When my only half-brother on my mother’s side passed away, he told his wife he wanted me to have his books. I received quite a few, but there was one in particular that his last spouse favored and made sure to keep for herself. I hope that book has brought her much peace and joy throughout the almost ensuing decade following his departure. It is not I who will go to the grave knowing I failed to fill one of my dying spouse’s last wishes, and I certainly don’t miss what I never had. I will have more than enough answering to do with the deficits in my own relationship with my brother, and I certainly don’t have to be accountable for his marital (martial?) relationship.

I have within the past several days encountered one of the paperbacks left to me by my brother, Crimes and Misdemeanors: New and Original Stories of Love and Death (1998, Penguin Putnam, Inc.). Thus far I have read “L. T.’s Theory of Pets” by Stephen King. This story was not the expected King—it was a very humorous tale of an unhappily married couple and their hatred of the pets given them by the spouse for anniversary presents. I read this story to my wife, as she thinks I treat our Precious Kitty in much the way she wishes I would treat her. I told my wife that I had never helped Precious Kitty wash a car, and she replied that I hadn’t helped her do so, either, until last evening, and that was the first and only time in almost twenty-two years!

Next I read a story by Stephen King’s wife Tabitha, “Djinn and Tonic”, a new take on the genie-in-the-lamp fairy tale. Not remarkable in my opinion, but not bad. Then I read “The Naked Giant” by Wendy Hornsby, a writer new to me. This was not nearly as exciting as some of you romantic novel readers might assume, and the plot is a little too long and complicated to summarize here—let’s just say that it seems that the sins of one generation are often visited on succeeding generations, sometimes with deadly intents of revenge.

Then I read “Songs in the Key of I”, one essay and a dozen new poems by Erica Jong, another writer new to me. If you research Erica Jong on Google, you will discover that though she is definitely not conventional (reference http://ericajong.com/erica-jong.htm Accessed May 9, 2020), she has several insights that would give conservatives like myself pause for thought. This essay extols the virtues of poetry (“Poetry is the language we speak in times of greatest need.”) Ms. Jong says it is “an endangered species . . . in our culture”, that “We give least respect to those [poets] who give us the most”. Though I was an English major in college, my studies of poetry were lacking, particularly in high school. I have much more experience reading short stories and novels. I did not care for poetry until the later years of undergraduate college. It seems the older I get, the more poetry speaks to me.

Ms. Jong continues by saying that “Our public attitude toward poetry and poets shows that spiritual needs count for little in America”. I agree with Ms. Jong that it seems spiritual needs are viewed as relatively unimportant to a vast majority, though the conclusions she and I would reach as to the definition of “spirituality” would be as far as the east from the west. Though perhaps not as far as might be thought. Ms. Jong wrote, “The skin, not the soul, has all our care—despite lip service to the contrary. And many of us are dying for want of care for the soul. The poet is the caretaker of the soul . . .” She references a poet who “. . . as if, for the moment . . . assumes God’s perspective rather than the human vantage point.” She quotes Ann Sexton who once said to her, “We are all writing God’s poem.”

There are vast volumes of poetry written in the world, but there is One that reigns supreme. Sadly, it is so often the less influential of the poets this world seeks, when guidance from poetry is sought at all. In case you wonder, I’ll give you a clue. The supreme Volume is widely available the world over in many languages, usually bound in black, often leather, authored by One and transmitted by many scribes. While this Volume houses the only answer to the only essential of life’s questions, it is the most often vilified and abused. Where can you find this Volume, with the answer to life’s essential question? Visit the church of your choice for a good beginning.

Thank you for your time, Dear Reader. Today I leave you with a great thought from my email world:

A backward poet writes inverse.