Flying Through the Rockies
Mountains of the sky— breathing, shining, moving— white, blue, red, and rippling. Beneath sky valleys, scraping— more slowly changing, flowing— old mountains of the Earth.
Ozark Elegy: Six Scenes From a Funeral
1 “Our story’s not a cypher, Jude,” Dad said. “It’s written in the clay of this hill, and on the stones planted in it.” We stood, together,…
Eight Ways of Looking at the Ozarks
After Basho, Buson, and Issa I Even in the Ozark Mountains hearing the bob-white’s call, I long for the Ozarks. II The origin of sound: a frog…
Blackberry Bushes
Blackberry blossoms, pink-white under bees— rabbits look up longingly. Blackberries ripe and sweet; my brother and I pick them— reaching through thorns. Thrushes flying south pluck at…
Remembering the Christian Poetic Tradition
In an age of canon destruction, definition confusion, and dragging corpse writers out of their graves for new judgments, contemporary Christian readers require some way to preserve…
Just Before Dawn
Here in my darkest hour, I lie grasped among the roots of damp and mossy oaks while overlooking black alfalfa fields, above which coming fogs will linger…
The Sawteeth
Hiking the jagged spine of the Appalachians, fraser fir and spruce trees stretch hands high above me, gnarled beeches reach twisted arms over my winding trail. Moss…
The English Department
In 1969, in the Fall semester, darkly painted leaves, broken from their stems by a season dying and grasping, danced across winding university walkways. The English department,…
An Aspiring Architect Goes to Washington
After Dana Gioia He pondered the architecture when he visited Washington, pondered its form and its meaning. He had grown tired of the ugly post offices and…
Nostalgia By Night
The night is young, but everyone is old In this town's restaurants and whiskey bars. I dream of fireside wisdom—truths retold— Yet all I hear? Worn lies…
Rushed Gods
The shades of night engulf the beaming day As metal and plastic cars race each free way. Was our life always fast? The forlorn moon can’t wait…