Letters from the Moon

By John Koblas

Whether writing about outlaws, penning poetry, or lecturing on historical events, John Koblas never ceases to capture his audience and he has done it again. Letters from the Moon is poignant, emotional, and commendable. This collection is destined to be read over and over again.
--Popular Author Lauri Robinson

An extremely prolific writer, Jack (John Koblas) is a cornucopia of visions and dreams with a single purpose: to feed the hungry minds of insatiable readers. In a world of copious cares, he tosses our trials and tribulations into the blender so they're easier to digest. I highly recommend this book for avid poetry buffs.
--Renowned Poet Roger Brezina

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 8, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462869817

John Koblas

John Koblas is one of the most prolific writers in the outlaw genre and is the foremost authority on the James-Younger Gang's exploits in Minnesota. He is the author of 68 books focusing on U. S. history and American literary figures as well as the Doc & Tweed History/Mystery Series, a popular fiction series for young readers; three volumes of poetry; and a novel, The Outlaw Billy Stiles. Among his 68 volumes are a dozen books on Jesse James; Let Them Eat Grass, a lengthy trilogy on the 1862 Dakota Conflict in Minnesota; MA, a detailed study of Ma Barker and the gangster era; and several others. Koblas has served as a consultant and script writer for various television documentaries including Discovery Channel, History Channel, PBS American Experience, as well as independent film companies. His book, Jesse James Northfield Raid: Confessions of the Ninth Man, was made into a television movie, in which Koblas wrote the book, the screenplay, and performed some of the music.

Book preview

Copyright © 2011 by John Koblas.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2011911834

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4628-6980-0

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4628-6979-4

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4628-6981-7

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.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

99228

Contents

Hanging Mary Surratt

To George Anthony

To Elizabeth Akers Allen (1832-1911)

The Death Of Poe

To William Hope Hodgson

Mozart After Dark

Take My Hand

Lovely As Thou Art

Letting Go

Cure

Hitch Hiker

She-Devil

Witch Hazel

Rebirth

Monthly Haiku

Alabama Moons

For Helene

Conqueror Worm Forgotten

Haiku

Stage Fright

A Cowboy’s Prayer

Saying Goodbye

Redemption

Still Standing Tall

Hobo Jack

Summer Wines

Cosmic Link

For Wally Baardson

Predator

Open House

Revelation

Kiss Tag

The Shadow Place

Swimming With Sharks

Prison Walls

Caramel Summer

Xanadu Redefined

Tip Of The Iceberg

Robbing Stagecoaches

Words

El Dorado

Tonight

Bluebirds

My Pal

Stick Man

Gypsies

In Memoriam

The Last Time I Saw Harris

Manifest Destiny

No Smoking

Letters From The Moon

Maple Syrup

Blue Indigo Eyes

Poetry

Composition

Lamplighter

Stem Cell

Enchantment

The Old Man

For Barbara Broberg

Prowler

If I Called My Old Number

The Suicide Hour

For Karen

Sleeping Over

Lutsen Lullaby

Aerial Affair

Artists’ Point

Beneath The Elms

After Dark

Gypsy

Only In My Heart

The Way Home

Pulling Teeth

Things My Mother Never Taught Me

The Day I Died

Arcturus

Dreamer

Hopscotch

Lest We Forget

Catching Rainbows

Lunar Suite

At Trail’s End

When We Were Kings

Sea Horses

Old Letters

Come Walk With Me

Blue Sapphire Eyes

Banjo Strings

Requiem For A Fish

Syncopation

Please

Miscarriage

Eternity

Christmas In The Stars

When A White Boy Sings The Blues

Maple Syrup

Elegy For Port Chicago

When Old Streets Come Back

Coyote Love

Deep Brain Stimulation

With This Ring

Stale Mate

Superior Sonnet

Falsetto

Miscarriage

All That Glitters Is Not Gold

Bypassing Dunwich

Bewitching Hour

Lost In A Book

Halloween Night

Aerial Affair published in Inter-County Leader, Frederic, Wisconsin, Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Prowler published in Best Poetry of 1962 anthology

HANGING MARY SURRATT

Mary Surratt, Mary Surratt,

You’re much too young to die

Only 42, and a mother too

We will miss you by and by.

With Powell, Herold, and Atzerodt

You were led through a courtyard lot,

Past your own graves, empty, dark—

No song, no ballad, no meadowlark,

Did you look, Mary, as you went by?

Look away from Heaven, shun the sky?

Hands manacled, heavy irons strained

Pulling 75-pound balls, legs chained,

Up thirteen stairs the hangman waits

First woman he’s had in a dozen dates.

Mary Surratt, Mary Surratt,

You’re much too young to die

Only 42, and a mother too

We will miss you by and by.

Chains removed, shoes to charity

Drunken men shouting vulgarity

Nooses placed around your necks

No favoritism here to fairer sex

Last words please don’t let me fall

Frantic moment, unanswered call

A lolling tongue, a dead blue face

We’ve seen enough of this disgrace

Time for sales at the souvenir fair

Bits of rope and locks of her hair.

Mary Surratt, Mary Surratt,

You’re much too young to die

Only 42, and a mother too

We will miss you by and by.

TO GEORGE ANTHONY

In so many different ways

You are the best poet of all

So few have read your dreams

You arrived not as a miracle

But anonym as you’ve penned

None comparing you to Frost

Nor analyzing your libido

Few following your footsteps

Along the road to Deadman Cove

Where a dead man in heavy boots

Was found standing cold, grim

In twelve feet of shark-less water

Easy to shun a blacked-out moon

Grunting sea, octopus of good-byes

None mourn a nameless little girl

Picking violets in Tibor Dery Square

The day the fricking tanks came

A stray dog licking her dead face

In so many different ways

You are the best poet of all

So few have read your dreams

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