Mirror Poems
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It’s a Little Orange Ball
It’s a little orange ball,
hanging on a string.
It bounces;
it floats;
it skips along.
It is a balloon.
It is a party decoration.
It is a red rubber ball.
It’s a little orange ball,
hanging on a string.
Like a bomb,
it will explode,
sending a banging sound
to the ground.
It spins around,
and floats between
open hands,
thrown punching and receiving.
It’s a little orange ball,
like a little orange flower: an impatiens or a pansy.
It smells so sweet,
and looks so bright,
shining in the sunlight.
It grows on water, and nutrients
from the ground,
and sunlight.
It’s a little orange ball,
like the burning sun,
or the falling full moon,
or Mars or Mercury at night.
It stands like a mobile,
hanging from the stars.
It is a planetary body:
it spins around and turns,
and revolves around the sun.
Mirror Poems 1986 Steven Griffing
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About the Book
The poems contained in this book were composed, primarily, in 1986 and 1987 when I was living in Columbus, Ohio and Los Angeles, California. In June of 1986, I moved from Columbus to Los Angeles, and embarked on one of the most profound writing experiences of my life. I worked as a security guard in Los Angles from June of 1986 until October of 1991. My work had some influence on my poems from this time, but the main influences were the people and culture of southern California, the climate and geography of southern California, previous and present life experiences that I was having, an understanding of God and a search for the meaning in life, an interest in women, and a love for nature, which I still maintain today. I was fairly low income, and surviving, almost, entirely on my own. Previously, and at about the same time (through the end of 1986), I was finishing off some major parts of my book on the golden section. Concurrently, and years later, I was writing up my essays on philosophy and life, which I did not finish until after I had returned to Columbus, Ohio, at the end of 1991.
About the Author
I am a Caucasian male of age forty-four. I am single and have no children. My surviving parent is my mother, Penelope Scott Griffing. I was born in Canberra, Australia, A.C.T., however, since both of my parents were American citizens when I was born, I was born as an American citizen. My family moved to Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A. when I was seven years old, so I have remained an American citizen all of my life. I have been working for the Columbus Public School District since February of 1998. In October of 2000, I started work as a full time tutor for Specific Learning Disabled students at a local Columbus Public Schools' high school. I attended Oberlin College from 1974 to 1979. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in mathematics. I attended California State University at Los Angeles in California from 1981 to 1983, where I received my first state teacher’s credential in mathematics. I was a member of the 3HO (Happy, Healthy, Holy) group from 1979 to 1983. 3HO was the branch of the Indian Sikh religion, established here in the United States by Yogi Bhajan in the 1960’s. My hobbies include reading books and magazines, going for walks, talking with friends, watching certain television shows and movies, and plants and gardening. My current memberships include The Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club. My other writings include The Golden Section: An Ancient Egyptian and Grecian Proportion, Mirror Paintings and Early Starts, and Essays on Philosophy and Physics, although no material from these works has been published, as yet. Some philosophical statements might include the following. God is beautiful. God is bright. And, God is big. Everyone is beautiful. Everyone is bright. And, everyone can speak. All of Creation is a miracle. All of life is magic. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. God is in me, and I am in God. The universe is in me, and I am in the universe. Food, water, and air are in me, and I am in food, water, and air. I eat, I drink, I breathe, I live. The universe eats, the universe drinks, the universe breathes, the universe lives. On earth, we have the four elements of earth, wind, fire, and water.