(Last update March 7, A.D. 2007)
Where we live is in the Grand River Valley of Michigan. Though the valley motif refers to geography, in these writings the valley is also metaphorical. The valley is a theme, but it is a theme that also has hope; a hope found in my Christian faith .
"....When I closed my eyes I could hear them all laughing- the Danish laundry girls and the three Bohemain Marys. Lena had brought them all back to me. It came over me, as it had never done before, the relation between girls like those and the poetry of Virgil. If there were no girls like them in the world, there would be no poetry. This revelation seemed to me inestimably precious. I clung to it as if it might suddenly vanish."
("My Antonia" by Willa Cather, Book III, Chapter 2)
All poems, stories, and essays in this table of contents are copyright © by J. William Newcomer. All rights reserved. Good poetry is hard to do. I do not claim this is good poetry. Poetry provides a way of saying things that are in the heart that can not be said with prose. At different times in life I've tried my hand at poetry. Very little of it I've been satisfied with. In this latter part of my life I've found poetry coming from the heart, and this is what is here. Maybe not good poetry, but better poetry then I've ever written before; poetry flowing out of my heart from experiences of living in the valley. I am also including some essays and stories on this page. The essays are really poetry in prose; more descriptive then profound wisdom of the ages stuff. The advent of e-mail has provided an avenue for story telling and writing. Most of the stories you find here were originally e-mails. The stories come from real events and happenings in my life here in the valley. | ||
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Other Poetry I enjoy. The
Alchemist
Robert
Frost: Three Volumes, &c.
The
Road Not Taken The Sultana Sketches Sultana Ode'Thaniel Whither To, Wesley Lee? A Mother’s Prayer |
Requiem for Ronnie : (March A.D. 2001): Coming of age during the Vietnam era. It took me a long time to come to the point where I could sit down and write this story; a whole lifetime... Sheer Joy: (May A.D. 2000): A very special poem. If you don't read any of the other poems I have written, please read this one. A Good Run: (May A.D. 2000) A companion story to the poem Sheer Joy. The Smashing of the Idols (July A.D. 2000) A personal pilgrimage... Innocence Diminished: (November A.D. 2000) A story about the impact of betrayal. A sadly true story. The Ancient Rite of Water: (June A.D. 2001) But grace and love will not be quenched even by betrayal. This poem is a companion to Innocence Diminished. Sunset at Whitefish Point (August A.D. 1998) This essay was written after a trip we made to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The Gloaming: (August A.D. 1998) "The heavens are telling of the glory of God;" (Psalm 19:1a). The Call of the Lake: (September A.D. 1998) For all those who have felt the tug & call of Lake Superior. Through the Storm & Crossing the River: (Originally written in 1997. Edited for publication May 2000). If there was ever a "valley" story, this is one. But it is not a story without hope. |
The Ancient Elm I grew up on a farm in Southern Michigan, right down by the Ohio line. The essay is about an old Elm tree found on that farm. Lives Touching Briefly: (May 1998) We are finite, and there are implications of that which we hardly realize. Many are the lives we've touched only briefly. Fragments: (July 1998) This is a companion poem to Lives Touching Briefly. I Know: (August A.D. 1998) This was written at a time of "leavings". So very...very... far away...: (April A.D. 1999) A companion poem to I Know. To Grandma's House We Go: (June A.D. 2000) What do dreams really mean? Can a dream make up for loss and grief? Separate Paths: (August 1998) This was written for someone I've not seen nor heard from in a mighty long time; a life time it's now been... So, K.T., if you happen to see this... This Field: (September A.D. 1998) Some places remain a part of your life no matter how far away from that place you may be. Such a place becomes as it were, "holy ground". Life Chain:(October 1998) I have always believed in the sanctity of the life of the unborn child in the womb of the mother. I mourn the genocide resulting from abortion on demand. My daughter and I took part in a Life Chain, and this poem flows from reflections on that event. Creation, Cross & Tomb: (May 1998) Not my best poetry at all. This poem got me started in this phase of my writing. Breaking Free Haiku (April, A.D. 2004) This Haiku speaks for itself... |
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