The Red Book

Jung’s Red Book, on sale at last!

I search for the copy I will purchase;

Reject one whose pages fold up at the corners,

And another on whose pages the ink became tired and slept,

Stopping mid-sentence so Dr. Jung has had to pen the missing words by hand.

The copy I purchase — 60 percent off! Such a bargain! –

Has a leather cover that holds, pocketed within itself,

A leather holster. No gun.

Dr. Freud: What do you make of that?

The Same Boat

We are all in the same boat.

Actually, we are all in separate boats; kayaks in this case.

But we are all on the same river.

And because we are all on the same river, the river is crowded;

Bumper to bumper or bow to stern, if you will.

And the wakes from all the boats passing send us up stomach-dropping heights –

And down again.

But we manage each to keep our craft afloat.

None of us flip over — or out.

We steady ourselves as best we can.

Paddle on.

Dreaming Across Blogs

This past spring and summer I led poetry classes for middle and high school students in Holyoke, Mass., where sometimes it seems dreams just won’t come true. But the poetry these young people wrote … based on their vision and visions … along with their overall creativity and determination … make me think if anyone can use dreams and imagination to push through the walls of poverty and hopelessness, these young people can do it! Their dream poems are … well … dreamy! Take a peek at their blog and visit our poetry class in session (enter via YouTube) … you can sit in as I introduce the students to the master  Dream Poet, Langston Hughes.

A Letter to Anyone

The letter I just wrote is heartfelt, full of salient details and, I admit
generic — And now that it’s written, I can check this task off my list.
I owe letters to so many people! But reading it over I realize,
it’s not appropriate for any of them. Because you see,
a letter to anyone is really,
a letter to no one