Each year, as mornings become brisk and mist pushes on shore, magic arrives on the Necanicum. I live in a small cabin near the Necanicum River’s estuary, a special corner of Northwest Oregon where a profusion of wildlife, from seagulls and eagles to salmon and elk, share the water and shore. Every morning I sit […]
Archives for September 2014
Forest Quartet
One of two old Sitka spruces,
The stately old lady we call Iluvatar
Shades the east side of the house.
Where roots meet earth, she is an altar—
To approach her, you must ascend.
Some Local Bad News
Three things. First one is a letter I received from Shawn H. Zinszer, Chief, Regulatory Branch, Army Corps of Engineers, for the Commander, Jose L. Aguilar, Colonel, District Commander. It was dated September 8, 2014 and was sent via snail mail from the Army Corps’ Portland district office. It was in response to an email […]
Poem for Iraq
Iraq
I imagine you a desert flower,
succulent and needle-sharp
on the cracking white earth. The color
of mango, or a woman’s wet lips.
A Tasty Find: A Review of Pacific Northwest Forgaging by Douglas Deur
Normally I am one of those readers who skips the preface and introduction, wanting to get right to the heart of the matter. For some reason, I didn’t follow my normal pattern with the book, “Pacific Northwest Foraging” by Douglas Deur. And am I glad! The preface and introduction to this book deftly paint a […]
The Dignity of Decay and Dispossession: The Poetry of Travis Champ
As a teenager visiting Spain, I encountered a series of still-life paintings that astonished me. Instead of the usual perfect fruits laid out in state on starched tablecloths or gilded plates, galaxies of mold damaged these fruits, the tablecloths had been scorched in the act of ironing them, and the plates were cracked. I stood […]