Further Collected Poems

Further Collected Poems contains selected lyrics from 2001 to 2017, divided roughly by theme or subject. “You and I” is about relationships, “We” is about society and institutions, “He” is about religion and spirituality, “Visions” is about ideas, and “Beauty’s Mead” is about art. The poems are in and out of form, in many modes and voices, simple and complex, hopeful and tragic. The common thread is a conviction that there is an order and a goodness behind and beyond all absurdity, if we will seek it and be open to it. Much thinking is involved. It is the thinking of the heart, and nature and the physical world, as well as music and tradition, can be helpful in following the path. Yet in our best moments, we soar beyond the known world and catch a glimpse of ultimate things and have a new vision of possibility. Some of those moments are captured here as though in a photograph, while others are only desired or hinted at. By their very nature, such things are meant to be shared; hence, this book.