April 2023

Happy National Poetry Month! Matsuo Bashō captures April's essence in these seven simple words.

            Spring air

—   woven moon

and plum scent.

When I walk in nearby woods these days, I notice the landscape, treescape, and soundscape changing daily. Bare brown tree branches spring bright buds. Purple and olive waxy skunk cabbage leaves push up through the swamp. The owls’ calls heard all winter now intermingle with those of blackbirds, grackles, and mourning doves.

The days remain light longer, luring us outdoors for fun and adventure. And speaking of spring adventures, several years ago, on an April trip to Florida, I saw an alligator swimming in the ocean along the route I’d just swum myself! The poem and back story are on the Verse-Virtual website this month, along with many wonderful pieces. Beyond featuring a website, book parties, and readings, Verse-Virtual is a welcoming poetry community led by the inexhaustible Jim Lewis. Check it out!

I also have a poem, “I Joined Twitter,” up at “Molecule: a tiny lit mag” which features 50-word poems, stories, reviews, etc. Every piece is bite-sized so it’s a fun and easy read. I also posted it on my Facebook page with the link, atop a photo if you want to check it out there. 

Please email me if you want to receive my periodic communication about new work, events, books and the like. And if you want to purchase "Winter," you can do that either here, or on Amazon.