I have been writing poems since my teens (though not often) and I’ve put almost all of them here—even the bad ones. I’m no amazing poet, but I do think some of these are very good, and they do please me.
My favorites are marked with a star.
Sonnets
“Second Premise” (2022)
“First Premise” (2022)
“At the Dawn of 2023” (2022) ★
“Bliss” (2022)
“Midway” (2022)
“Blackrock” (2022)
“After Dinner” (2022)
“Saipan” (2022)
“Bridgework” (2022) ★
“Biodiversity” (2022)
“Dopamine” (2022) ★
“My Father’s Epitaph” (2022)
“Maker’s Lament” (2022)
“A Bedtime Prayer” (2022) ★
“A Morning Prayer” (2022)
“Driven” (2019) ★
“Winter Love” (2006)
“The Primary Consideration” (2000)
“I Do Love” (1999) ★
“Their Motto” (1997-98)
“A True-to-form Shakespearean Sonnet in Rhymed Iambic Pentameter” (1996)
Narrative Poems
“Goliath’s Last Challenge” (In progress) ★
“The Song of Uka” (2019)
Free-form Poems
“Doomscroll” (2022)
“What is a Star?” (2014) ★
I have long envied and admired illustrators and other visual artists for their ability to create beautiful and powerful images of—seemingly whatever they want—at will. They create! I do not have their skill, but I can shape words when the moment is right. Words are the gift I have, and these poems are the highest expression of that gift I know how to make.
As with every other use of my mind, my approach is analytical first. My poetics are rooted in formal constraints: meter. rhyme scheme, historical forms such as the sonnet or terza rima. These constraints create a problem space that my mind must navigate and solve as I express my thoughts. Problem solving is the foundation of my creative process.
In writing poetry, I have pursued clarity of thought, natural and modern language, vivid images of contemporary life, and formal perfection.