long lean leg
And whip three hot strikes burnin down the heavens
And look over a God and say
How about that!!!!

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Tim Robison.

Join us as we explore how self-acceptance leads to true happiness and how recognizing our own freedom—freedom to choose, to grow, to be—can transform the way we move through the world. This is a conversation about finding beauty in our brokenness and power in our choices.

MOAB
This land,
wounded and
scarred and
full of shadows,
She turns his head to Her
To see
and he sees
Her stillness and Her beauty
And he understands
What can be.

ThePoetDelayed #EmbraceYourScars #FindYourFreedom

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guests: Conner Evans, Ian Edgar, Max Jones, and Ryan Murphy.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Jennifer Adams.

In this episode, I read On Friendship by Khalil Gibran and sit down with my friend Sarah Daniels for a heartfelt conversation about what it truly means to be a friend. We explore the importance of boundaries in friendships, the value of being our own best friend, and how cultivating a strong relationship with ourselves allows us to build deeper, more meaningful connections with others. Friendship is not just about companionship—it’s about growth, healing, and becoming the best versions of ourselves.

Listen in as we share insights, stories, and reflections on the role of friendship in our lives.

And a youth said, Speak to us of Friendship.
And he answered, saying:
Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace
    When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the “nay” in your own mind, nor do you withhold the “ay.”
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.
    And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Sarah Daniels.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Elise Lechtenberg.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Danny Drysdale.

Links:

• “Human” by The Killers
• “Rut” by The Killers
• Ghetto Ways by Scissors for Lefty

A friend is a harbor, calm
In whom is found
A healing balm
And asks for nothing in return
Save this:
That if the tide should turn
There I’d be, ever true,
That he with me
Might harbor too.

I was joined in this episode by Allison Spencer and Rachel Waters. Both of whom were my friends in the fifth and sixth grade at Hannah Holbrook Elementary school in Bountiful Utah.

Allison was on the podcast almost exactly 2 years ago and we had a great conversation about her diagnosis and fight against Hodgkins lymphoma cancer. The other part of that story is that less than two months after Allison was diagnosed, Rachel's daughter Haley was diagnosed with the same type of cancer.

In this episode, we talked about among other things what it was like to have each other to lean on and the value of friends and community in our lives, especially in dark and difficult moments.

friendship #community #resolute #thenow #fear #anger #hodgkinslymphoma

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My books of poetry are availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guests: Allison Spencer and Rachel Waters.

If you ever have some time
Stop by for a bit.
I've got a beautiful sky
And no one to share it with.
It's really nothing much,
Just a moon and some friendly stars,
But what is mine,
I'll make ours.
So, if you've got some time,
Just stop by
The gate is always open
And I've saved you a spot
Right next to me
On the soft and welcoming grass.
We'll have a breath of cool fresh air
And sit and share
My sky together.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Mike Sessions.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Josh Baron.

“He settled comfortably against the wood and took his suffering as it came and the fish swam steadily and the boat moved slowly through the dark water.”

Then I shared some thoughts and asked some questions about suffering and how it shows up in our lives and what we do with it.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guests: Josh Baron and Tim Robison.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Cal Crosby.

Links:

• Brain Food Books
• The King's English Bookshop

I’ll speak of Injustice:

She had the strength to harm him.
To strike the blow, to score the wound
But not to bind it up.

She cannot heal him.
She has no salve strong enough.

I was joined by my friend, Melissa Fairbourn Peterson. We talked about the wounds we all suffer from one another whether intentionally or not and that those who inflict those wounds cannot heal us - only we can heal our wounds.
We discussed the importance of apologies in the healing process. The dangers in demanding an apology. How recognizing our complicity in our wounds helps us heal, and so much more.

We read from Les Miserables and from The Gulag Archipelago.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Melissa Peterson.

Click here to listen to Walk Unafraid by First Aid Kit

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Lindsey McDermott.

Links:

• Walk Unafraid

Tune in on August 20th!

The Laughing Heart
By Charles Bukowski

your life is your life
don't let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can't beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Patrick.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Josh Baron.

Links:

• Sinking

Behind the curtain
The cottonmouths speak
Sending their words through the air:

Sacrifice and self-laceration
(bloodless)
Lift the hands that hang down
And succor and suffer

• Then heaven waits.

He listens with prejudice and certainty
But his hands hang lowest
Of all the hanging hands.

“My hands will be lifted,” he says,
“as I lift others.
So move on – let me be.
I have work to do.”
And his low hands
Raise stones to his
Single-eyed altar.

Then he lays himself down –
Body draped over the altar stones
(a Motherless Pieta)
Self-sacrificed, savior to none
But heaven waits, they say.

In this episode, I’m joined again by Josh Baron as we discuss my poem, Motherless Pieta, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, obedience, self abandonment and more.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Josh Baron.

In My Marrow

I am drenched in freedom -
Soaked to the bone.

• Even more, it’s in my marrow. I brought it from the womb And will take it to the dust. Place chains on my wrists, yet I am free; Make my walls into iron bars, yet I am free For my mind is unchainable and My heart uncageable. Abdication is my only threat.

I’m Socrates free
I’m William Wallace free.
I’m Solomon Northrup free.
I’m Viktor Frankl free.
I am Human; I am Free

• It’s in my marrow. _____________________________________ In this episode, I read my poem, “In My Marrow,” and discussed the principle of belonging to ourselves and the importance of knowing who we are what are values are. In doing so, I drew upon the wisdom of Maya Angelou, Brene Brown, Solzhenitsyn, Nietzsche and Jung.I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed.
  _____________________________________ You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

We also discussed other projects that she is working on and the power of literature.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Jennifer Adams.

On it’s website, www.daviseducationfoundation.org, the Teen Center Program is described as

a supportive facility within a high school that provides resources and assistance to help students overcome barriers to learning. Teen Centers offer a space where students can access basic necessities, academic support and guidance, that help them thrive in both their academic and personal lives.

Zach and I discussed his work at the Teen Center in light of a couple of my poems, “Dark Canopy” and “Moab”:

DARK CANOPY

Hopelessness covers me:
Like a forest canopy
On a moonless night
It covers me.
I see no way or path
To deliver myself.
And the darkness:
It fills my eyes.
And they are unable to see
The torchlight
Of rescuers who may approach.
All is black and dead.
Every gleam is only a phantom.
And the only variations in light
Are darker shadows
Waiting to finish me off
For good.

MOAB

This land,
wounded and scarred and full of shadows,
She turns his face to Her
To see
and he sees
Her stillness and Her beauty
And he understands
What can be.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Zach Wheatley.

Links:

• Davis School District Teen Centers
• Article About Viewmont High School’s Teen Center

Just for today, do not worry
Just for today, do not anger
Honor your parents, teachers, and elders
Earn your living honestly
Show gratitude to every living thing

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Wil Edgar.

A love note for myself:
Darling,
After I have
shattered, only I choose
which pieces are worth saving. Then,
I rise.

Then, through the lens of our personal experiences, we discussed what it means to shatter and how it can be the catalyst to positive transformations in our lives. We discussed why we shatter; What shattering can look like; What happens after we shatter; What we can do with the shattered pieces of us and other “shatter” related issues, including how a kaleidoscope factors into the process.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Lisa Cox.

Last July, I went to The Beach Boys’ concert at Deer Valley in Park City, Utah. Near the end of the concert, they played Don’t Worry Baby. I had heard the song before and always liked it, but I had never really listened to it. As I sat in the grass and Mike Love belted the song out, I heard it for the first time and it took on a whole new meaning. What seemed like silly lyrics that were there only because the amazing harmonies needed some lyrics became much deeper to me.

I realized that in 2 minutes and 51 seconds, Brian Wilson conveyed a powerful story about vulnerability, love and safety.

I left the next morning on a solo trip to Canyonlands National Park and ended up listening to Don’t Worry Baby on repeat for 3 days. I still listen to it on repeat regularly. Neither the music or the meaning ever gets old.

In this episode, I use this song to discuss my observations and experiences related to vulnerability, love and safety in relationships, all types of relationships, and how that the lack of those three things contribute to an unfulfilled life.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Courage is found in failure
So, breath and open your eyes

I sat down with Jackie Pack and we discussed courage including what it means and how we recognize it. We also discussed Brene Brown's statement:

"I don't think we can get to courage without the capacity to deal with uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure."

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Jackie Pack, LCSW, CSAT-S, CMAT.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Angie Monson.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Gary and Jodi Maricich.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: SAW.

If you liked the movie The Hangover, be sure to listen to this! (this may or may not be an oversell) You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll turn your head and gag.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: SAW.

lay flowers
at their feet.

offer them incense
and honey
and forgiveness.

honor them
and give them
your silence.

listen.

bless them
and let them be.

for they are the bones
of the temple
you sit in now.

for they are
the rivers
of wisdom
leading you toward
the sea.

// i have been a thousand different women

by Emory Hall

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Wendi Shavon.

"And did I pass?"
The face of the old woman on my right was unreadable in the gathering dusk. On my left the younger woman said, "You don't pass or fail at being a person dear.”

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Rachel Allen, LCSW, CSAT.

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.

They may not mean to, but they do.

They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,

Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another’s throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don’t have any kids yourself.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Tyler Mathis.

WILD GEESE
by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Josh Baron.

The Capacity of Your Tears

How many mornings
Are filled with desperate tears
That never sound
In another's ears because
You feel they are
Hopeless
And only serve to ease
Your pain for the coming day:
So why worry others when
The tears will come again
Regardless?

But how many mornings
Before your pain exceeds
The capacity of your tears?

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

For this part,
Darling,
You must be brave.

by Kalen Dion

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

I see it now
For years I only sensed it
Or saw the dissipating dust tails of its approach
But it filled me with terror
And there was no cover or protection
So I ran
As fast as my child stride could take me
Not even knowing what it was –
Only that it was coming
But that made the fear so much more
In my little mind
So I ran harder
Until I forgot why I was running –
Only knowing that I couldn’t stop

But I see it now
Its shape is fluid and undefined
And its terrible potential fills my mind
I want to keep running – retreating
But it won’t stop and
It’s closing the gap and
It’s more terrible than I ever thought
But its real – I see it now
And I know
There’s no escape, there never was.
But I want to keep running anyway
Until it overtakes me
I won’t see it coming; it will just happen and be done
But my insufficient legs refuse to carry me anymore
So I prostrate myself as an offering

I know you’re coming, I whisper,
And I offer myself willingly

This is not defeat, I reassure myself
Then lower my eyes
And brace for its fury

But my mind keeps moving – defiantly
It knows truths that my body forgot
And reminds me:

You were born with claws
And they’re with you still –

And I remember and feel them
They are deep, but I feel them and they are there
So, I raise my body from the dirt and
My eyes to the distance
It is closer now – the gap disappearing
But not my fear. My fear is growing
(broadcast loudly by my beating heart)
But I no longer want to run
Nor offer myself willingly
Instead, I watch it come and I wait – in fear, true
But I wait to receive it
And I steady myself.

I have claws and I feel them
And I will meet it face to face
I have terrible potential too
I feel it now.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Ruby Edgar.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

[Cover Image from Unsplash.com by Mohamed Nohassi ](Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash )

Instagram: @mnohassi

Special Guest: Kelli Stephens.

Meaningful Life

Having fame and wealth
Brings no true, lasting meaning
Such is found within

Concussion Baseline

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Ben Christiansen.

Links:

• Concussion Baseline

COMPREHEND YOURSELF

I know,
As I floated above a watery grave -
alone and exhausted,
With no one aware and
No strength to deliver myself
That despite your worlds without number
With their countless inhabitants,
You knew
And delivered me.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Cover Photo/header by Photo of the boy in the water by Noah Buscher on Unsplash

Special Guest: Mechelle Wingle.

They are out there.
You know them by their void,
Their masks of nothingness.
But they are something and voracious –
Consuming, in large amounts,
Everything
Completely
Their prey rage in vain
Then submit in silence;
No distress signals sent –
Even sound is consumed (and light)
In their dark bellies.
But they were beacons once
And they shined.

Addiction can be so consuming that it turns shining people into metaphorical black holes. It has the power, with drugs and alcohol, at least, to destroy people so completely that we eventually "know them by their void,/their masks of nothingness."

Thoreau wrote: “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” This profound statement has its application in the struggle with addiction. In order to effectively take one’s life back, it is important to understand what addiction is and what it’s primary causes are so that we can strike at its root rather than just hacking at its branches.

Hungarian-Canadian physician, Gabor Maté defined addiction as follows:

"Any behavior that a person finds relief in and therefore craves in the short-term, but suffers negative consequences in the long-term and doesn't give up despite the negative consequences."

Importantly, Dr. Maté also explains that addiction is not a moral failure or an indication of weakness. “Addiction is not the primary problem. It’s an attempt to solve a problem.”

In this episode of The Poet (delayed), I'm joined by Las Vegas based therapist, Brad Singletary as we read my poem, "They Were Beacons Once," and have a discussion about addiction, its cause and recovery.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Brad Singletary, LCSW.

Links:

• Everything You Think You Know About Addiction is Wrong by Johann Hari — The opposite of addiction isn't sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection.
• How Childhood Trauma Leads to Addiction by Gabor Mate — Addiction: Any behavior that a person finds relief and therefore craves in the short-term, but suffers negative consequences in the long-term and doesn't give up despite the negative consequences.
• Gabor Mate Discusses Addiction, including the cause and approaches to recovery — "Addiction is not a choice that anybody makes; it's not a moral failure; it's not an ethical lapse; it's not a weakness of character; it's not a failure of will, which is how our society depicts addiction nor is it an inherited brain disease, which is how the medical tendency is to see it but what it actually is is it's a response to human suffering."
• The Alpha Quorum — Brad Singletary and I discussed this men's group he started during this episode of The Poet (delayed)
• Faces of Addiction

Song sung blue
Everybody knows one

Song sung blue
Every garden grows one.

Me and you are subject to
The blues now and then

"Song Sung Blue," Neil Diamond

And, while more often than not, most of us have been able to take Neil’s advice to “take the blues and make a song [and] sing them out again,” whether metaphorically or literally, some of us have suffered or are suffering through depression so deep and encompassing that song is unable to penetrate and the desire to even sing a song is, at best, like a drop of water on a hot skillet, and, at worst, a stomach turning, repulsive thought, and that is a scary and dangerous place to be. In those times, it’s especially vital that we are able to notice the signs in ourselves and others and then reach out for help or reach out to help, respectively. Because, in those times, we can lose the ability to lift ourselves up. We lose the ability to put a smile on our face. We lose the ability to have an attitude of gratitude. And so, we need to be lifted up, and we need to lift up. In the words of Townes Van Zandt:

If I needed you
Would you come to me?
Would you come to me?
And ease my pain?

If you needed me
I would come to you
I would swim the seas
For to ease you pain

If I Needed You, Townes Van Zandt

In this episode, Jackie Pack and I discuss depression, situational and clinical (major depressive disorder) including what differentiates them. We discuss ways that we can help ourselves and each other as we pass through those days, weeks, months or years when we feel hopelessness covering us.

"He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother" by Neil Diamond

"If I Needed You" by Townes Van Zandt

Dark Canopy

Hopelessness covers me:
Like a forest canopy
On a moonless night
It covers me.
I see no way or path
To deliver myself.
And the darkness:
It fills my eyes.
And they are unable to see
The torchlight
Of rescuers who may approach.
All is black and dead.
Every gleam is only a phantom.
And the only variations in light
Are darker shadows
Waiting to finish me off
For good.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Amazon.com

Special Guest: Jackie Pack, LCSW, CSAT-S, CMAT.

Also, I believe that the reason these great works of literature and poetry persist is because they were inspired by and deal with the human condition - the basics of which remain constant as evidenced by the fact that the adventures of Odysseus still permeate our culture, whether in print, on stage or on film ("O, Brother Where are Thou?" - classic) more than 2,500 years after Homer handed them down. "The Odyssey" and "The Illiad" persist because the same passions that ran through the veins of Homer run through ours and, more importantly, he, like the great writers throughout history, had the gift to genuinely infuse that passion into his stories and characters. ("East of Eden" in my hands or probably in most hands, for instance, wouldn't have even found a publisher, but in Steinbeck's hands, we were given as powerful a story/lesson as I've ever read.) So, we feel their pain with defeat and their joy with victory. We relate when they stumble and fall from grace, and as a result, we don't feel so alone in our brokenness.

The same can be said for the enduring stories, poems and mythologies of all cultures: they endure because they resonate with our humanity and they remind us what it means to be human. And then, when we are ready, we can find in them comfort or learning or both as has so many people before us.

In episode 18 of The Poet (delayed), read my poem, "I'm a Poet" and I am joined by Salt Lake City based author, poet, editor and my new friend, Jennifer Adams. I read my poem, "I'm a Poet," and Jen and I discuss the power of literature and poetry as well as her newest of book, "All's Right With the World," inspired by Robert Browning's poem, Pippa's Song, which will be released March 7, 2023. It can be pre-purchased at

The King's English Bookshop

and

Barnes and Noble

I'M A POET

I'm a wordsmith.
Wielding my Montblanc hammer
On my Moleskine anvil.
I shape words and forge them together.
Quenching them in my inky oil to temper them.
To make them hard for breaking souls.

I'm a word weaver.
Weaving on my parchment loom,
I guide the weft threads of metaphors
Through taut warp threads of nouns and verbs.
Resulting in a strong, velvety weave
For binding up broken souls.

I'm a painter.
My palette is full of words for mixing:
Some fresh and liquid, some dry and hard.
At times I work them smooth and technical
(Vermeer in verse).
Other times raw and passionate
(Van Gogh in verse)
Each painting with an Abrahamic number of interpretations.

I'm a wordsmith
I'm a weaver
I'm a painter
I'm a poet.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

If you're interested, my first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps is available for purchase at

Amazon.com

and

The King's English Bookshop

Special Guest: Jennifer Adams.

Among the things I’ve learned is that in November 2021, Allison was diagnosed with Stage 2 Unfavorable Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. (By the way, “unfavorable”? Who comes up with these terms, soccer match announcers? - “That was unlucky!”) But as terrifying as that was, she rose up to battle and, with the help of family, friends and competent medical providers, she waged battle as a head shorn warrior and the cancer is now in remission.

And now, nearly 39 years after we became (apparently) forgettable classmates, Allison joined me on The Poet (delayed) to discuss the topic of “truth” and ways in which her experience with cancer has shaped the lens through which she sees the world.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

If you're interested, my first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is available at:

Amazon.com

The Kings English Bookshop

Special Guest: Allison Spencer.

I crave silence - clear and still,
And darkness too.
So complete
My body melds with it
Erasing the line where
Darkness ends and I begin.
I crave nothingness.

I was joined by Monte Wingle as I read my poem, Nirvana, and we discussed thoughts and ideas that came. Also, in the spirit of craving nothingness, we visited True Rest Float Spa to experience their float tank and see how close we could get to nothingness.

True REST Draper

Cover photo by: Lenka Sluneckova

Music: Prelude 2, by Max Richter

USA National Suicide Hotline (voice and text): 988
UK Suicide Hotline: 08006895652

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

If you're interested, I recently published my first book of poetry which is available at the following place:

Amazon.com

The Kings English Book Shop

Special Guest: Monte Wingle.

I see it now
For years I only sensed it
Or saw the dissipating dust tails of its approach
But it filled me with terror
And there was no cover or protection
So I ran
As fast as my child stride could take me
Not even knowing what it was –
Only that it was coming
But that made the fear so much more
In my little mind
So I ran harder
Until I forgot why I was running –
Only knowing that I couldn’t stop

But I see it now
Its shape is fluid and undefined
And its terrible potential fills my mind
I want to keep running – retreating
But it won’t stop and
It’s closing the gap and
It’s more terrible than I ever thought
But its real – I see it now
And I know
There’s no escape, there never was.
But I want to keep running anyway
Until it overtakes me
I won’t see it coming; it will just happen and be done
But my insufficient legs refuse to carry me anymore
So I prostrate myself as an offering

I know you’re coming, I whisper,
And I offer myself willingly

This is not defeat, I reassure myself
Then lower my eyes
And brace for its fury

But my mind keeps moving – defiantly
It knows truths that my body forgot
And reminds me:

You were born with claws
And they’re with you still –

And I remember and feel them
They are deep, but I feel them and they are there
So, I raise my body from the dirt and
My eyes to the distance
It is closer now – the gap disappearing
But not my fear. My fear is growing
(broadcast loudly by my beating heart)
But I no longer want to run
Nor offer myself willingly
Instead, I watch it come and I wait – in fear, true
But I wait to receive it
And I steady myself.

I have claws and I feel them
And I will meet it face to face
I have terrible potential too
I feel it now.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

If you're interested, my poetry that I read on this podcast was recently published in my book My Mother Sleeps which is available at

Amazon.com

and

The King's English Bookshop

Special Guest: Justino Foster.

In the days
When my horizons shifted,
I remember you and
The gifts you brought to me:

tenderness, love and protection.
But in my youthful confusion,
Knew not how to receive them –
I had known them from a different horizon.
But that horizon went dark in an instant
(without warning)
Though not entirely – there was protection still
But love and tenderness,
Those beacons were extinguished, it seemed,
Until they flamed up again,
But now on your horizon and
(without waiting)
You brought them to me –
Unconditionally and ad infinitum.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

If you're interested, I recently published two books of poetry which are available on Amazon.com:
My Mother Sleeps and On Becoming a Black Hole

Special Guest: Aunt Kash.

At what point is my absence
Inconsequential?

When they’re too young to know the need?
(But that time is gone)

Certainly not now
In the midst of life’s straits
With foamy waves pounding
And hidden reefs lurking
Beneath an angry, fluid surface.
No; Not now.
Now they need a captain
(is that presumptuous?)
Who has already navigated a similar course –
though more Hazelwood than Magellan.
(well, all Hazelwood and no Magellan)

Perhaps that time will be
When they’ve helmed their own ship.
Is my absence inconsequential then?
Can I cross the bar then?
Of course they’ll think of me and perhaps
Want to see my face and
Hear my voice
(or have me hear their voice and see their face)
But would my absence harm them?
in those later years?
That is the question.

But here’s the better question:
Would my absence now
be better than running them aground,
again and again
and taking on salty water to no seeming end?

I’ve given it a go.
But the ship lists endlessly and
The course seems fucked.

Would the idea of me
Be better than the reality?
That is the real question.

No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.

• John Donne, Meditation XVII (from Devotions Upon Emergent Occassions, 1623)

I'd love to hear any thoughts about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

If you're interested, I recently published two books of poetry which are available on Amazon.com:

My Mother Sleeps & On Becoming a Black Hole

Special Guest: Jason Langston.

"The noble soul has reverence for itself." - Frederic Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

If you're interested, I recently published two books of poetry which are available on Amazon.com

Special Guest: Nate Morris.

THE SADNESS WILL LAST FOREVER
I feel you here.
I sense your soul in the quiet darkness
Of the slow. flow of le Rhône
As she wanders under your
Starry Night
Past the place of your
Yellow House.
I sense you too in the day light,
As the yellow sun arcs
Through the sky of broad, blue strokes.
I see the fields, littered with Ancient Rome,
In your colors
yellows, greens and blues
As if painted in windmilled paints
Bright and layered thick.
And the heavenward sunflowers turn their heads.
As if searching for you
Wanting to be immortalized on your canvas.
But you've been gone for ages
Your sadness took you away.

Adam's questions to ask yourself about creativity:

1. What does creativity mean to you?
2. What is your greatest fear around creating art and sharing it?
3. How does your inner critic affect your creative process and where are you most sensitive to criticism?
4. When did you realize you were creative and how was that nurtured or not nurtured?
5. When and what areas are you most open to criticism as it pertains to your art?

My first book of poetry can be purchased from Amazon by clicking this link: My Mother Sleeps

Special Guest: Adam Nisenson, MA, LAMFT, CSAT.

A SUBTLE WOUND
You left me when my world
Was measured by a child's stride.
You had to go away for awhile,
I was told
To ease me into the truth:
You were gone
And not coming back.

It was involuntary, I know
Your leaving
But intent is not part
Of trauma's calculus
So I was not spared -
Though the wound went unnoticed:
There was no nervous response
Or reflexive recoil
As when you touch a hot pan.
It was subtle:
no bleeding, no blistered flesh.
Just a change in routine
And one less setting at the table.

Jackie Pack's Podcast:
Thanks for Sharing

If you're interested, I recently published a book of poetry which is available on Amazon.com: My Mother Sleeps

Episode Cover Art by Ginny Rose Stewart on Unsplash

Special Guest: Jackie Pack, LCSW, CSAT-S, CMAT.

I’m joined by Jason Small in this episode as I read my poem “Besieged” and we discuss the difficulty of facing challenges to our way of thinking and being and how we’ve dealt with it.

BESIEGED

Possibilities march
On my walled city of certainties
And lay siege.

If you're interested, I recently published two books of poetry which are available on Amazon

My Mother Sleeps

Special Guest: Jason Small.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

On Pain

And a woman spoke, saying, Tell us of Pain.

And he said:
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses
your understanding.

Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its
heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.

And could you keep your heart in wonder at the
daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem
less wondrous than your joy;

And you would accept the seasons of your heart,
even as you have always accepted the seasons that
pass over your fields.

And you would watch with serenity through the
winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen.

It is the bitter potion by which the physician within
you heals your sick self.

Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy
in silence and tranquillity:

For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by
the tender hand of the Unseen,

And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has
been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has
moistened with His own sacred tears.

If you're interested, I recently published two books of poetry which are available on Amazon.com

“EMPEROR CONCERTO” II

The strings prepare me
Like a good opening act,
For the moment the piano comes in
Like a ballerina on point
Delicately entering the stage.
I’m speechless every time.
In awe (reverent almost)
As my body absorbs the sound waves
Harnessed two centuries ago by a deaf man
Who arranged them into beauty
Then converted them to ink and
Stained them on paper.
And now I sit, transfixed,
As a modern-day acoustic alchemist
Transmutes the ink back into waves
And floods me with euphoria.

[Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major, OP. 73 "Emperor," II. Adagio un poco moto (mosso)]

Real Live Girl

I'd love to hear what you have to say bout the episode including thoughts on the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.

Special Guest: Ric de Azevedo.

[Ignorant before the heavens of my life]

Ignorant before the heavens of my life,
I stand and gaze in wonder. Oh the vastness
of the stars. Their rising and descent. How still.
As if I didn't exist. Do I have any
share in this? Have I somehow dispensed with
their pure effect? Does my blood's ebb and flow
change with their changes? Let me put aside
every desire, every relationship
except this one, so that my heart grows used to
its farthest spaces. Better that it live
fully aware, in the terror of its stars, than
as if protected, soothed by what is near.

RM Rilke

I'd love to hear any comments or thoughts about this episode. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com. Thanks for listening.

The Poet's Call

Write hard words
To break your soul against
Redemptive words too
To bind it up again.

_Also, I referenced a poem by E. E. Cummings _

may I be I is the only prayer--not may I be great or good or beautiful or wise or strong. - Cummings

and one by Rainer Maria Rilke.

God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.

These are the words we dimly hear:

You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.

Flare up like a flame
and make big shadows I can move in.

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don’t let yourself lose me.

Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.

Give me your hand.

Book of Hours, I 59