Strolling Through an Orchard
Distant Echo Press 2016

Available from Amazon.com

A casual walk through an orchard of diverse fruit trees may be an apt metaphor for life’s unpredictable journey. Within this collection of over 100 poems, readers glimpse the beauty of nature along with sometimes harsh lessons of history and unintended effects of technology. They also explore the folly of misguided pursuits whether by heroes or adversaries and visit faraway places including the Roman Empire, medieval times, present day Asian cities, geographically spectacular Canada, contrasting American landscapes, and even distant planets. A varied cast of characters from Aesop to Hiawatha, Darwin to Rockefeller, Valentino to Capone, and popular musicians to refugees assist in bringing many of these notable settings to life. Broad in their focus, the poems share a common theme of human adventure and discovery.

Partial Contents:

1. The Orchard Comes to Life…
2. Fast Forward… .. .. ..
3. Publicity Engineers … .
4. Tahquamenon Falls… .. ..
5. The Radio and Acceptance of Diversity…
6. The Age of Pericles… ..
7. A Tribute to All Places That House Books… .
8. Life During Prehistory… ..
9. Coming Home to Roost… .
10. The European Medieval Village…
11. A Perfectly Engineered Nightmare…
12. Only Blocks From the Presidential Palace…
13. Naturally Pure Indoor Air…
14. The First Gilded Age… .. ..
15. And So Began the Insanity…
16. The Ultimate Irony… .. ..
17. Our Once Fair City… . .
18. Retreating Glaciers… .. ..
19. Remembering Big Sur… .
20. Rowing on Lake Louise… ..
21. Just Another Day in Bangkok…
22. Dublin Pubs… . . .
23. My First Trip to Mississippi…
24. A Dozen Depression Era Haiku…
25. With Liberty and Justice for Some…
26. The Train to Lillooet… ..
27. Oases Are Too Often Mirages… .