I was listening to Willie Nelson sing the song There is Nothing I Can Do About it Now on my car radio and thought about the wisdom that used to be written in poems and short stories, but are now so often written in song. It struck me how on target the lyrics were about our past regrets, the "if only" worries about the past which are now out of our control. Much as been written about it. John Greenleaf Whittier,…
I admit that while I enjoyed literature and reading, I was never particularly interested in poetry until my wife Lita introduced me to it over thirty years ago. I am grateful to her for doing so because I have found a great deal of enjoyment in poetry. In addition, I find wisdom in some poetry as well as inspiration. Over the years of trying jury cases I don't think there was any in which I didn't use poetry in my…
I had published about my deceased father in law, Hollis Barnett who had many wonderful qualities including a large volume of memorized poems. One of them my wife Lita recalled was "Sugar Tooth Dick." I tried to find the words and never could locate it until someone sent me the poem and I published it at https://www.paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2011/12/sugar-toothed-dick.html See the poem I was sent below. Now Julie has emailed about the poem. She says: "My Dad remembered part of it that…
I have a wonderful poetry book owned by my motherin law that has a variety of poetry. I was reading it this morning and the first paragraph ofr Edwin Markham's poem A Creed struck a note with me about the truth of our relationship to our fellow human beings. This is what he wrote: "There is a destiny that makes us brothers; None goes his way alone. All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our…
My wife's dad, Hollis Barnett loved poetry and had memorized a number of poems. I wrote about that https://www.paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2010/03/i-write-this-in-memory-of-my-wifes-father-hollis-hall-barnett-whodied-in-puyallup-washington-on-march-22-1990-at-the-a.html and mentioned of the poems was Sugar Toothed Dick. I could not locate the full poem until my friend Dennis Donnelly located it. Here it is SUGAR-TOOTHED DICK O For dainties was sick, So he slyly stole into the kitchen, Snatched a cup from the pantry, And darted out quick, Unnoticed by mother or Gretchen. Whispered he, "There s no cake, For to-morrow…
My good friend in New Jersey, Dennis Donnelly sent me this poem which I share with you Haunted Houses by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow All houses wherein men have lived and died Are haunted houses. Through the open doors The harmless phantoms on their errands glide, With feet that make no sound upon the floors. We meet them at the door-way, on the stair, Along the passages they come and go, Impalpable impressions on the air, A sense of something moving…
The great twentieth century poet W.H. Auden wrote a poem called "Sext" in the 1950's which captures the idea of dedication and being lost in the moment of what you are doing. In athletics it's called "being in the zone" or being "hot" or "on a roll." Whatever you call it, this poem captures what happens when someone is doing what they love to do and are doing it with utter concentration. it's when we think about what we are doing…
This week I've been on a poetry search for some reason. Reading books of poetry. Some are new, but most are old. I admit that the ones I enjoy the most are not profound and are old friends from many readings ago. My friend from New Jersey, Dennis Donnelly sent me a poetry book with electic poems and I'm trying hard to learn to appreciate them as much as the old standby ones I know so well, but for now,…
My mother in law, Betty Barnett loved poetry. I have a wonderful, old poetry book with her name written in the front that she must have given her daughter Lita. My wife Lita re-intoduced me to enjoying poetry which I frequently read. I have any number of poetry books, but last night I was reading the book that beloged to Betty. Inside were some poems in her hand writing. This is one of them. Whether she wrote it or not I have…
I enjoy poetry. Some poems are inspiring as well as offering wise advice. One such poem for me is Ithaka by Constantine Cavafy. Constantine Cavafy (1863 – 1933) was a well known Greek poet who wrote the poem "Ithaka" around 1864 and was first published in 1911. There are a number of translations. It is believed he modeled it after Odysseus, the hero of Homer's Odyssey. Ithaka is an island in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Greece to which Odyssey…
