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Category Archives: Writing
Silence
Silence can be the savior we did not know we were seeking. Silence can soften the blows we did not realize we were feeling. Silence can serve as a weapon, as lethal as a knife and as soft as a … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Writing
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Anchor
In Macbeth, Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth is ambitious and heartless. She believes her husband is too full of kindness and compassion (the milk of human kindness) to take the most expedient path (the nearest way) toward the Scottish crown. That is, … Continue reading
Meticulous Chaos
Brighton Davis joined the crowd of women surrounding the car. “What’s going on?” A distraught woman replied, “There’s a baby in that car! We can’t get the doors or windows open. I’m afraid it might die in this awful heat!” … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Writing
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Bless Your Soul
The price the fellow offered to pay was more than Sleet McMaster could pass up. So, after an obligatory period of haggling, Sleet agreed to the terms: McMaster’s soul in return for thirty years of exorbitant wealth. “Just to clarify,” … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Writing
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Old Canadian Misfits
There are so many possibilities for this little vignette. But I’m getting tired of writing it and I don’t have the mental stamina even to go back and tighten up what I’ve written. Instead, I’ll leave it as a foundation … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Writing
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Nothing is Impossible
Imagine, if you will, an enormous United States rocket, poised on a launchpad for liftoff on a trip across the galaxy to a distant planet. Then, just moments later, deafening sounds engulf the sky as the monstrous beast’s engines ignite, … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Writing
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Letting It Ferment
Writing allows me to process my thoughts and experiences. It is therapeutic in the sense that it allows the “poison” of experience to be diluted, while being flushed into the wider universe. Often, I don’t quite know how an experience … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
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Vishnu Islam Apollo Poseidon Chaucer-Townsend
My son’s given name is Vishnu Islam Apollo Poseidon. His surname, like mine, is Chaucer, but with the addition of a hyphen, followed by his mother’s maiden name, Townsend. So, his full name is Vishnu Islam Apollo Poseidon Chaucer-Townsend. Alice, … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Writing
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Four Very Short Narrative Poems
Perspectives on Judgment and Trust Asking for someone’s help is either an overt admission of weakness—a confirmation of one’s inabilities, frailties, and flaws— or a poignantly human expression of a belief in love and a risky act of imperfect contrition … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Writing
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Into the Wind
We allow our histories to melt into nothing. We permit memories to dissolve and fade and disappear. I have evidence of such things. Let me explain. The Sandpipers. Do you remember them? They constituted a trio that sang popular folk … Continue reading
Posted in History, Memories, Writing
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Indistinguishable Facts and Fictions
The horizon, what little I can see of it against the black outline of tree trunks and leaves, is salmon pink. Or coral. Oh, I don’t know; the color is hard to describe and hard to look away from. It’s … Continue reading
Posted in Food, Writing
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Jeremiad
As I skim materials I’ve written in months and years past, I realize my collected works could well be called Jeremiad. That is, “a prolonged lamentation or mournful complaint.” Also, “a cautionary or angry harangue.” Those definitions come from Merriam-Webster’s … Continue reading
Posted in Depression, Emotion, Writing
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Freedom to Interpret
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” Those words from Leonard Cohen’s Anthem, in the context of the rest of the lyrics, are subject to a thousand interpretations. In my view, the tune is a … Continue reading
Posted in Lyrics, Music, Poetry, Writing
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Things on My Mind
I learned yesterday that one of my brothers, from whom I unfortunately have been estranged for more than two years, is in the hospital. He is to undergo a heart catheterization and placement of a pacemaker as a prelude to … Continue reading
Posted in Anger, Family, Frustration, Government, Politics, Rant, Regret, Stream of Consciousness, Writing
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Gender Noncompunction
Background… Preston struggles, almost alone. He longs for love and compassion. But he knows better than to ask for them. In an atmosphere of crushing loneliness, an admission of vulnerability could destroy him. His fragile bones might shatter into fine … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
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Real or Imagined? Fact or Fantasy?
Drake used to admire writers, especially those whose command of language could bring people exposed to their words to tears or prompt readers to join uprisings. But now he understands that writers are simply manipulators, men and women who strive … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
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Returning to the Empty Well
This morning, as I am sometimes wont to do, I wandered aimlessly through some of my old blog posts, looking for evidence of creativity and talent. “Looking” is the wrong word. “Hoping” better describes my motive. What I found did … Continue reading
Posted in Frustration, Procrastination, Ruminations, Self-discipline, Writing
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Island Soul
I don’t know who it was. It may have been me, it could have been someone else. Whoever it was, the undertaking was extraordinary: transplanting my soul into a small island in the St. John River between Van Buren, Maine … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Writing
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Wishes
To be loved, in spite of legendary flaws To be loved, even though unlovable To be loved, regardless of moral defect To be loved, undeterred by physical blemish All these wishes cannot stand in the face of love’s substance. They … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Writing
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Broken References
Spanso Griffin has forgotten all the easy, commonplace words. In their place, a complex vocabulary—suited only for erudite papers penned by academicians—is taking hold. He speaks a stilted language that paints him as pompous and pretentious and undeservedly boastful. His … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Writing
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Reason to Believe
Still I look to find a reason to believe. Tim Hardin wrote, composed, and recorded Reason to Believe in 1965. One of the most popular versions of the tune was released by Rod Stewart six years later. No fewer than … Continue reading
Posted in Emotion, Music, Writing
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Skeptic in a Strange Land
When hope crawls out of the dark woods, stepping across the wet ground to the rural highway on the edge of the woods, a super-duty pick-up truck careens down the quiet country lane and crushes that wish for tomorrow under … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Writing
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Mental Sprawl
According to a news story I read a day or two ago, scientists or physicians or some other academically qualified researchers have determined that anger can be a symptom of depression. As I recall, the piece suggested that people who … Continue reading
Posted in Depression, Weather, Writing
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Bidirectional Exchange
Daybreak is a special time, but so is nightfall. Both allow us to peer into the universe from different angles, watching time unfold like a flower blossom, unveiling secrets made visible only to those who expend the energy to see … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Writing
3 Comments
2800
Here is blog post 2800. The vast majority of my posts have been, in a sense, invisible. That is, no one but I ever saw them. Or, if they were seen, they were seen by people who were misdirected to … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
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