Gold, Hay and Stubble
One Journeyman’s Ten-Year Poetic Diary: 1996–2006
by
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In Memory of Glue
One out of many is the noble quest
As the boy positions each plastic part;
Let there be structure on top of this desk
Built with a labor direct from the heart!
One thing is needful before he can start
Preserving the union when task is through,
An item with the name of airplane glue!
I remember my childhood some years back,
Those days gone by when an order prevailed.
We begged the system to cut us some slack
And hoped for a break whenever we failed,
Yet the game was clear, "Expect to be nailed!"
Blind hate stood up, a fact known to be true,
But standing much taller was common glue!
Something has departed with telltale sign,
A substance permitting walks after dark;
Me has defeated we and ties that bind,
And hunter stalks prey in the public park!
Grieve not for shelter in a fifties ark;
Not all was well and worthy of lament;
Rather mourn the loss of social cement!
Nations arise, young waves upon the sea,
Swelling up...on the power of the whole;
Initial bonds break and they cease to be,
Falling mist-like into a captor''s bowl!
Oh, never fall victim to wicked foe
Free land saluting the star-spangled blue;
Pray for the return of national glue!
April 1996
Rhyme Royal
To the baby boomers, who, as a generation, have experienced a great loss. After 9/11, I changed the last line to “Join hands held in strength, our national glue.” I have since changed it back.
Significance
The wisp in my glass on a clear winter’s night
Is home for a billion wee glimmers of light,
Each crystal itself one faraway dream
With faraway worlds surrounding its gleam.
And locked in the realm of each tiny sphere
Is all that is met through an eye or an ear;
Too, all that is felt by a hand or our love,
For we are but whits in the sea seen above.
Such scales immense make wonder abound
And make a lone knee touch the cold ground.
For what is this man that he should be made
To sing to The One Whose breath heavens laid?
July 1999
Simple Couplets
Published: Common Threads
To our Creator and Sustainer
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About the Book
I am an engineer by training and trade but in reality, an artist at heart. In January 1996, I decided to capture my annual year-end reflection in verse, which was to become my first ever poem. My first poem quite naturally led to the second poem, as this new adventure begin to capture my heart. The total eventually exceeded 300 during the seven-year period 1996-2003. Gold, Hay, and Stubble contains 104 of my personal favorites, which are time sequenced as a poetic diary. A helpful feature of the book, which makes it suitable for study by students, is the precise dating of each poem and the identification of verse form. Hopefully the dating will allow a student to sense some sort of skill progression as time goes forward. Dating also allows the general reader to sense both the overall and seasonal drift in my poetic thought. Brief commentaries or dedications are also provided for selected poems. Another feature that may seem a little unusual is the random insertion (space permitting) of untitled, undated Haiku and Tanka throughout the book. I am continually fascinated by these minimalist Japanese verse forms and view them as appropriate "seasoning" for the book''s main poetic course. Again, both are randomly scattered throughout the book which means that they can appear anywhere and sometimes seemingly out of place-just like the dropping in of unforeseen events in our otherwise well-planned and well-scheduled lives. Finally, my hopes are that you will enjoy this verbal offering. May your thoughts be challenged in new and instructive ways as you read and reflect on the contents herein!
About the Author
John C. Sparks, shown on the left with his wife Carolyn of 37 years, is a native of Xenia, Ohio and a Xenia High School Graduate—class of 1965. He went on to earn technical degrees at
In late 2003,