A Variety of Verse: The Rambling of a Frustrated Poet

By D.M. Parker

A VARIETY OF VERSE is exactly that, for it is a collection of a variety of poetic forms and formulas such as pantoums, free verse and rhyming quatrains that address a variety of topics such as personal thoughts, fears, memories, the loss and pain that the author has experienced and has witnessed in others. Some of the poems address contemporary issues such as the unconditional compliance to dogmas to the loss of love and the loss of loved ones. Some pieces are humorous and silly while others are contemplative and questioning.

THE WILD WIND PLACE

There is a wild wind place
near Langtry

where the wind blows up

a canyon and spirals

the loose soft dirt there

Dust Devils live in that place

almost all year round

At night,

you can hear them calling

to one another,

making plans to spin the ground

on the morrow.

I cant understand

what they say, but

an old Indian friend of mine does,

but he wont tell me.

He says I have to find out for myself.

He says, Listen real close

to the sound those

dust devils make.

You cant mistake their clear

pronunciation of words.

He tells me that it is

a language found in nature.

So, its part of us too.

The wild wind place is where

the dust devils live

wild and free.

One of the last things thats that way.

I hope nobody tries to tame them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 9, 2008
• ISBN: 9781462805341

D.M. Parker

D.M. Parker was born in Anderson, South Carolina and grew up on military bases throughout the South and Germany. The death of his father in Viet Nam in 1968 hurled Parker into the strange and alien world of “civilian” life. Somehow he survived. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art and a Master of Arts with a major in Sculpture from the University of Louisville in Kentucky as well as teaching certificates in secondary Art Education and English. Parker is a teacher, storyteller, flute maker and artist. He has worked as a teacher in Texas for the past twenty-four years and served as Language Arts Department Chairperson for twelve of those years. He served as a sabbatical replacement instructor in Sculpture and Three Dimensional Design at the University of Louisville, taught Drawing for the Renaissance Development Corporation in Kentucky and Art and Music in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He has been writing poetry since Junior High School and pursued this interest through out college and graduate school where he studied creative writing under Dr. Sena Naslund. His poems have appeared in Voice of the Wind, the official publication of The International Native American Flute Association and his photography in Western Horseman magazine; both his writing and photography can be view on www.triond.com.

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Copyright © 2008 by D.M. Parker.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Contents

FROM GOOD STOCK

AT GREAT SACRIFICE

WALK THE WIND WAY

TRANQUILITY

THE CIRCLE

LOVE SONG

STRONG MEDICINE

PLAYING WITH NATURE

FOREVER ON THE WIND

I DO NOT HAVE A CARD

GIFTS OF GRANDMOTHER SPIDER

THE WILD WIND PLACE

A HOUSE FOR WENONAH

NO WAY TO RUN A HOTEL

THE GLASS TOWER

NOT GOOD ENOUGH

HE SAID HE’D NEVER LEAVE HER

YOU NEVER LOOKED BACK

I PLAYED TAPS

YOUR THIRST WAS STRONG

WHO ARE THEY WAITING FOR

THE DEAD ARE NO MORE AFRAID . . . 

COMPOSED AT THE FUNERAL OF A FRIEND

NOTHING WAS THERE

EMILY’S DREAM

HAUNTED DREAMS

THIS POEM

SHE WAS ALWAYS THERE

MASKS

VORTEX

A CRYSTAL VASE IN QUEENSLAND

THE WIZARD’S PET

IF SHAKESPEARE HAD LIVED IN TEXAS

THE DANCING SORCERER

INSOMNIA

THE VANISHING BLACKBIRD

THE LESSON OF THE TREE

SITUATIONAL IRONY

I USE TO BE

ROMIE & JULIE

VERITIES

LITTLE BLACK BEETLE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are so many people who deserve to be acknowledged and I know that I will leave someone out, and If I do I apologize in advance, so here goes: To my mother, the architect of my existence, my wife Brenda who has always been an encouragement in everything I do and my friends and colleagues Greg Germany and Jessica Voss who were plagued with new pieces to read and critique, to my children James, Emily and Nancy who also had to put up with my constant, Listen to this . . . either in person or by e-mail, and my friend, Scott Van Landingham, for keeping me on