Transmissions to the Mystic Nebula

Poetry is my oldest voice. Its my lifeline to my own emotions. My childhood involved a lot of fear, which translated into a lot of anger. It was hard for me to say what I wanted to say. But what I needed to say always came out clearest to me in poetry.

Each poem I wrote became a mental photograph, a snapshot in time of my emotional state at that moment. When I re-read my old poems I recall what I felt: Fear, rage, grief, ecstasy, even those all-too-brief moments of joy and spiritual bliss, in more detail than an actual photograph possibly could because a photograph can sometimes capture what we felt (a happy or sad moment), but not always why we felt that way. One without the other blurs the memory of the moment. Poetry keeps it crystal clear in a way I can’t explain better…except perhaps in a poem!

I can’t be the only one who sees poetry this way. So I want to share these poems with you. To see if what I feel–and why I’m feeling it–resonates with the world I live in.

Am I even on the same frequency? Is anybody of my tribe out there?

Transmissions to the Mystic Nebula is available on Amazon.

We lift each other up.

Reviews

“The title, cover, and even the table of contents of TRANSMISSIONS TO THE MYSTIC NEBULA suggest a traditional, even stereotypical, form of science fiction, a world of spaceships, robots, aliens, and intergalactic conquest. Instead, the poet fastens his eyes on the heavens with his feet firmly on planet Earth as he connects our very human world with astronomy, physics, mythologies, and the paranormal. As the poet tells a love interest in “Ash in My Lungs,” “I brought you here to show you / this fragile wild of my soul, / the dark things that connect us.” The poet sets up the collection with a “researcher’s note” describing a cyber-poet, awash in the hyper-communications of a modern, wired world, who identifies a distant nebula with a backyard telescope and sends transmissions of poems in an effort to communicate and be heard. This gives the collection an authentic science fiction frame, reinforced by internal art that echoes the intriguing cover image and includes status updates as the transmission progresses. However, what makes these poems so strong is that, taken out of this context, they are impressive, accomplished creations that succeed on their stand-alone merits. The poet offers a beautifully written mix of forms and free verse, poems in which he explores love, sex, memories, seasons, and death. Although he hasn’t organized the poems into sections, the verses are ordered carefully so the flow keeps the whole connected. It’s interesting that the early poems are filled with celestial imagery that eventually gives way to more gravity-bound themes, ultimately leading to poems about death and the departed. In the end, though, the final graphic of the collection says delivery of the transmission is confirmed, and the poet adds a final, hopeful message, “I know you’re out there. I’m waiting.” Physically, everything about the book is attractive and professionally done. The poet is to be congratulated on a memorable first book of fresh and fine poetry, a true joy for the reader.”

– Judge, Writer’s Digest 21^st Annual Self-Published Book Awards