Poems for the Wandering Mind

This book is a collection of prose, blank verse and poetry. Much of the material began as poetry that sometimes evolved into song lyrics. I don't set out to create rhymes, but they end up that way if I'm anywhere near a guitar. I'll usually read the things I'm working on out loud. If it sounds funny, stupid or God forbid, profound, I'll let the rhythm of the words call the shots. Some of the material is rather old. "The Hand Wound Clock" had its start from hearing my dad wind his clock for work. This would have been circa 1966. I was in the seventh grade. The beginning lines- "I hear tomorrow's anthem being wound," sort of popped into my head. Don't have a clue where that came from. I didn't finish that poem until recently. I enjoy the rowdy, sometimes rude mode of speech that I and my fellow southerners use. You'll find a fair amount of that in this book. Not unlike great blues and rock lyrics, the comfortable cadence of the words is best served with bad grammar and slang. Words spoken or sung with rhythm are more pleasing to my ears. "By The French Broad River"," Redneck Theater" and "The Seeing Eye Grocery" are sheer inventions. They contain slight references to our quaint Southern way of life, but they have only lived briefly in the confined recesses of my mind. Much of the material is this book could fall under the heading of successful experiments. "Seven Haikus" is my attempt at exploring a very difficult art form that appears to be simple. It is not. "Life Sonnet and "You're The Man" are my fractured attempt at exploring the sonnet form. "Go With What You Know" began as a lyric and evolved into a strange form of blank verse. "Word On the Street" attempts to convey a rough form of street life that is fading away. "The Sailors Song" and "Euphoria" are lyric songs that began as coffee tunes house written and recorded in the middle 1990's. My dear friend, David Glenn and I have performed these two songs many times through the years. "Electronic Salvation"," Paradise"," Lost America", "One World" and "A Hole in the Ground" are direct observations of different aspects of life in the United States.