Robert W. Barker

Flowing Rivers Robert W. Barker

This book contains a selection of fifty-two short poems, written in the style of Japanese Tanka poetry, and written over a period of slightly over one year. They are arranged in simple chronological order, as they were written, and they contemplate the changing context and mood of the author's life during this time. As these poems were written there were dark periods, when friends and close family members struggled with serious illness. There were also times of public anger and tragedy such as the massacre of innocents at Newtown, Connecticut, and the bombings at the Boston Marathon. There were also many moments of love and joy. The act of contemplation can help all of us find our way through the dark moments of our lives and fully appreciate the joys that surround us. One poem in this book, Still Singing, captures the need for us all to embrace each day as our moment and our future. I greet each morning, Every change brought by the dawn. I accept them all. Embrace the soft new rhythms, And the call of life's new song.