Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Poems, by George.


About as many decades ago as the fingers on one hand can count (not counting the thumb) I studied journalism at Utah State University. George Rhoades was one of my professors. After USU, he taught at the University of Texas-Arlington then retired to raise hay in Oklahoma.
After the Chisholm, from Outskirts Press ( www.outskirtspress.com ), is his second book of poetry. The first part of the book features poems about cowboys and rodeo, the second part is reminiscences about hardscrabble farm life, and part three includes poems on a variety of subjects.
There’s a lot to like in this collection of poems by George. But my favorite thing might be this stanza from “Class of ’53,” which says just about everything a poet can say about life:

They went to set the world on fire
With their youth and dreams,
But now the fires are dying down,
They sail in shallow streams.


4 comments:

  1. That is a great line, Rod. Thanks.

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  2. You're welcome, Paul. But George deserves the thanks.

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  3. That is so true. Fires cannot burn forever. Makes me tired to think about it. :-)

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    Replies
    1. Yes, Eunice. I have been treading water in shallow streams for years now.

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