A Stream Keeps Running
Book of Poetry
This is an unusual poetry book. The first version was completed in 2013, and three years later, this 47th edited version is the final one. Life and death are embraced in four chapters, much like the four movements in a violin concerto. Con Moto (with Motion), Dolce (Sweetly), Morendo (Dying) and Con Brio (with Spirit). There are poems for family members: children, grandchildren and wife. There are poems in various forms: sonnet, tanka sequence, villanelle, free verse, and haiku style poems. Tempo, accent, pause, repetition, meter and rhyme intersperse with the words, the notes, the stanzas and the music. This book is a tapestry woven from the threads of the beginning of life, with eight grandchildren aged one to nine (one born almost every year) to the near-death ordeal of a fading life. But life is not over yet. It is a prayer, a naked sincerity, a longing, "A Stream Keeps Running."
Do You Hear What I Sing
Book of Poetry
Once upon a time dinosaurs ruled the universe with loud, commanding voices. Now, humans rule the world with even louder cacophony. Today, I think, birds choose to speak softly to balance human clamor on this planet. In this book, the author hides behind these birds to amplify their voices, pride, meditations, thoughts and feelings to silence human noises. The speakers in each poem are these noble birds themselves: seagull, dove, hummingbird, nightingale, canary, woodpecker, cuckoo, vulture, mockingbird, flamingo, peacock, hawk, owl, oven bird, curlew, swan, cardinal and the list goes on, for a total of 51 flying creatures. Every bird is asking you the same question, "Do You Hear What I sing." Can you hear them? This poetry book is for those who are tired of noises and longing to hear some true voices.
Once upon a time,
dinosaurs ruled the world,
huge bodies, loud noises,
as though no one else mattered.
And now, humans rule the world,
abundant small bodies,
even louder cacophony,
as though birds are in the lost kingdom.
I think, birds choose
to speak softly to balance
human clamor,
at this time, on this planet.
In this book, I choose to amplify their voices, pride, meditations, thoughts, avowals and feelings
to silence human noises.
A Journey in the Animal Kingdom
Book of Poetry
In this book, the author imagines himself to be these animals to tell their stories. The speakers of every poem are these animals themselves: thoroughbred, pig, sheep, reindeer, sea otter, penguin, clown fish, raccoon, rhino, cheetah, piranha, electric eel, cashmere goat, elk, mink, the list goes on, 38 land and 19 water animals in total. At the end, if you look into their eyes and listen to their avowals, you may start to sympathize with the bullfrog, spider, laughing hyena, scorpion, Asian sheepshead wrasse; admire the pygmy marmoset's Lilliput, the payara's attitude and be alarmed by the puffer fish. The author was awakened by them, maybe you will too.
A Never-Ending Battle
Book of Poetry
Life is a continuous river, we all find a way to paddle and float, best times, worst times, we always can stare at the shining stars in the sky. In an effort to keep up with this uplifting spirit, the author quotes excerpts from the theme poem A Never-Ending Battle: "Not the anguish of injustice, nor the despair of the distracted path," "not the slander and odium from failure, nor the pathos of wounded souls," "can block the sun to shine, wind to blow, and carry us from the darkest night to the morning glow."
"The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision" (Helen Keller). In reality, vision or no, life is full of ups and downs, a never-ending battle.
When Ruby Was Still in My Arms
Book of Poetry
"When Ruby Was Still in My Arms" was written in 2015, knowing she would grow, but not knowing who she would become. "Whatever will be, will be, the future's not ours to see." (Que Sera Sera). "When Ruby Was Still in My Arms" and the poem that was chosen for the back cover “The Best of It Is, There Is No Other Choice" are two totally different styles. In between, there are 53 poems in this book that carry infinite perspectives and various emotions. "A Tale of Two Jails," "Mask," "Is It a Departure or Coming Home," "A Place," "A Concubine"....the author tried to reason them into the finite reality with great or little avail. Maybe you will have a better luck? "Truth is within ourselves." (Robert Browning) "And it was at that age....Poetry arrived in search of me" (Pablo Neruda). In any case, let it be, let poetry reach inside to touch you.
I Hear the Ocean Landing
Book of Poetry
The author went to Western Australia to witness his son Gary's IRONMAN race. The tenacity and the chase-to-death inspired him, the onlooker, to long for what was missing in his life. When you read the last two sections (IRONMAN 1 and IRONMAN 2) of this book, you may resonate and encounter your own dream and destiny: "My Dream House," "My Bluebottle Fly," "A True Believer Sees a Complete Circle," "I Hear the Ocean Landing" and "I Draw a Line in the Sand." And especially after reading the poem "I Hear the Ocean Landing," you could have a different perspective next time when you see the pounding of the waves onto the shore. You may choose to expand your horizon to see the full circle, the dream house, the line in the sand.......... "Choices are the hinges of destiny." (Edwin Markham) It comes and goes, seagull soars to the heavens, relinquishes no path. "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
The Thunder Was so Mad
Book of Poetry
When you read the theme poem "The Thunder Was so Mad," you may conclude the author was forced to be a poet at the age of 6, when his mother passed away, he just never had a chance to write them until now. Maybe you have been a painter, a musician, writer, artist or a poet all your life, but just have not realized it yet, or made the time to find out. "I found this book of poetry to be so emotional and raw - there was so much more emotions of all kinds. Your writing is so strong in this book. I had visceral reactions to many of the poems, which was good! Uniquely." (A quote from a poet.) If you like the baffling word play of Wallace Stevens, or the bleak dryness and the show-no-emotion style of T.S. Eliot’s poems, “Poetry is an escape from personality.” (Eliot), then this book is not for you. But, if you like the straightforwardness of Robinson Jeffers, Walt Whitman or Edna Vincent Millay, then 50 poems in this book could be a treat for you.
I Found Ruth Tonight
Book of Poetry
In this book, you will find a variety of different forms: ballad, tanka-sequence, tanka prose, cinquain and free verse. The author uses tanka-sequence to write many characters such as: "a composer,” “a pianist and a piano,” "a street artist," "a window washer," "a chef," “an EMT,” “a roofer," “a teacher,” “a subway violinist’s hunger” and etc. In addition, he wrote some nostalgic poems. In a way, these poems may belong to the category of “anyone who has the ability to read can understand his poetry.” This was the “philosophy” of Langston Hughes and Ogden Nash, two of the most popular poets. Regardless where they stand in the eyes of established literati, it seems more people read their poems than of any other poets in America.