The Poet (delayed)

make peace with all the women you once were. lay flowers at their feet. offer them incense and honey and forgiveness. honor them and give them your silence. listen. bless them and let them be. for they are the bones of the temple you sit in now. for they are the rivers of wisdom leading you toward the sea. // i have been a thousand different women by Emory Hall I'd love to hear what you have to sa...

Quote from Neil Gaiman's, Ocean at the End of the Lane: "And did I pass?" The face of the old woman on my right was unreadable in the gathering dusk. On my left the younger woman said, "You don't pass or fail at being a person dear.” I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com...

This Be The Verse BY PHILIP LARKIN They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had And add some extra, just for you. But they were fucked up in their turn By fools in old-style hats and coats, Who half the time were soppy-stern And half at one another’s throats. Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as ear...

I'd love to hear any thoughts about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com . WILD GEESE by Mary Oliver You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, you...

We can't do it all alone. Sometimes, we need to reach out for help and that's not always easy. In fact, in my experience, it's rarely easy. In this episode, I discuss three obstacles that get in my way of asking for help. The Capacity of Your Tears How many mornings Are filled with desperate tears That never sound In another's ears because You feel they are Hopeless And only serve to ease Your pai...

Yes, You will rise from the ashes, But the burning comes first. For this part, Darling, You must be brave. by Kalen Dion I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com . My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at The King's English Bookshop and Amazon....

TERRIBLE POTENTIAL I see it now For years I only sensed it Or saw the dissipating dust tails of its approach But it filled me with terror And there was no cover or protection So I ran As fast as my child stride could take me Not even knowing what it was – Only that it was coming But that made the fear so much more In my little mind So I ran harder Until I forgot why I was running – Only knowing th...

My daughter Ruby and I were the only ones home, so I decided to record an episode of The Poet (delayed) with her. We talked about her track and field season that just finished up, softball, boys, poetry, music, flying fish and boys. I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com...

My friend and poet, Kelli Stephens joined me and she read her unnamed poem from which I grabbed the title of this episode, “…the catching of my whole heart.” We discussed healing, religion, leaving religion, finding yourself and finding peace in your sovereignty and much, much more. I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were di...

I was joined by neuropsychologist Ben Christiansen in episode 22 of The Poet (delayed). We read my haiku, Meaningful Life and discussed what a meaningful life consists of and how we can work towards one. Hint: it involves math…well, equations at least. Meaningful Life Having fame and wealth Brings no true, lasting meaning Such is found within Concussion Baseline I'd love to hear what you have to s...

In the summer of 1991, I nearly drown at Deer Creek Reservoir near Heber City, Utah. My poem, Comprehend Yourself, is a summary of that event, and in this episode of The Poet (delayed), Mechelle Wingle and I discuss that poem and its meaning and meanings. COMPREHEND YOURSELF I know, As I floated above a watery grave - alone and exhausted, With no one aware and No strength to deliver myself That de...

THEY WERE BEACONS ONCE They are out there. You know them by their void, Their masks of nothingness. But they are something and voracious – Consuming, in large amounts, Everything Completely Their prey rage in vain Then submit in silence; No distress signals sent – Even sound is consumed (and light) In their dark bellies. But they were beacons once And they shined. Addiction can be so consuming tha...

It’s safe to assume that we all suffer from bouts of depression at times. As Neil Diamond sang: Song sung blue Everybody knows one Song sung blue Every garden grows one. Me and you are subject to The blues now and then "Song Sung Blue," Neil Diamond And, while more often than not, most of us have been able to take Neil’s advice to “take the blues and make a song [and] sing them out again,” whether...

I've come to believe that those works of literature and poetry that have stood the test of time have more to offer those seeking a meaningful life than all the self help books in the world. They have the ability to bypass the protective walls that so many of us build around our gentle, scared and vulnerable hearts - those walls that stand firm and umoveable in the face of seeming frontal assaults...

On April 11, 1984, my family moved to Bountiful, Utah from Ramstein Air Base in Germany. My mom had just passed away a few days earlier. One of the first orders of business when we got to Bountiful, was to enroll me and my siblings in school. I was enrolled at Hannah Holbrook Elementary School for the last couple of months of 4th grade, and was assigned to Ms. Boulton’s class. I don’t remember muc...

Nirvana I crave silence - clear and still, And darkness too. So complete My body melds with it Erasing the line where Darkness ends and I begin. I crave nothingness. I was joined by Monte Wingle as I read my poem, Nirvana , and we discussed thoughts and ideas that came. Also, in the spirit of craving nothingness, we visited True Rest Float Spa to experience their float tank and see how close we co...

TERRIBLE POTENTIAL I see it now For years I only sensed it Or saw the dissipating dust tails of its approach But it filled me with terror And there was no cover or protection So I ran As fast as my child stride could take me Not even knowing what it was – Only that it was coming But that made the fear so much more In my little mind So I ran harder Until I forgot why I was running – Only knowing th...

BEACONS In the days When my horizons shifted, I remember you and The gifts you brought to me: tenderness, love and protection. But in my youthful confusion, Knew not how to receive them – I had known them from a different horizon. But that horizon went dark in an instant (without warning) Though not entirely – there was protection still But love and tenderness, Those beacons were extinguished, it...

Inconsequential At what point is my absence Inconsequential? When they’re too young to know the need? (But that time is gone) Certainly not now In the midst of life’s straits With foamy waves pounding And hidden reefs lurking Beneath an angry, fluid surface. No; Not now. Now they need a captain (is that presumptuous?) Who has already navigated a similar course – though more Hazelwood than Magellan...

I'd love to hear what your thoughts on the topics that were discussed in this episode. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com . "The noble soul has reverence for itself." - Frederic Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil If you're interested, I recently published two books of poetry which are available on Amazon.com Special Guest: Nate Morris.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com . THE SADNESS WILL LAST FOREVER I feel you here. I sense your soul in the quiet darkness Of the slow. flow of le Rhône As she wanders under your Starry Night Past the place of your Yellow House. I sense you too in the day light, As t...

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com . A SUBTLE WOUND You left me when my world Was measured by a child's stride. You had to go away for awhile, I was told To ease me into the truth: You were gone And not coming back. It was involuntary, I know Your leaving But intent i...

Jason and I watched the new Elvis movie Thursday night and this is our review. We both gave it 8 blue suede shoes out 10. I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com . If you're interested, I recently published two books of poetry which are available on Amazon.com Special Gues...

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com . I’m joined by Jason Small in this episode as I read my poem “Besieged” and we discuss the difficulty of facing challenges to our way of thinking and being and how we’ve dealt with it. BESIEGED Possibilities march On my walled city...

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com . YOUR FATHER’S SON Your soul was large It needed to consume newness again and again But the Chicago frontier Hemmed you in You couldn't expand. So you crossed the cold, Impersonal Atlantic To the hot, Exploding Italian front Where d...