I initially wrote this poem in 2019 . This is not an autobiographical poem, and is not based on any observation or other sources. It might have come after I saw some turkeys in the wild in the winter. If you haven’t seen wild turkeys up close, you may think they are just big brown-colored…

In my medical career I had the opportunity, if it can be called that, to care for and interact with people who experienced major life traumas. One of the most difficult for the patient and the medical teams to contend with is spinal cord injury that results in paraplegia or quadriplegia. My first time seeing…

Our home, which I call “River Ridge”, sits on a glacial knoll. From our deck and our bedroom (where I have my little office) there are wonderful views of the Huron River. The river makes a sharp bend just downstream from where Honey Creek enters, and then heads east, widening as it approaches the Barton…

Nest Revealed unloading the clothes dryerFebruaryabsent minded window starewhile folding underwear in the now leafless apricot treepreviously unknown to mea bird nest affixed in a branch’s Vempty of birds nowhome to a cone of snow did it once housea brood I never met?did they grow to be members of the gangthat frequents our feeders? no…

As a second year medical student I was immersed in the scientific learning required to become a physician. But, I was also conscious of how the scientific method, the myriad of facts and the new language of medicine was crowding out my creative side. I wrote this poem in 1982, partly as a protest against…

Like many in their 7th decade I have a bit of difficulty sleeping and often wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning. Not troubled, just alert and pondering life. Some recommend “cognitive shuffling” as a way to ease back into sleep. This poem describes how cognitive shuffling made me go off on a…

This poem deals with how we sense and perceive things differently as we age. The photo is of a dune leading out to Lake Michigan in the Leelanau Peninsula in early December. Senior Winter Walk these hues of winterin woods and meadowtoo subtle for the young to see;blah and boring, lacking gaiety the wrinkled eye…

Here in the upper Midwest, October is resplendent with its palette of orange, red, yellow and all combinations of these colors as our trees give their leaves back to the earth. The photo is one of our maple trees in front of our home. November is then time to clean up, mulch, and otherwise contend…

It was not uncommon in my boyhood in rural Western New York state to see barn exterior walls painted with the advertisement for Mail Pouch chewing tobacco. Our Uncle Earl’s barn was so adorned. After he died it was eventually torn down. Earl owned a number of draft horses over the years. Some of them…