Last week we had a somber poem for Holy Week; this week we have a very joyful and upbeat poem for Easter week. Reflecting on a number of the great joys of the Resurrection, this poem takes the unusual tack of rhyming all four lines of each verse on the same sound. Although the analogy of the Son to the sun is obvious, the fact that in American English the words "son" and "sun" are pronounced identically (at least, in all dialects with which I am familiar) does benefit the symbolism here. Alleluia! The Sun has Arisen! Version 1.0, 04 April 1202

A somber poem for Holy Week. A new style that I have not tried before, but which I think accomplishes the task. The Worst of Days Version 1.0, 24 March 1202

Cups and oceans! Inspired by an old story of St. Augustine contemplating the Trinity, this poem explores the notion of knowledge by comparing what can be held in the sea with what can be held in a cup. A dozzet. Mysteries Version 1.0, 24 February 1202

Back to anapestic heptameter! This is my second poem in anapestic heptameter (after The Woman in the Meadow), and it's a delightful meter for English poetry. Somehow, it manages to remain a light-hearted, natural rhythm without excluding the gravity of more traditional iambic meters. This poem has a great deal of internal rhyme (universally on the third line of a verse, optionally one other lines), and explores themes of the season of winter and the death that accompanies it in a decidedly hopeful way. Winter's Joy Version 1.0, 0X January 1202

A longer poem, made up of three dozzets, on the mystery of childbirth and child-raising and the immense power of woman that is tied up therewith. Though only the last dozzet ends in a couplet, this also contains pretty clear echoes of St. Francis's Canticle of the Sun. Hail, woman! Version 1.0, 03 January 1202

A heavily symbolic examination of a hero's voyage from his natural, fallen state to the possession of virtue and, eventually, truth. Written as a series of dozzets, I'm very excited about it. It is lengthy, basically a mini-epic; as a result, it was published in parts. The first part was published 23 September 1201; the last on 13 December 1201, or nearly three months later. The Hero's Tale Version 11.0, 23 September 1201 -- 13 December 1201

Obviously inspired by William Ross Wallace's "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle Rules the World," this poem explores the huge influence a mother has on her child, and the deep relationship between them. On Motherhood Version 1.0, 11 September 1201

This dozzet is a love poem, again focusing on the very important distinction between love and feeling. Everyone is joyful on their wedding day ("[w]hen two are join'd to one"), but eventually that enthusiasm will wear off, and something much deeper than mere emotional or physical attraction will be required. Only love can sustain the two then. Rather than wrapping up the dozzet in twelve lines, an envoi couplet sews the threads together. Two Hearts Version 1.0, 22 July 1201

This poem, quite like The Raven in its meter and rhyme scheme, provides some more thoughts on life and death, and how we ought to face both; and further, it reminds us that some have already done so, and that we should look to them for example. Death Has Been Cheated Once Version 1.0, 12 June 1201

A shorter poem (two dozen lines) with a shorter message, taking some symbolism from Dante in the last stanza. Iambic tetrameter in lines 1-2 and 4-5, but iambic hexadecameter in lines 3 and 6, of each sestet. Interesting in its symbolism of the flame and the stars, and also interesting in providing an iambic form of Poe's trochaic meter in The Raven. The Fire Which Does Not Consume Version 1.0, 07 June 1201

Not a sonnet! This poem, still relatively short at 30 (thirty-six) lines, uses only two rhymes. A meditation on the relationship between suffering and love. Just as the tulip blooms in the spring, but loses its bloom in summer and must endure tremendous hardship in the fall and winter in order to bloom again, so love is at first nothing but color and joy, but eventually becomes difficult and hard. But without these hardships, love just isn't love. The Tulip Grows Version 1.1, 0E May 1201

A longer poem (though still short, only 24 (that's twenty-eight) lines), this piece is written in anapestic heptameter, while nearly all my metered work is simple iambic pentameter. A meditation on the limits of earthly justice and deep in symbolism, I hope that the reader will find it enlightening, or at least enjoyable. The Woman in the Meadow Version 1.0, 03 May 1201

William Cullen Bryant's classic poem Thanatopsis ("view of death") is still read in most American schools as an example of early nineteenth-century American poetry, and it is a fine example of that. Prior to Whitman, Bryant was likely the most famous of American poets. However, Thanatopsis provides what Christians would likely believe to be a very simplistic and depressing view of death. This poem tries to follow Bryant's lead while still giving a more enlightening view of its topic. Thanatopsis: An Answer to William Cullen Bryant Version 1.0, 10 April 1201