Poem: THE TENT

Before you read my poem below

You can learn more about my unpublished new science fiction novel, Rooms, and my published young adult novelette, Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy by clicking on the links below.

Rooms' Teaser

Rooms' Excerpt: Chapters 1-2

Rooms' Chapter Titles

Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy published and for sale on Amazon.com

Paperback - $3.23

Kindle version - $0.99 

Wheatgrass' Teaser

Wheatgrass' Excerpt

(Baker)

The Tent

Eyelids closed within folds of fabric

Twitch and carefully part

Barely open

Barely seeing

Warm air quilts the skin

As cold surrounds the fabric

Of this down-filled, luxurious cocoon

The tent sits

Holds firm to the earth

Quietly surrounded by saguaro cactus

Cliffrose and desert paintbrush

Milkweed and crucifixion thorn

Solar particles dance

In mathematical precision

In the air

And cause my eyes to blink

And my arms to stretch and escape

Beyond the comfort of home

My hands press the ground

Aiding soul and body

To rise together

With the morning

The cactus wren and Gambel’s quail

Click and scratch a living

Bringing me awake

Sliding my nose and chin and head outside

I’m blinded by the glorious day

Crawling out

As a dog from a hut

On all fours stretching, yawning, rubbing, scratching

Glancing back at the geometric shelter

The thin protector

Like a tortoise

Carried on my back

There and ready to fold into

In the night

With complete simplicity

And connection to the ancients

I scrape the pebbles from my palms

And stand upright

Surveying the landscape

Of the new day

Food urges grumble and move me

To set out nuts and berries and grains

And warm aromatic beans of liquid joy

To sample and devour when ready

Yoga-style on the ground with fingers

Juices running down my chin

A soft sound

Stirs the desert

A wonderful sigh

Spooks the wren

A movement

Ripples the tent

And tempts

Wiping away berry juice and brown aroma

My lips part and smile

Sliding fingers between the folds of fabric

And peering inside the tent

A hand slowly reaches out and caresses me

The other sleepily beckons

To the warmth of skin and fabric

And the familiar touch of joy

Naturally warming the body’s furnace

And igniting the tent

With pleasure

And the soft sighs of love

In the desert air

Copyright © Bob Stegner 2007

Tent Image from:
Baker, Adam. Spooky Tent. Digital image. Flickr. N.p., 1 Apr. 2010. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.

Poem: As I Lay Dying

Before you read my poem below

You can learn more about my unpublished new science fiction novel, Rooms, and my published young adult novelette, Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy by clicking on the links below.

Rooms' Teaser

Rooms' Excerpt: Chapters 1-2

Rooms' Chapter Titles

Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy published and for sale on Amazon.com

Paperback - $3.23

Kindle version - $0.99 

Wheatgrass' Teaser

Wheatgrass' Excerpt

(Montgomery)

As I Lay Dying

As I lay dying

Surrounded by the immensity

Of life

And quieted by the certainty

Of death

I see your eyes

Dark dripping pools

Of concern

Worry

Fear

And the universal question

Of why?

Cascading down

Your dark, lit orbs

To mine

Holding tight to what was

Not wanting to let go

I lay

Somehow accepting

The visions and neurons

Firing with light speed

Taking me through the journey

Of my story

The warmth and joy

Of experiences

Some sad

Some happy

Some frightening

Some inspiring

But…

Intertwined

Combined

Collected

Into

It all

Knowing the days of my youth

Grabbing the ball

Playing the evening

Gathering together

By the fire

‘round the table

Into the night

Laughing

Telling stories

Being family

My homes

My friends

The food

The laughter

The lessons

My loves

The wilderness

The ocean

The rain – The wind

The sunsets

The children

The smiles

The lives

Touched

The music

The poetry

The awesome counterpoint of existence

And…

My daughter

The crux and essence

Of me

The sum of it

The undulating flow of it

The all-consuming power of it

Only I can see

Assess

And know

I am

Happy

I was here

Sad

I can’t help you

Confined

Yet free

As you look into me

Suffused in somberness

And the loneliness of

Being

Left behind

I pause and…

Know the time

I glance

While you fade

I focus on the inward beat

And breathe

Climaxing

Nearing the end

To this

A new beginning

All I can do is

Go forward

And ponder…

I came here on my own

I leave on my own

But with so much more

Do I leave

Am I ready?

Is anyone?

It’s late

It’s time

It’s here

My limp hand

Is clutched by yours

And held with tears

Of love unaware

Of my smile inside

As I know

I’ve lived completely

And
Joyfully

Copyright © Bob Stegner 2006

Image of Hands:

Montgomery, Martin/Alamy. Regrets of Dying. Digital image. Theguardian.com The Guardian, 1 Feb. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

Rooms Update / Wheatgrass Sample / Started A New Book / A Poem

To everyone who has been reading my blog

I've noticed that people from all over the world have been visiting.  It would be great to hear from you! Please, either comment or use my author email below.

Author's Email

ROOMS

by Bob Stegner

(Trish Steele)

ROOMS UPDATE

I wanted to share with you that I've been thinking a lot about a possible sequel to Rooms.  I've been working on some ideas.

Below are five links.  Clicking on any of these will give you a better idea of what Rooms and Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy are about.

Rooms' Teaser

Rooms' Excerpt: Chapters 1-2

Rooms' Chapter Titles

Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy

To learn more about Wheatgrass, click and read either the Teaser or the Chapters 1-2 Sample below. If you would like a copy of the complete book, it's been published on Amazon.com in both paperback and kindle versions. Simply click on the book cover to go to it on Amazon.

Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy published and for sale on Amazon.com

Paperback - $3.23

Kindle version - $0.99 

Wheatgrass' Teaser

Wheatgrass' Excerpt

New Book

I started a new book.  I've been itching to begin something new since I finished Rooms.  I remembered a halloween story that I wrote for my students when I ran Peregrine School in Alaska.  It was titled Beatrice.  I loved reading it to them, but I lost it somewhere, so the other day I decided to start writing it again.  As I wrote, it began changing.  I could see a lot more happening and got excited, so I began doing some research. Now I think I might have my next book.  When I was a singer/songwriter, I loved to write many different types of songs, and I think I'm very much the same when it comes to prose or poetry.  This book will not be science fiction.  It will be a fantasy/mystery/thriller.  It will take place in a location in Europe in an old family mansion.  I'll let you know more as I get into it, but I think it's going to be a blast!!

POETRY

"Barren"

by Bob Stegner

Sitting quietly with myself

Beside a being I came

To be lonely with

Esconced in a sickening quiet

Of my own breathing

My heart pounded

An aching permeated

The core of me

I Yearned to touch and hold

My body screamed to feel passion and heat

A tender caress

A glancing swipe of a finger

A wondrous hand on my thigh

A gesture of real love

In this place

I was barren

How?

Did I decide to be there?

Did I choose that path?

Did I somehow deserve

Those moments consumed with

Torturous, frozen emptiness?

A void

Filled with words

Spoken and thought

Of daily routines

Of rehashed memories

Of tedious factual redunduncy

And anything

Yes, anything to fill the space

Between the throbbing beats of my heart

My soul screamed "NO..."

While I quietly sat and thought and yearned

For life

But then...

I accepted, hesitated, and dreamed of

Someone

Someone who might walk through a door

Someone who might smile and look deeply into me

Someone who felt what I did

Someone to love me

Really love me

But then...

My eyes lost focus

My mind dulled

My heart slowed

My senses faded

And I was there, in that room again

With her

Barren

Copyright © Bob Stegner 2008

Image of Door:

Trish Steel [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

ROOMS Update and Poetry

ROOMS

by Bob Stegner

(Trish Steele)

ROOMS UPDATE
I'm continuing to look for novel contests to enter, possible publishing companies to send the book to and looking for an agent.  I'm also gathering other ideas for my next novel and my next young adult short fantasy.  It's a busy time.

Below are four links.  Three of these will give you an idea of what Rooms is about.

Rooms' Teaser

Rooms' Excerpt: Chapters 1-2

Rooms' Chapter Titles

Author's Email


POETRY

Glass of Wine

A base

A stem

A goblet

Clear, clean, and precise

Soft liquids poured

Moving slowly and passionately

Eddying inside and around

The stem caressed precisely

Swirling the liquid grape

While nosing and gazing

The goblet tips

Drops coalesce and cascade

Expanding in ways unknown

Sweet, dry, earthy tones

Shared with fruits and wooden barrels

Of red and white varieties

Of cultures and passionate people around the world

Sit back, enjoy, dream and wonder

What origins

What climate

What soil

What hand

Formed

A glass of wine

Shared in a moment

Of time

Copyright © Bob Stegner 2006

Image of Door:

Trish Steel [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons