Venus - A Point of Expression

The monsoon rains come to our desert in the summer, when the temperature is highest. The winds shift to the SE, bringing moisture from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California. The rains come as huge, black, thunder storms over the mountains, driven by vivid lightning and high winds. It also provides a magical drop in temperature. The magnificent odor of the desert after a rain is a rich, organic experience.

After the storm I sit on my patio, in the cool fall of night – watching the shadows changing on the mountains as the sun declines. Recently, after such a storm, the sun is dying in various shades of ocher and vermillion… The crescent moon rises, and the planet Venus soon follows. Venus is a bright diamond in the now black sky. I write in my notebook: Venus is a Bright Point of Expression in the Sky. Thus, a poem is born.

Varied Verse of WWA

Ogden Nash was the master of humorous poetry. His clever use of language and puns made many of us smile and see each day in a brighter light. While not all of his poetry was light-hearted – he could be somber and address disturbing topics – his writing was mostly joyful and witty. We still quote many of his beloved lines, like ‘Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker.’

This book contains a collection of his largely humorous poems, filled with frequent puns. Occasionally, you may come across a more serious selection that might make you pause and ponder. We hope some of these phrases resonate with you and perhaps stick in your mind for future use. Enjoy the poetry!

Useless Musings

As the hell year of 2020 was drawing to a close, and the collective anxieties of every able-minded person in America were making their threat whispers to never, ever go away no matter how many times you brushed your teeth, Jeffrey Eugene Hoch (the author of this book) had an idea. He would write a poem — or something approximating one — for every calendar day of the upcoming year of 2021. The main reason he wanted to do this was to keep his artistic conscience from atrophying across another potential year of emotional isolation, illness avoidance, and embarrassing cult stupidity.

There was some distant hope that something positive would come out of the process, but that something was unknowable and not even particularly hoped for by the author. A year of video games, whiskey, dates, and deli orders later, Useless Musings was “finished.” More accurately, it could just no longer be truthfully worked on because 2021 was over.

Anyway, the results of this year-long whatever-it-was are documented here for you to read and maybe have some sort of emotional reaction to. These “musings” felt pretty “useless” as I was writing them (Hi, it’s me, Jeff), but maybe you’ll enjoy them. That would be cool.

Tuk with a Red Scarf

Dive into a heartwarming journey of miracles, divine twists, and a dash of luck in this captivating tale. Meet Tuk, a charming black Labrador adorned with a red scarf, whose simple act of curiosity sets the stage for an extraordinary adventure when he wanders off through an open gate. Left behind is the irritable Scottish Terrier, Scotty, unwittingly embarking on a chain of events that intertwine fates and unveil the tender magic of serendipity. From mistaken identities to life-saving encounters, discover how a single inadvertent moment can unfurl a tapestry of heartening tales. Tuk with a Red Scarf is a true story which celebrates the unassuming yet profound impacts of everyday actions, promising to keep you enchanted till the last page.

Truly Broken

Does anyone ever stop and think what they’re about to do? How their action can affect people's lives?

I heard once or twice that your decisions are like a domino effect, one decision can affect many. Why make choices that you know you will regret? Why put people through pain? Can you actually say that you ever thought about how many people you hurt?

Explain in so many words why we treat people like they don’t mean anything. Many of us are the victims in cases like these. Maybe you are the victimizer, in that case describe why you felt that treating someone so bad would make you feel better? Well, did it? Maybe you should look in the mirror and ask if you are truly happy with being yourself? Or maybe you feel the need to take out all the pain you bottle up on someone who doesn’t deserve it.

Maybe it's just me but I am done with thinking of all the reasons why people get involved in situations they can’t dig themselves out of, well here is my story...

TrikCrit(R)

In a desperate attempt to disavow the portrayal of a nation misunderstood, Angèle takes to paper and blows our minds with emotions and alluded scenarios so gravitating you can’t look away. Did you ever feel alone? Or, that no one understood? Angèle is without a doubt an adventurer with sass and a Los Angeles soul. All the while, she is dismantling our core to help you explore and cast away any doubt about our future. Just as the hawk lies in wait, you will see once again that today is a new day here in the U.S.A.

Trauma, Drama, Love, and Loss

Poetry can be healing. It can break the heart and heal it. Let it touch you and you’ll feel it. The scars here are real, but may it guide you through your own struggles, let you see that you’re not alone, show solidarity, and, at the end, provide you hope.

Track of Time

Life as a passage. This anthology of poetry, Track of Time, contains 77 poems which explored themes of ephemerality and permanence.

It’s a book about time and its reflexes, cycles and seasons, as moods whose trajectory begins with the notion of “losing the track” but reaches “on time” at the end.

A work summarized by the verses of a brief and flying being: “if you spend your luck/ beholding a bee/ honey is always/ a symbol/ of the sweetest great/ little being”.

Poetry helps us remember, after all, that happiness is simple: “like a time/ where’n’ver”.

To Touch a Heart

To Touch a Heart is a heartwarming collection of poems that reflect the sincere joys and struggles of everyday life. With touching verses about family, friendship, childhood memories, and the passing seasons, this little pink book invites readers into quiet moments of meaning. While the wider world calls for our hurry and worry, these poems offer respite, beauty, and a tender glimpse of the humanity in us all. Readers will find humor and wisdom within these pages, and perhaps see their own story reflected. More than pretty words that rhyme, these poems aim to delight, to console, to inspire. For any seeking more gentleness in life or longing to be understood, To Touch a Heart offers a sweet retreat where poetry still blooms.

Thrown Out of Eden

“Poetry is the soul’s melody; sometimes harmonious and flowing, other times stark and discordant, much like a symphony stepping out of time.”

Just as Thomas Paine’s words were essential to the American Revolution, so were the verses of luminaries such as Sophocles, Homer, and Tennyson, to Frost and Longfellow. With their profound insight, these poets captured the quintessential human truth, shaping it into timeless verse.

From ancient bards to modern-day wordsmiths, a poet’s voice must never be stilled. Silence seldom brings healing; it often breeds complacency and indifference.

My city, Dallas, stands testament to this, its heart still shadowed by the tragedy of 1963. Only through introspection, voiced through words, can we find reconciliation. As the victim of that fateful day once stated, “When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.”

Poetry, like a clarion call, resonates across ages, cultures, and oceans, weaving tales of humanity, imagination, and commentary.

Some writers perfect punctuation, others master grammar, but when I wield words, I strike with the might of a sledgehammer!

Dive into this collection at your pace, let it stir thoughts, evoke reflection, and gift you moments of sheer poetic pleasure.

Through Whiskey Colored Glasses

"She said, 'Let’s go sit on the roof and watch the clouds go by,' and I thought... and never come down."

"I'll continue to search for answers and words, but how do you describe a feeling that hammers you in the chest and splits your atoms into a million unrecognizable bits... when she kisses me." 

"I couldn’t find the angel on my other shoulder. I did, however, find my devil. Turns out he is half into a bottle of bourbon, and I don’t like the look on his face."

If you have ever wondered what goes through the mind of men as they wrestle with their own doubts of self-love, sexuality, and ego, then sit back, relax, grab yourself something drink, and perhaps a pack of tissues. 

Thoughts Unlocked

Written by a locksmith, Thoughts Unlocked shows us that an everyday worker can write thought provoking, passionate poetry that will stand the test of time. He writes with a keen perspective across four themes: life, love, nature, and Jayliana (his granddaughter). Bringing language to life, Alan satisfies first time readers of poetry as well as life-long lovers of the art form. Grab hold of his words and fill yourself with memorable thoughts.