After the Dream Poems: 2009-2011
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I’ve Never Forgotten About Friendship Sometimes I lose track of what might spur the road back home; Sometimes I miss the connection in the places that I roam. Sometimes the most obvious thing passes by, or over fast; Sometimes I’m not so conscious of what may not ever last. But I’ve never forgotten about friendship, in any way, shape or form; I take it with me, everywhere, since it replenishes my norm. And even when the times are tough, I can look deep for a smile; One that says we all are together; In a mystery, all the while. When the wind burns my damaged face, until I am not so sure, it’s the cool concern of a simple few which provides a subtle cure. I don’t take failure easily; I’m a combatant to the grind; And I’ve never forgotten about friendship, since its always on my mind The One Road to Success (In My Defense) In my defense, I’d say that people have always been so kind to me; They’ve seemed awfully proud and grateful that I somehow came to be. In my defense, I’d offer photographs; Not of paper, but of mind; They span a lifetime, or perhaps half, before I became even partly blind. In my defense, times were harder for everyone that I have met; My parents, sisters, friends and passersby were committed that I wouldn’t forget. In my defense, we all got at bats; To see how we might help the team; So why not revere the greatest game; One that the angels and saints might deem. There are no reasons to chance, selfishly, in times of joy, peace or duress; In my defense, I’d swear humanity is the one road to success.
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About the Book
The eighth five-book collection of poetry by poet and writer Thomas Porky McDonald, After the Dream: Poems 2009-2011, brings the author even closer to home than in his previous work, with a thought to where the world is headed. The title poems for each of the five books in the mix, Born in the City, The Class of No Return, Touched by Life, Back to Astoria and What Lies Ahead, all speak of a man still searching to incorporate his early life into the realities of the 21st Century. Other notable pieces from each collection include “Friendships to Eternity,” “Together One, as Always” (City), “While the Leaves Blew,” “Always too Old to Change Anything” (Class), “When the Game Simply Took You Away,” “I’ve Never Forgotten About Friendship” (Life), “Scenes From a Lost Neighborhood,” “When Fear Overrides Our Humanity” (Astoria), “Needed in the Land of the Needy” and “A Glimpse of Bernadine” (Ahead). A solid entry from the still wandering and wondering balladeer.
About the Author
Thomas Porky McDonald is a poet and writer who often comments on both baseball and life. His first seven poetry collections, each of which contained five smaller volumes, spanned the 1990’s on into the 21st Century. Ground Pork: Poems 1989-1994, Downtown Revival: Poems 1994-1997, Closer to Rona: Poems 1997-1999, Still Chuckin': Poems 1999-2002, In the Cameo Shade: Poems 2002-2005, Vespers at Sunset: Poems 2005-2007 and And These Thy Gifts: Poems 2007-2009 all presented a writer whose work was often distinguished by the use of baseball and the ballpark venue. Other previously published poetry came in the form of two thematic volumes, Diamond Reflections, Baseball Pieces For Real Fans, which takes the most vibrant baseball-related poems of the chronological collections from the many other life-related pieces contained in each five-book set, and Dem Poems: The Brooklyn Collection, born of verses written from 1985-2005, two decades when the writer’s jobsite was based in the Borough of Churches. A book on poetic process, Does the Toy Cannon Fire Still at Night? cited 62 poems from his first three collections, giving the actual story behind each piece. Beyond the poetry landscape, the skipper’s scrapbook was inspired by his own Queens upbringing and told the tale of two men and the journey they took together through the final season of their home ballpark, Shea Stadium and Series Endings: A Whimsical Look at the Final Plays of Baseball’s Fall Classic, 1903-2003, gave a distinctly different view of baseball’s World Series than most mainstream histories. Other books include At a Loss to Eternity: Baseball Teams of Note That Didn’t Win it All, a celebration of great, non-Series winning teams, Never These Men: One Man’s Look at Baseball’s Creatively Cultured Characters, a biting rebuttal to the pervading need of the media to brand people for life and Where the Angels Bow to the Grass: A Boy’s Memoir, which is taken mainly from the writer’s childhood days of the 1960’s and 70’s, describing the bond between McDonald and his father, Bill “The Chief” McDonald. His three-part “Irishman’s” anthology series, which includes An Irishman’s Tribute to the Negro Leagues, Over the Shoulder and Plant on One: An Irishman’s Tribute to Willie Mays and Hit Sign, Win Suit: An Irishman’s Tribute to Ebbets Field, contains short stories, historical material and a small dose of McDonald’s trademark baseball poetry. McDonald has also published a book of short stories, Paradise Oval and his singular New Yorkers’ take on 9/11, The Air That September. His most recent book, Om the Tour: More City Walks, was his second volume of New York City travelogues, following A Walk in the City: An Incomplete Tour. A second edition of his first book, An Irishman’s Tribute to the Negro Leagues, was released in the Summer of 2018. Born in St. Albans Naval Hospital in Queens, McDonald has lived in nearby Astoria his entire life.