Soon after completing my first book of poetry, Muses like Moonlight, I wrote the following poem. At the time, my intution told me that it marked the start of a new period in my writing. I began my spoken word reading yesterday at Floyd Fest – on the “Soap Box” under the “Poetree” – with […]
Although I did a lot of writing while on my recent sabbatical in Massachusetts, I only wrote one poem, and it was one I had started beforehand on my front porch at home. I’ll be reading it under the Poetree at the Floyd Fest World Music Festival today, which is conveniently held right up the […]
I feel naked with a week’s worth of posts up and no poetry on the front page. Going into my 3rd week of my Massachusetts sabbatical, thinking about my loved ones back home in Virginia, while munching on blueberries, I remembered this poem. It was written in July 2003 for my eldest son’s 24th birthday. […]
Last Sunday, while putting the Museletter together, the monthly local publication that I co-edit, I was looking through my collection of poetry for a few summer-time poems to fill in some empty spaces. Except for a few garden poems, all I could find is the one below, published last year in “Mobius,” which made me […]
A poem is a family of words that are all related, either directly (rhymes, assonance, alliteration) or remotely. Dominant sounds fade-out and re-emerge like ancestors passing on traits. One word is born from the other. Colleen ~ From Muses Like Moonlight The following poem – which I wrote 6 years ago and dug up again […]
I read somewhere that when Allen Ginsberg was asked who his favorite poets were he answered that they were mostly unknowns. I understand. Some of my favorite poets are local and unknown, and many of my favorite poets have been children. For over 10 years I was the creative writing teacher at Floyd’s parent-run-cooperative school, […]
Because I won last month’s poetry slam, hosted by The Easy Chair Bookstore and held at The London Underground Pub in Blacksburg, I headed up the slam this month as the featured poet. The crowd was less congested, probably because the majority of Virginia Tech students had left town for the summer. They were slightly […]
I have another son, the mechanically-minded one who likes cars and 4-wheeling. He does plumbing, remodeling, and electrical work. He’s quieter than his older brother, the Asheville potter who loves the Red Sox, and so he doesn’t end up on my blog very often, which I’m sure suits him just fine. Generally, my younger son […]
On the night of the day that my essay aired on WVTF public radio, I participated in a poetry slam at The London Underground in Blacksburg and won $100! Initially, I was leery about reading my poetry in such a smoky, chaotic atmosphere where rowdy guys holding onto mugs of beer seemed to be […]
Maybe age is a clock to wake us from dreaming…Or maybe it is the dream…Like counting the number of pages in a book…when we should be reading the story… I like to paint my toenails on my birthday. It’s usually just the right time to start wearing sandals, to put up the window screens […]
I like to think that the moon is there even if I am not looking at it. ~ Albert Einstein A Fingernail of Moon Look! A fingernail moon painted silver has landed upright in a wide-mouth bowl Clipped close from the darkness the moon is filed down to a delicate sliver of smiling light An […]
I’m a mandala in your eye a sunflower dancing on black scrying mirror where the sun and moon are lovers I’ve always felt that the world of reflections was more interesting than the literal world, in the same way that physical reality seems to be the watered down version of my imagination. Since I […]
