Random Lore

By Charles Schlee

This book is a collection of some of the author’s more recent poems. Though touching on a variety of themes, these poems share insights and the situations—often quite ordinary—that gave rise to them.
These poems are not just descriptions. They are also metaphors. They are invitations to creative experiences brought to life by what we, as readers, contribute—by adding our own imagery, reading them in a certain voice, deciding which word meanings are relevant, tying things together in a certain way.
The poems in this collection show that by using our creativity we can gain insights from even the simplest experiences. And if we let ourselves enter into these poetic experiences openly and honestly and deeply, we will learn something about ourselves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796063431

Charles Schlee

Charles Schlee has a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Kansas, an MBA from Rockhurst University, and an M.S. in counseling psychology from Avila University. Dr. Schlee was involved in academic philosophy for nearly a decade, then worked in information systems for over twenty years, and has worked as a professional counselor in recent years. Dr. Schlee’s lifelong interests are languages, writing, and philosophical psychology.

Book preview

the writing that is me

at times i write to entertain

at others just to vent

sometimes i’m drawn by what’s in sight

sometimes by what has gone

the reasons why i write

go on

and on

and on

yet reasons such as these but scratch the

surface

of the writing that is me

i have to plunge much deeper

my writing depths to see

when i write i write for me

but also write for you

else why not just make motions

with no longevity

when i write

i write of how things look to me

in this alone

lies my sagacity

when i write i place me in a bottle

that i toss upon the sea

to carry to a distant shore

the story that is me

and if you find that bottle

lying on the shore

and read its message

filled with random lore

please remember

that it shares a life

you’ve never lived before

that came to you

wrapped in a bottle

so you could savor more

a seeming distant there

as i walked

i glimpsed a shape

of one who seemed

as if belonging to a distant there

a young girl

stood before me

her smile

and waving hand

pleaded that i follow

unsure

i barely moved

then felt a hand upon my arm

as if to guide my

slow unknowing steps

and thus we walked

the smells

the sights

the sounds

fused into her image

and her touch

suddenly

i stood alone

wondering

whose flesh that shape had been

whose smile had beckoned me

to step where i’d not gone before

reflecting on my visitor

from some seeming distant there

i sensed

the smile and wave

the hand upon my arm

the guide for my unknowing steps

had all along been near

crossing the bourn

I

my childhood had been ordinary

we never had a lot

but laughed and played

and grew

our little was enough

one day i felt a calling

to a mystery i’d not known

in a language i’d not spoken

but was soon to learn

it started with some rituals

as do so many things in life

i’d been baptized

confirmed

and then began to help the priests

in my new