“Thinking Of You”

The following is an older poem of mine, written some time during the latter half of my high school tenure about a friend* who was in the hospital at the time. It is among the first that I ever performed in front of an audience, and while perhaps not my best work in a literary sense, it remains sentimentally valuable to me:

*[To respect my friend’s privacy, I’ve changed her name in this copy of the poem]

Check back here next week for my new Christmas-related comedy poem!

Among The Roots

Greetings once again! On this, the official first day of Spring, I am proud to present my latest original song lyrics! I have not yet composed any music to accompany these lyrics, but I believe that this piece is capable of conveying the intended tone without assistance.

I am both pleased and morally obliged to credit the late Walkin’ Jim Stoltz, whose name you may recognize from three of my past poems which he also inspired, for writing and recording the song “Old Man From the Mountains”, which directly inspired this piece. Before you begin reading, please take a moment to visit his website and admire his legacy: Walkin’ Jim Stoltz’s Website

Here, without further introduction, is my new song, “Among The Roots”:

Enigma Tanka #2

This is the second poem in my “Enigma Tanka” series. Try to guess who or what the poem is describing! (You should also try to guess the subject of “Enigma Tanka #1”)

Enigma Tanka #1

This poem is the first in what will, depending on the level of interest of readers like you, be a series of riddles in the form of tankas in which I use wordplay and/or other poetic clues to describe a subject, the identity of which you are then encouraged to figure out. I hope you all enjoy this little game! Here’s the first “Enigma Tanka”:

The Vow

I wrote this simple rhyme while I was in high school. It is a tribute to my late Grandfather, Robert Strauss, and appears as a part of a Van Dyke Brown photographic print which I assembled in one of my high school photography classes. The print also includes an image of my Grandparents and an image of myself reaching upward toward the clouds. I created four variations of the print, one of which I gave as a gift to my Grandmother. Eventually, I hope to scan or digitally photograph the best one of those prints, as well as my other non-digital photography projects, and add them to my DeviantART gallery. Until then, please enjoy the rhyme separately:

Something

This poem was inspired by certain friends who were acting mysterious one evening.

Sick

I’ve been adding to this poem periodically over the course of several years, and I’m still not sure it’s done, but regardless, I would like to share it in its current form and ask for feedback as to whether I should end it now or keep it in my “ongoing” poetry folder. Thanks in advance!

Wounded

A new semester of college has begun, and that means fresh, new poetry!

I wrote this poem just today, and I am so happy with the way it turned out that I couldn’t wait to share it! Please comment on this post and let me know what you envision while reading it (I am deliberately not going to reveal what I thought of, because I don’t want to influence others’ interpretations). Thanks!

The Perfect Word

Hi there, readers! Tonight, I want to share a poem written for a fellow poet who I’ve been getting to know lately. She doesn’t know it is for her, but if she figures it out, that’s fine with me. Otherwise, I will tell her when the time is right. At any rate, here is the poem. Enjoy!

I’ve Lost My Friend (For Jennifer Hrobuchak, In Memoriam)

I found out today that one of my recently-graduated college classmates, Jennifer Hrobuchak, was very recently killed in a car accident. While I did not know her as well as many of our other classmate did, reality of her death is hitting me harder the more I sit here thinking about it. As you know if you’ve read my blog before, I can best express myself through the writing of poetry. Therefore, I am dedicating this post to her memory. The poem below is actually quite old, having first been written in middle school and then rewritten in high school, yet I feel that tonight, it is taking on a whole new meaning for me. Please enjoy the poem, and RIP Jennifer Hrobuchak.