Probably because of my
mathematical background, I like to play with structure. This explains the haiku
(“Haiku Meditations on the Church Year,” “More Haiku,” “Columbia Homecoming”) and rhyme-scheme experiments like “Sunday Afternoon”
and “Thanksgiving.” Some of my poems
dispense with rhyme and regular meter. Although I don’t always feel
comfortable writing such poetry—is it really poetry?—I do like
poems such as my “Apple Tree” and “It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” Despite
the diversity, however, my poetry remains largely concrete and rational—it is inspired
by my experience, observation, and reflection, rather than by my emotional
state or by free association. This is not to say that my poetry is devoid of emotional content,
but it tends to avoid the solipsistic, self-indulgent, and obscure. I seek, if not universality, at least relevance to others.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for inspired imagery, I may not be
the poet you want to be reading. Because I really want people to
understand my poems, each poem represented here is accompanied by an
explanation. My annotations explain how the poem came to be, problems I
had writing it, and what some of the less obvious references are. (My
annotations are actually there to remind me of the poem’s provenance as
much as anything.) I leave it to others to decide if I’m obsessive with
explaining myself. (See “A
Critique of Modern Poetry” for further discussion on my attitude
toward poetry.) As
with children, it’s hard to pick favorite poems. I am especially pleased with “Musashi’s
Odyssey” and “The Quecreek Mine Disaster,”
and “Metro-North Accident, Valhalla, New York,
February 3, 2015,”each of which tells a real-life story. I very much like “It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,”
which achieves what is, for me, rare intensity. More modest efforts with
which I am especially pleased include “Reciprocity,”
“2001,” and “Labor Day Lament.” It
has been fun writing poetry about items in the news and events in The
Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion. Some of my favorites are “Airplanes II,” “Waiting
for the Lambeth Commission Report,” “Accokeek,” and “Second
Inauguration.”
I have also enjoyed writing what some might classify as devotional
poetry. This group includes “Haiku Meditations on the Church Year”
and “That They All May Be One.” I have also
written a number of hymns, and, for some of them, I have written
original music as well. (My hymns are cross-listed in the
Church Resources
section but are actually included under Poetry.) My hymn list now
includes “O Lord the Invisible,”
“Authorities,” “Heavens and
Earth, All of Creation,” and “Holy Eucharist.”
I am especially pleased with “Authorities” and “Holy Eucharist,” which
fill particular niches in Episcopal Church liturgical resources. Please
write to me if you would like to use any of these hymns. I have also
written a few of songs. I have not worked out music very well for “Where
Were You?” but “Out of Many, One,” which
was written for a contest to find a new national anthem, consists of
words and music with which I am reasonably satisfied. “Realign
with Me” is a parody about church politics, and the aforementioned “The
Donald Goes Rolling Along” skewers our 45th president. I have
avoided classifying my poems here, partly because so many incompatible
organizations are possible. I apologize if this seems unhelpful and
forces you to read poems with little warning of what you might find. I
hope you have some pleasant surprises. Find your own favorites and let me know what they are and why.
The poems occur in chronological order, which allows you to see my
development or degeneration as a poet. I have also
included an untitled poem by my son August.
He is not a frequent writer of poetry, but he does a great job performing this
particular work. We have shared many useful conversations about the craft of
writing poetry. — LED, 7/31/2018 . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
Entries below are listed oldest first. Go
to bottom
Phan Thi Kim Phúc at the Vietnam Memorial,
Veterans Day, 1996 Haiku
Meditations on the Church Year
Where Are You When I Need You, James R. Newman? Small
Talk
On Jackie’s Death Girl Watching More Haiku First Class Diversity Two Cats O Lord the Invisible
(hymn) Cities Frustration Sunday Afternoon Basketball Accokeek Untitled poem by G. A. Deimel Musashi’s Odyssey 11 September 2001 Falling from the Sky Camper
E-mail Apple Tree Poems of the Open Road Airplanes II Parents’ Weekend Buffalo Trees 2001 Snack Do Astrologers Have More Fun? Light Rail May All Your Reinforcements Be Spiral Ones
Where Were You?
(song) Resurrection Be Repression I Don’t Miss You Anymore The Quecreek Mine Disaster Summer Pleasures
Christian Unity Thanksgiving Toilet Paper It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
(not a song) Ordination Columbia Homecoming Meta-haiku Frank A Critique of Modern Poetry Wittenberg Graduation 9/11 Memorial Identity Fall Leaves in a Creek Autumn Reverie Playmates Martha's Ordination Authorities
(hymn) Maidenhood Glorious Companions Plus One Waiting
for the Lambeth Commission Report
Eve
Finding a Use for a Rough Stone Wall
Traveling North on the 42S
Thoughts on the Katrina Flood by One Who Grew Up in New
Orleans But Never Lived There as an Adult
Peter
Winter Preparations
Voyage of the Heart
The Conversation
Canon Mary Changes Her Mind
Mercury
Winter Avenue
Bovine Sue
Pick Me!
The Wood
Farewell, Nano; Hello, Lou
How Can I Miss You?
Schism
Pennsylvania Primary
The Amazing Cat
Monitor Cat
Realign with Me (song)
Milky Moon
Love Letters
Hail Barack Obama
Oatmeal
National Poetry Month 2009
Christopher Becomes a Deacon
I Was a Proud Southern Christian
Poem for Mary
Out of Many, One (proposed national anthem)
Pier
In the Hospital
Out of the Frying Pan
That They All May Be One
Sara’s Birthday
Labor Day Lament, 2011
Reciprocity
A Twitter Poem
Three Silly Poems
Friendship
“Hawk!” the Herald Angles Sing
For Gwen
Second Inauguration
Calvary Wonderland
Papal Retirement
Heavens and Earth, All of Creation (hymn)
Turbine
Holy Eucharist (hymn)
Back Together (song)
Metro-North Accident, Valhalla, New York,
February 3, 2015
Political Limericks for 2016
Trump Haiku
The Donald Goes Rolling Along (song) |