Category Archives: In my words

In my words, January 28 – February 3

… I made a New Year’s resolution to start swimming. Here it is February the third and I finally am. The pool at the Chinatown Y is quite decent. It wasn’t crowded this afternoon and I got a lane of … Continue reading →

In my words, January 21 – 27

27 Jan ’13

… Roman augurs … The word inauguration comes from Latin. An augur was a Roman priest who studied the flights of birds to predict the future in their patterns. The prefix in can mean no or not: immeasurable, incomplete, immoral. … Continue reading →

In my words, January 14 – 20

20 Jan ’13

… It’s Monday afternoon around two. My morning class is over. I’m home, but leave at five-thirty to teach again till eight. I’m interviewing students Tuesday and Thursday from two PM to seven. I usually have afternoons off. Monday and … Continue reading →

In my words, January 7 – 13

13 Jan ’13

This morning things return to normal; break is over: time to teach. It’s early now; well not so early, a little after seven. I just woke Akram up with a cup of coffee, black with sugar, which he’s drinking leaning … Continue reading →

In my words, January 1 – 6

6 Jan ’13

Over the holidays, a friend was using a new paring knife while making dinner and cut three of her fingers and a thumb. Merry Christmas. Once, when I was a cook, I almost sliced off the top of my left … Continue reading →

Sweet Mary

18 Nov ’12

….. I lived at home as a young man full of fears that paralyze I was a believer in truth and the truth was a lie then I slept with Sweet Mary and she made me realize there are more … Continue reading →

Some thoughts on the art and the artist

15 Jul ’12

… The art and the artist, can we love one and not the other? It’s a difficult question to answer. Sometimes my heroes might seem to some a little foolish, embarrassing or pathetic, like Li Bai trying to kiss the … Continue reading →

Songs

29 Apr ’12

… I wrote the lyrics for the following songs mostly in my 20s. I was doing poetry performances in Philly in the late 70s and began singing with a band, The Sea of Hands, who accompanied me, before doing songs … Continue reading →

The Story of Jingle Bells

17 Dec ’11

… Jingle Bells was written as a Thanksgiving song by James Lord Pierpont in the autumn of 1850 in a tavern in Medford, Massachusetts, a town popular for its sleigh races. Dashing through the snow In a one-horse open sleigh … Continue reading →

Decorating the Christmas Wreath

3 Dec ’11

… Saint Jerome’s translation of the Gospel of Saint Luke, Chapter 2, verse 14 is a direct translation from the original Greek: Gloria in altissimus Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis, Glory to God in the highest and … Continue reading →

On writing a sonnet this week

1 Oct ’11

Last Monday morning I told myself that I was going to write a sonnet over the week completing three lines a day ending with two lines on Friday. Each morning I’d write and post them on Facebook with short videos … Continue reading →

Going Back to Work Again

15 May ’11

In 1970 I was living in East Lansing, Michigan where some friends were attending MSU. I started to read my poetry at the Aardvark Coffee House. Even in the beginning I was more of a performer than a reader. I’d … Continue reading →