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You can learn more about my unpublished new science fiction novel, Rooms, and my published young adult novelette, Wheatgrass: An Irish Fantasy by clicking on the links below.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