Poetry

A Cannon, a Heart, and Now This… is my first book.  I didn’t set out to write a book of poetry exactly, but in attempting to express myself and some of the ineffable feelings that fill the human heart from time to time, poetry is what ultimately came out.

For the back of the book, I wrote the following, and it is not an inaccurate accounting: “This book is a collection of reflections on the reality of Love’s presence.  They are encounters with truth in the disguise of image and story—a game of horseshoes played across the threshold of non-existence.  I throw iron shoes through the opening, and Hafiz throws back bowling balls, flower bouquets and circling doves.  When difficulty arises, Jesus crawls out from the safe-keeping of my own heart to walk with me for a bit.  And when all else fails, there’s a leopard ambush.”

I Place My Hand Upon the Sky is my second collection of poems.

I felt as though with this collection Hafiz and I hit our stride. Hafiz is present throughout, whether explicitly or implied, always with a bit of wisdom in his holster.

From the jacket: “Each of these poems is a little bridge—a link from here to here—from the here that isn’t, quite, to the here that truly is. We spend our lives adjacent to grace, not always realizing it, and sometimes a little stepping stool is useful to provide a boost, so we can peek over the wall that’s keeping us from seeing what’s really happening. Sustaining this view means greeting life on new terms, embracing a shift in perspective, and that’s what these pieces hope to spark. . Hafiz is the ringleader in this collection—the playful voice of my own heart. There’s a whole crew of friends in here. We scamper across dew-flecked lawns at dawn, assault the meaning of existence, dare the stars to wink at us, and drive off the edge of the road in a flying convertible. We’re just having fun as we receive, little by little, the joyful inklings of eternity’s promise.”

Both books are available on Lulu, Amazon, B&N, etc…