My poem, “The Grace of Firstfall Last,” has been published by The Voices Project and can be read online.

My poem, “The Grace of Firstfall Last,” has been published by The Voices Project and can be read online.

Earthrise - When will we ever learn?

When this photo from Apollo 8 was revealed in 1968, we hoped it would change the way we see our world--and each other. Sadly, we have forgotten that we live on this tiny, blue island. We despoil its fragile envelope of air and water. We blame and vilify and murder each other. All as if we were not together on a small lifeboat in a sea of darkness. All as if something or someone out there will come and fix us, fix everything we've ruined.

There may still be time. On this 50th anniversary of the first human footprint on another world, let's remember that the moon or any other known planet will not support life. No one or thing is coming to save us.

Gandhi did not actually say, "Be the change you want to see in the world." But he would likely have agreed with that quotation. And it does describe where we will find our only solutions. There may still be time....

“Moonscaped” A published poem of mine was written to honor Buzz Aldrin

A published poem of mine was written to honor Buzz Aldrin. You can read "Moonscaped" at the Summerset Review.

The 2019 issue of Artemis contains my poem "Nejma- Last Passage"

The 2019 issue of Artemis ("Women hold up half the sky") contains my poem "Nejma- Last Passage"--a poem about visiting the grave of my father's mother. Nejma Daoud came to the US as a teenager to be married to Elias, her name then changed to Starr Sam.

This poem is included in my unpublished collect, Geographies of the Dead.

One of my favorite moments--the honor of meeting and fist-bumping Buzz Aldrin!

One of my favorite moments--the honor of meeting and fist-bumping Buzz Aldrin!

The latest issue of The Magnolia Review includes six of my poems.

The latest issue of The Magnolia Review (vol.5 issue 2) includes six of my poems.

Thank you Editor, Suzanna Anderson, for continuing to give my work a place to be read.

Campus at night by Riku Ylönen

Review: Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt

Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt by Arthur C. Brooks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Arthur Brooks writes a much-needed and accessible book for the individual seeking to be part of the solution to the canyons of mutual disregard that divide us, canyons widened by and for the powerful in media, politics, and anger.

I recommend it heartily. Brooks is a business conservative, a religious man, a humanist, and a rebel. In sum, he is a man in full who takes his own medicine.

He offers the following:

How each person can help make national healing happen:

1. Find a friendship with someone you can have productive, respectful disagreements.
2. “Don’t attack or insult. Don’t even try to win.”
3. “Never assume the motives of another person.”
4. “Use your values as a gift, not a weapon.”
P. 185-199

Five rules to subvert the culture of contempt:

1. ”Stand up to the Man. Refuse to be used by the powerful.... [B]e the person who gently defends those who aren’t represented, even if you disagree with them.”
2. “Escape the bubble. Go where you’re not invited, and say things people don’t expect.” Seek common ground. Tell your story.
3. “Say no to contempt. Treat others with love and respect, even when it’s difficult.”
4. “Disagree better. Be part of a healthy competition of ideas.”
5. “Tune out: Disconnect more from the unproductive debates....Obliterate your silos by listening, reading, and watching media on the ‘other side.’ Get rid of your curated social media feeds....Resolve to pay attention to ideas, not just politics.” P. 201-212

View all my reviews

My poem is included in Issue #63 of Haiku Journal, available now.

My poem is included in Issue #63 of Haiku Journal, available now.

Review: Pentimento

Pentimento by Alysse Kathleen McCanna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Alysse McCanna's chapbook, "Pentimento" sings with the true songs of a poet who has lived and paid attention. Having experienced life's tragedies, she is without self-pity but not hard hope. While the poems are very personal, as is true of good poetry, the human experience that we all live in our own journeys shines through.

View all my reviews

My sixth collection of poetry, Dark Fathers, to be published by Aldrich Press of Kelsay Books now has a tentative issue date of August 2020.

My sixth collection of poetry, Dark Fathers, to be published by Aldrich Press of Kelsay Books now has a tentative issue date of August 2020.

Haiku Journal will publish one of my poems in its next issue

Haiku Journal will publish one of my poems in its next issue

The ideal subject of totalitarian rule - Hannah Arendt

“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist.” Hannah Arendt

Aji Magazine will publish my poem "As Syllable from Sound" in their Fall 2019 issue.

Aji Magazine will publish my poem "As Syllable from Sound" in their Fall 2019 issue. This is the 6th time they have published my poetry. Thank you Aji.

Kelsay Books will publish my poetry collection Dark Fathers, publication date to be announced

Kelsay Books will publish my poetry collection, Dark Fathers, publication date to be announced. This group of poems is about my Syrian-born grandfather, my father, and my relationship with him.

My poem "Bequest" has been published by The American Journal of Poetry

My poem "Bequest" has been published by The American Journal of Poetry. Thank you to Editor Robert Nazarene.

This poem is part of an unpublished collection inspired by the works of Arthur Rimbaud.