A Letter to a Muse
Part II, Parodies and Parities

666
age is but a number
alice and the glass
almost found 46 light son 46
angels and butterflies
a revealing display
armada dreams
atkhufu's tomb
bedside manners
boy help
cancion maricon
Cassandra and the trick
Casting Loves Passion Play
crush unhooked
drawing life
dying for today
echo's yearning
Emancipation
encore
enduring, endearing
erasing it
Everyday Symphony
father to infant son
first crush
fishing with father
for my mother
for sale
garden fool
germinating, ode to my bee
Good Reasoning
grace and misbegotten
her world
he wrote till death
his long life
I'm somebody
/in a city
/inciting blue
In Memoriam Woody Allen.
in with the pekingnese
I stop answering the phone
It’s the Gibberish I purport
I will go
ladybug brag
lament
less is more
let this be a warning
living forever
MaitaiWaylay
mamasromanc
merealfool
migente
mybrother
myfirstpique
mysister
nosubstitut
notsmilingbutfrowning
numberon
ojososcuros
oldwhiteman
Onealessertwo
poemphilosopherandmime
poetrysseed
running
seams
showerpoetry
siliconvalleylorenode
skyscape
snowday
somnolentnation
SunsSonnetXXIX
supersizeeverything
SurEntendu
tart
teaandsympathy
teaparty
tellme
testosterone
thefuneral
theintimateenemy
/thekingofcomedybeforecharlo
TheLessonsintheMonthofJun
TheLovertohisMistressBovary
TheMaleSpecies
theseamanandthecowhand
thesemoments
theslug
thesongofthesuburbanman
thesublimeandsentimentalbre
thewaspsinaugust
thewordaccordingtodog
theynotfools
todaymyway
tosleep
tunnelworm
tv too
unclelstales
Understanding
unionize
waitingforthefall
WhenISawtheDragQueen
WoMan
woT-E-M
yourcircumstanceshouldnever
Part I, Originals





A kiss goodbye, a sigh
the breath of a humming bird
the sacred word and all its splendor
the night's arrival, sweet and tender
illuminating the universe, gibbous moon
a first kiss and the ensuing swoon


A Letter to a Muse is a collection of poetry which written almost entirely in the Fall of 2002, as a letter of introduction to poet and writer I hold in high esteem.

There are 222 poems in this volume. Half are illustrated originals created solely by the author. The vast majority were written between September and December of 2002.

The subsequent half of the book consist of entries inspired by other poet's celebrated work. Some are purposeful parodies, others playful parities—all serious inquisition and introspection. The vast majority of these poems were written in response to the reading of the other poem, and a scant few simply thematically matched previously written work. I am currently working on illustrating those and will post them to the site as they are finished. I wil try to provide a link to the other author's poem if it is available on the Web. Otherwise, I will only cite the poet's name and poem's title, so as not to infringe copyrights.

I have noted the source of inspiration for the poems of part two at the bottom left-hand corner of each page. If my poem was composed subsequent to reading someone else’s poem the footnote is written as “afflatus (divine inspiration): title of poem, author.” However, if my poem was written before, and I found there simply to be a significant similarity that subsequently merited a comparison, than the notation begins “arcades ambo (of the same ilk): title of poem, author.” If I was able to find the esteemed poem online, a link will be provided simply by clicking on the blue arrow Link to Poem which is located at the bottom right-hand side of the page.

I would like to acknowledge all the muses past, present and future who inspire my work, life herself being the most giving one. I am forever grateful.

Most of all I would like to thank the most important muse in my life, my wife, Domenica. As my partner and as the mother of our two boys, I am overjoyed to be fortunate enough to have her as both the gracious matron of our family and the guiding light that makes our humble house into a home.

I dedicate this here humble work to you,
Dear Domenica, sweet love, my 2.22


"Much of life becomes background, but it is the province of art
to throw buckets of light into the shadows and make life new again."
~ A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman