Off-Key Tarkovsky
August Poetry Update
Hi all.
Thanks to everyone who responded to my last post, “How I'm a Sci-Fi Poet.” A few people commented on the rhyme off-key/Tarkovsky from my poem “How I Am Here” in the new On Spec Magazine, so I’ve taken that up as a title here. (For my money, the best rhyme in that poem is actually waterfall/vitriol, but the people are never wrong.)
I haven’t had any new poems published since last month (though I have some forthcoming I’ll share next time), but there’s been some exciting activity around my older work I’d like to share. I get so caught up on sharing my new work that I sometimes forget to promote the work I’ve already put out into the world.
I’ll start with a quick follow-up on my previous post. In my discussion of the influence of Tarkovsky on my recent poetry, I neglected to mention how this influence was also manifested in my earlier work. This influence was noted by the very astute
in his joint review of The Living Law and of ’ wonderful chapbook Lifecycle of a Mayfly in Arc Poetry Magazine. In discussing the many allusions in my book to other works, Daniel says:“A truly outstanding allusive effort emerges in ‘Hospitality,’ which takes its title from the great religious icon painted by Andrei Rublev, the eponymous subject of Andrei Tarkovsky’s greatest film, when we see the three generations of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob come to terms with their choices and their encounter with the divine.”
It’s a bit uncanny how Daniel gets inside my nonlinear thought process in this passage, and the rest of the review is equally insightful. (The review is only available in print, but you can check out the rest in a copy of Arc Poetry 104.) The poem he’s discussing here, “Hospitality,” is only available in its final form in my book, but an early version of the first third of the poem, which dramatizes Abraham’s hospitality when visited by God, can be found here. If you’re not familiar with Rublev’s Hospitality icon, which portrays the three angels who visited Abraham as a representation of the Trinity, here’s a picture of a picture of it from our kitchen:
Moving on to actual news,
made The Living Law the Saturday Book Feature for August 2 on Autumn Sky Poetry Daily. The post includes the first online publication of my poem “The Life We Chose.” This is a poem I wrote for my wife for our 10th anniversary, meditating on the difficulties of parenthood—particularly the challenges around sleep. It was first published in print in THINK Journal Summer/Fall 2023 before being reprinted in my book. I’ve copied below a sample stanza from the middle of the poem. Read the whole thing at Autumn Sky Poetry Daily here.… Is there another life we could
have chosen? I don’t think I care.
How would it do us any good
to have a life unlived out there?
Each choice is like an offramp burned,
or like a seed that falls and dies.
Some were intended, others weren’t,
but I won’t wish them otherwise.
When dawn creeps round our blackout blinds,
I’ll face it thankful you’re my wife.
Whatever flaws the fresh day finds,
I’ll choose and choose and choose this life. …
Several other poems from The Living Law were also recently reprinted in The New Lyre Spring/Summer 2025 issue, edited by
. This includes a second excerpt from my long poem about the life of Moses, “The Lawgiver.” This excerpt follows directly on the previous excerpt published in Forgotten Ground Regained, and together they contain the first half of the poem (which was previously only available in my book). It also includes my poem “Villanelle of the Elect,” which previously appeared in . I discussed this poem at length on a video launch for this issue of The New Lyre, which can be viewed here.I’m going to share one more poem from my book below. But first, I’ll include my periodic request that those of you who’ve read and enjoyed The Living Law leave a quick rating or review on Goodreads, Amazon Canada, Amazon US, or wherever else you do these things. And if you haven’t read it yet, maybe pick up a copy?
One more poem. “The Red Sun Rising” is in The Living Law, but hasn’t ever appeared online. It’s a weird apocalyptic poem I wrote many years ago when I was trying to start an ill-fated hip-hop/country/punk band. I’ve been thinking about it a lot through the recent wildfire season, so I thought I’d share it here, along with a picture my wife took of a very red sun through the wildfire smoke. Thanks to all of you for reading. Until next time, stay safe out there.
