Poem in Evening Street Review

One of my newer poems recently appeared in Number 39, Autumn 2023, of the Evening Street Review. My poem is partly based on William Wordsworth "Ode: Intimations of Immortality" and a jazz song by Matthew Halsall, "I Have Been Here Before," which appears on his album Colour Yes.

https://eveningstreetpress.com/product/evening-street-review-number-39-autumn-2023/

 

Manhappiness

My friend Derick Burleson, the poet who died in 2016, used to refer to Manhattan, Kansas as "Manhappiness" when we were graduate students at Kansas State University. It seemed at the time that he had coined the word. 

I was surprised recently to see a building in Aggieville, the entertainment district near the campus, with the word Manhappiness above its doors. I didn't go inside the building. From what I noticed when walking by, it contained apparel for Kansas State fans. The previous building used to house Varney's bookstore when I was a student.

I am sure that Derick would have loved to see his word being used to describe Manhattan and one building in particular.

Late Flowers in Bloom

The autumnal equinox occurred a few weeks ago. Even so, some flowers remain in bloom. The first freeze in my area doesn't usually occur until late October. 

Sunsets

Although sunsets are often thought of as cliches, some of them can be quite spectacular. They continue to appear in my poems and in my pictures, despite my colorblindness. What often happens is that I miss capturing the good ones because I don't have my camera with me. I am adding a few pictures of the sunsets that I have captured.