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Please take the time to read and enjoy my poetry! It is my ongoing project and I am looking forward to translating my poems into Turkish, Portuguese, and French. JFB
The Forging of Strength--Love
The Damascene sword is made from molten steel, and then hammered; Then hammered again And hammered still more. Heated, folded over and...
hcdjfb
Jun 24, 20241 min read
What’s Wrong with My Life?
What’s wrong with my life? I have enough of everything I am loved. I am productive. I am healthy. What’s wrong with my life? I lack...
hcdjfb
Jun 15, 20241 min read
Eye Exam: Nice in an Age of Nasty.
Instead of seeing things from the Right Or Seeing things from the Left. Let's see them from the heart And abandon our fears and see each...
hcdjfb
Jun 3, 20241 min read
Aging Is Like Being A Pencil
As I get older, I am very much like a pencil. When I Iearn something new, I get sharper, but my time is shorter. If I correct mistakes,...
hcdjfb
May 13, 20241 min read
Another Trip Around the Sun. What have I learned?
I turn 68 on 7 May. That's a lot of trips around the sun, so what would I tell the younger me? Sixty-eight trips around the sun, and I...
hcdjfb
May 5, 20242 min read
Going Home to the Desert
The desert sky at night comforts me, Like the embrace of a family member after a long separation. It is holy like a church, lofty like a...
hcdjfb
Apr 28, 20241 min read
Rose de Sable/the Sand Rose
In the Sahara, one can find a sand rose, A little sculpture created by nature in one of the least hospitable places on earth. Endless...
hcdjfb
Apr 25, 20241 min read
Walking Together
You have heard that if the blind leads the blind, Both can fall into a pit. But what if the deaf and the blind walk together, One doing...
hcdjfb
Apr 20, 20241 min read
Memories 2.0
There is what happened, what we remember, and what we later reminisce, And they are not the same thing. Our memories persist, but they...
hcdjfb
Apr 16, 20241 min read
JF's Podcast Interview with Israel and Rosana at BiblioTech
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6Ws6kArvgejWad1uwuRKOe?si=43b46fdc68b84467&nd=1&dlsi=ee0d9b03db46497d
hcdjfb
Apr 15, 20241 min read
The Solar Eclipse and Our Personal Eclipses.
Robert Bly wrote a poem about an eclipse in Maine. We just had one in here in Texas and, fresh in my mind, It is too good not to mine for...
hcdjfb
Apr 9, 20241 min read
Regret Is Theft
I was tempted very strongly to wallow in regret, To dwell on my past stupidities and bad choices, I may be sorry for my sins, but I don’t...
hcdjfb
Mar 30, 20241 min read
What is the weight of a poem?
What is the weight of a poem? What color is it? It can’t fix your car. Poetry is a waste of time For those who cannot hear it. The ears...
hcdjfb
Mar 25, 20241 min read
The Holiness of Quietude: You have the right to remain silent.
You have the right to remain silent You have the rite to remain silent. The Holiness of Quietude There is too much noise. Too many voices...
hcdjfb
Mar 24, 20242 min read
Root and Branch
There was an unusually cold killing frost this winter. Not typical in my subtropical home. To the casual eye, the trees look entirely...
hcdjfb
Mar 19, 20241 min read
The War Show
Watch the war show. Imagine yourself sitting on a rock, above other rocks, And watching two little lizards fight to the death over a bug...
hcdjfb
Mar 6, 20241 min read
The Catalyst for Courage
Courage is defined by converting fear into action. The catalyst for this conversion is introspection— Finding the heart, that steel in...
hcdjfb
Feb 27, 20241 min read
The Human Cabochon
A cabochon is a gemstone that has been cleaned, polished, but not faceted, To be set in a ring or pendant, ideally in its most beautiful...
hcdjfb
Feb 16, 20241 min read
Taking Leave of Friends, They Remain
Seeing friends after an absence, You realize that closeness is not about geography or time, That the spaces between us are only...
hcdjfb
Feb 13, 20241 min read
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