“To the memory of a lost friend” — Did the windows feel his crying? Did they rattle? but one pane? Did they fog for moist of tears that fell while the pills drove him insane? Or were the curtains drawn to hide him, his face pressed against the wall? …

“Wild Cry” Dogs down here in East Texas get restless at sundown. You have to let them out at night. They won’t stay inside. You don’t want them inside. Every twenty years or so, the devil comes for his due. It’s time to cut pines. Big machines With saw blades, backhoes, logging…

“Rich man” to the tune of ‘I’m a good ol rebel” — Rich man owns big houses Rich man owns new cars Rich man owns a bunch o’ guns Rich man owns the bars Rich man owns the judges And owns the paper too Give him all your money And if you don’t he’ll sue. - Rich man got a big boat …

So, I got this book from the 1970s about the Wild West from my father-in-law (he took it back, or I’d cite it). In it, there are about 20 pages about Billy the Kid, assembling various source accounts into one story. What struck me most about this story was the…

“From the Ragged to the Rich” (a poetic rant) — I wanted to bring him success for the building of a product that was good. After all, it was him who said Yes or said No, with his money on the line — As was his right! (He’s the owner) But he squandered it all for the money or power…

Just because it rhymes doesn’t make it good verse — Compose aloud: poetry is a sound. Never explain- your reader is as smart as you. Your reader is not just any reader, but is the rare one with ears in his head. —Basil Bunting Let’s talk prosody, the study of meter and sound of poetry. Generally speaking (very generally), a…

In this article, I’ll share the folk song I wrote and some tips from what I found along the way — So, I’ve got the poetry-writing thing down, and with a little dabbling in horror, I’ve got the tragedy thing down. So I wanted to write a folk song — one of those tragic, ‘Tiny Sparrow’ types. I’ll start by sharing some tips based on my experiment, then share it. If…