Preface

As the title suggests, FIVE is my fifth book and covers the period between spring 1995 and early summer 2001. During spring 1995 I met, studied with, and read with a number of poets. I learned a great deal from the likes of James Bertolino, Sam Green, Charles Potts, John Haag, and countless others. The influence of the masterful work of the great American poet W.S. Merwin, which began with the dream fragments in DREAM FRAGMENT 19, expanded in FIVE to experimenting with the use of spacing in place of punctuation. To add to this mix I was introduced to the Japanese tanka poetic form in the autumn of 2000, and include an American version of tanka and haiku, while attempting to adhere to their standard line lengths. Therefore this eclectic mix of nature poetry in FIVE may also be seen as a “handful.”

During a reading at Anacortes, Washington in the spring of 1995, I was challenged to write a poem about Lake Pend d’Oreille, and the piece, LISTENING POINT emerged. It has been read at local gatherings and celebrations, and in 2006 was honored by Dann Hall when he incorporated it into his Festival at Sandpoint poster “The Music of the Spheres.”

Early in 1996 I returned to the work-a-day world, which brought participation in weekly readings with local poets and writers to near standstill. The strain of leaving behind an extremely active and creative period for full time employment is fairly apparent in a number of the pieces in this collection.

A shift in the global energetic was felt late winter 1997. After a “plateau” period of almost twenty-five years it seemed that we were again entering a new phase. The poem “Anticipation” is a product of that “insight.” Looking back on it now: Who could have guessed then the challenges our world faces today in the second decade of the 21st Century?

“At Home in Hope” closes the chapter of this particular collection and was written upon returning from a nine month work stint in Virginia in June of 2001. Over ten years have elapsed and finally the collection entitled FIVE will be seen together in the light of day.