Pink Snow

Well, I was going to wait a couple of days, at least tell we’ve heard back from Create Space, but Helena just said to me “Why don’t  you write about Pink Snow and let everybody know it will be available in a day or two and you can include a couple of the poems, which will make the blog easy to write” and I’ve got to admit that’s true.  Also, she put in a lot of work today to get it into publishable shape and off to Create Space, so I’d better do what she wants if I ever want assistance again, and I’m sure I will.

The Cover: šafařiková street in bloom, by daniela šafranková

I’m very pleased with the book, it’s sort of a catch-all, an excuse to publish all of the poems I’ve written since my last book of that type, maybe two or three years ago.  One thing I’ve noticed about my own writing is most people usually like my shorter poems better than my longer ones.  Me, I’m proud of my longer ones, they took more work and generally  I’m trying to convey something of great importance.  As I read through this book, however, as much as I’m proud of the longer ones (especially ‘One morning in Germany’, which most poets would class as a short poem but that’s all relative – it’s a true story about overcoming my inhibitions to try a nude beach), it’s the short poems that are the stars of this book.

Like the titular poem:

Every year in April

There’s a gentle breeze that blows

And the petals fall from the cherry trees

just like a soft, pink snow

or this:

In any western language

on signs wherever you go

you’ll see a little happy face

drawn inside the O

which may seem like a silly, little thing but I believe it makes a very important point about the deep universality of language and how our world is becoming more homogenous and also how language is evolving,

or this:

The differences between the sexes

Now, and always will perplex us

which is not a terribly original thought, but it’s short, and sweet, and true.

So, in summary, ‘Pink Snow’ will be available from Amazon soon, probably within a week, and on Kindle shortly thereafter.  At very reasonable prices.