The Backyard Walnut
During a dry winter of few words,
I pruned and fertilized
my wild mind, tilled my journal
in hopes of breaking new ground.
For inspiration, I looked out
to the backyard walnut tree
easily as old as I.
Half the trunk hollowed out by pests,
it has somehow survived
many storms and droughts
but no longer bears fruit.
I turned and mulched the soil,
trimmed, fed and watered so
once again it is thick with foliage.
This early spring morning
a few green buds appeared
on the lichen-covered boughs,
and this poem burst forth.
The Uninvited Guest
Here in Bali, it is the custom
to visit unannounced,
sit in the guest pavilion waiting
until you are graciously received.
Every morning, I slide open
the heavy teakwood and glass door,
take my place facing the garden
and contemplate where I’ve been,
where I am, and where I want to go
before death crosses the threshold
to dispossess me.
Then my body will burn
with words unspoken, unwritten,
deeds never accomplished,
goals never attained,
so my spirit can be free
to find its way home.
Dan Phillips has been writing and publishing since he was seven years old and taught creative writing in elementary and high school as a poet-in-the-schools and in the junior college together with English composition and literature for over thirty years. Some of his publication credits include poems in Porter Gulch Review, Montserrat Review, Monterey Poetry Review, Homestead Review, Anthology of Monterey Bay Poets '04 and Coastlines: Eight Santa Cruz Poets as well as a memoir in poetry and prose, The Bali in Me. Dan lives in Santa Cruz but is willing to go anywhere for inspiration.
Next:
During a dry winter of few words,
I pruned and fertilized
my wild mind, tilled my journal
in hopes of breaking new ground.
For inspiration, I looked out
to the backyard walnut tree
easily as old as I.
Half the trunk hollowed out by pests,
it has somehow survived
many storms and droughts
but no longer bears fruit.
I turned and mulched the soil,
trimmed, fed and watered so
once again it is thick with foliage.
This early spring morning
a few green buds appeared
on the lichen-covered boughs,
and this poem burst forth.
The Uninvited Guest
Here in Bali, it is the custom
to visit unannounced,
sit in the guest pavilion waiting
until you are graciously received.
Every morning, I slide open
the heavy teakwood and glass door,
take my place facing the garden
and contemplate where I’ve been,
where I am, and where I want to go
before death crosses the threshold
to dispossess me.
Then my body will burn
with words unspoken, unwritten,
deeds never accomplished,
goals never attained,
so my spirit can be free
to find its way home.
Dan Phillips has been writing and publishing since he was seven years old and taught creative writing in elementary and high school as a poet-in-the-schools and in the junior college together with English composition and literature for over thirty years. Some of his publication credits include poems in Porter Gulch Review, Montserrat Review, Monterey Poetry Review, Homestead Review, Anthology of Monterey Bay Poets '04 and Coastlines: Eight Santa Cruz Poets as well as a memoir in poetry and prose, The Bali in Me. Dan lives in Santa Cruz but is willing to go anywhere for inspiration.
Next: