2006 was a roller coaster of a year for me. Some very cool things happened, and some real bad things happened, too.



Let's go to the good stuff. I entered the National Poetry Anthology contest of the International Poetry Society to make it into the 2006 NPA. I entered a poem I had written in 1992 during a trip to Washington, DC in June of that year, called "Capitol Mall, 1992". The poem was about my experiences with homeless people there.



I won! Knock me down with a feather. I had also won a place in the 1987 NPA with a poem I wrote in 1965 in Channel Islands Harbor, Oxnard, CA called "White Bird". Both of these (and some others) are below for your enjoyment. "White Bird" was a spontaneous recited creation.



I received a 13" tall crystal Trophy and a Bronze medallion for display, won a year's free membership to the International Poetry Society, and won the Editor's Choice Award, that got my poems read professionally for a 3-CD Audio Books Set that will go all over the world to children's hospitals and homes for the blind.



I have written Poetry since 1964, and loved it. I am considered to be a professional poet and writer (13 Books of Poetry, and 24 Books). I have several web sites, 2 blog sites, and an Internet Marketing Company.



Check back often, as I will be adding content regularly.



With Best Regards,



Barry D. Morris





Capitol Mall, 1992...

I remember being at the Wall in Washington
On the Mall,
And seeing names I knew from service days,
Casting a pall
Of sadness on my thoughts, much confused,
And sad for all
Those homeless ones in the capital city,
And the gall
Of those who demeaned them... I sat at dinner
One day in fall,
Looking out over a sea of faces, thinking
How tall
And handsome they looked, still dignified...
I recall
Weeping over my little glass of wine and chowder,
When all
My thoughts had no sway
Over a fear in my heart,
That I could fall
From Grace, and be as homeless as they,
With such ease;
With such speed;
With such despair...
And all
I could do was to weep for them
On the Wall
And in the street: They were equally
Beyond the call.

* * * * *



WHITE BIRD (“THE GULL”) July, 1965


Oh! Child of Light,
That I could soar,
Like thee;

O’er the waves
Of Life’s eternal
Sea ...

To hover there,
To stop and Taste
The Wind;

To be thy free
And easy Soul,
Unpenned;

To know thy ways,
And fly thy paths
By Light

Of unknown Stars
Placed there as beacons
In the night

To guide you,
As you wander
On your way;

To never rest,
Until that last
Unending day.

* * * * *



This was a Poetry Magazine humor issue entry, but it was too late for publication last year. Maybe next time...



Some ents & ants Nov 13, 2005
(Or, what went down after the feast...)


Omniscient
Incumbent;
Brilliant,
Opulent
Virulent...
Prudent
Stimulant,
Prescient;
Ambivalent
Ambulant,
Recombinant
Relaxant;
Petulant
Prurient...
Flatulent.

* * * * *



I also write Haiku, the Japanese poetic form that uses a syllable count of 5-7-5. Here are some samples.



"Cherry Blossom Butterflies"



Spring winds blow petals


from a blossoming Cherry Branch;


Oh, Look! Butterflies!



* * * * *


"Dandelion Dancers"




Dandelion dancers,


Seeds scattering everywhere!


Spring Wind is planting.

* * * * *



"Fire-Flies Race the Moon"





Stirring Dying Coals,


Sparks go Spiraling Upward;


Fire-Flies Race the Moon.

* * * * *


OK... Now we get to the part that didn't go so well. On October 27th, 2008 I went to work early as usual, but thought I had heartburn. By afternoon, I was in the WLA Veteran's Hospital emergency room having a heart attack. In prose poetic form, here is the story...



A day almost like any other January, 2007

A touch of heartburn...

Minor gastric upset,

Or so it seemed.

Take an antacid -

Tums or Mylanta?

It soon goes away...

Or perhaps not.

Intuition speaks softly

In a small, quiet voice,

“Take an Aspirin”...

20 minutes

And the feeling is gone.

Why? Vague disquiet,

Thin the blood,

Lose the feeling...

Very different symptoms.

Random pains,

Slight escalations

In frequency and severity

Of the discomfort.

The character

And content of

The pain is changing.

Almost six months

Since the first time,

Now the pain

Is obvious,

Sudden twinge,

Then sullen ache,

Radiating outward,

To the back

And down the arm...

The Aspirin takes longer

To thin and improve

The flow of blood

Through some obvious

Restriction...

One day,

A 2-1/2 hour episode,

A gripping drama,

Like a season premiere


Of a thriller.

But this 24

Is real...

A quick journey

To the VA Hospital

In West LA,

A night in the

Emergency room...

Wired like

A crash test dummy,

I am set for

Max Data if anything

Happens,

Then it does...

3 AM, October 12th 2006,

Heart Attack!

Nitro, dissolving in 4 seconds...

Pain, dissolving in 20 seconds...

(Now, that’s good stuff!)

Changes to medication

That slows the heart,

Thins the blood,

Saves my life.

Follow-up another day,

Stress test,

EKG shows some

Multiple aberrations in

Heartbeat shape and

Duration.

Medication is providing stability,

Giving us time

To pick the best treatment.

Then it’s December 12th:

Another follow-up...

For the 14th, a pre-op

In WLA, for a

Heart Catheterization

On the 15th.

They call it an

Angiogram,

Where they inject

A radio-opaque dye

Into the cardiovascular

System and take

An X-ray to

See any obstructions.

Sure enough,

There are some.

When I awake

On the 16th,

My cardiac surgeon says,

“Happy Birthday, Mr. Morris!

Your 2

Major upper left arteries,

And the right side major vein

Are 80% blocked.

The Carotid in the

Right side of your

Throat is 100%

Blocked, but

Has grown new bypass

Arteries on its own.

Your condition is urgent,

But not emergency,

So we will schedule you

ASAP for a

3-way bypass.

We can use

The 2 mammary arteries

And the Saphenous

Vein for the surgery.”

A 6-7 hour long operation,

They only perform

1 per day,

Unless an emergency arises.



On the 21st,

The Winter Solstice,

They perform the

Life-giving operation

That should extend

My days by

Twenty years.

The next day,

I am on a

Walker, out in the

Hallway, getting my

Exercise.

One week later,

On the 28th,

I am released

To go home.

In another week,

On January 4th,

I return for

A follow-up

Appointment.

There will be more,

One on the 19th...

Cardiologist says,

“What was wrong with you

Is fixed. No need

To return here.”



For now,

The critical time

Is past.

I will rest

And recuperate.



I have been

Given another chance.



I have been

To the edge of

The Abyss,

Looked down into

The Stygian Dark,

Heard the

Gibbering of

Shibboleth in

That eternal night...



But Uri-el, Archangel...

(Daat, the Sefirot who

Stands astride of

The Abyss)

The Boatman over

The River Styx,

The Angel of Death,

My Friend...

Said, “Not now. Not yet.”



And God said,

“You have much yet

To learn, to know

And be known...

Stories, poems, and

Wrongs to right.

Too much

For you to

Come home now.”



So it

Continues...



So much

I still want

To do...

To make music,

Paint pictures,

Write songs

And poems,

Travel,
And see

The faraway Isles,

To fish and hunt

The wild mountains

And woodland lakes and streams...



To care for

My Wife and

Children until

It is time

To go...

Then go

In peace,

With Love


* * * * *