AMONG THE ABSENT

My fourth collection of poems Among the Absent, New and Selected Poems, published by Finishing Line Press, is available from the Press and on Amazon.  The book has selections from previous collections: Blue Stone, 1986, Her BMW, 2007, and Open Season, 2015.
At a recent reading in Alexandria, Virginia, from the new book, I  was asked how long it took me to write a poem.  Sometimes years! A new poem "On the Railway Bridge" had its first version in William Meredith's creative writing class in 1959, the writing more diffuse and a different title, the experience rendered unchanged, the language honed.   Another new poem "What Singer" I held on to for at least twenty years before I finally found the words to let it go. The advantage for a poem is that it remains with you, can return at its own moment on a train ride, on a walk,  and even in company.