Dancing with Grandfather

The poetry collection in Dancing With Grandfather is an American Indian star quilt. Each poem is a square of its own color and design. There are poems of love and love lost, sewed together with observations on American Indian life in a multi-cultural setting, connected on the sides with sports and family challenges of our times. Only the reader can determine if there is a pattern or design to the poem quilt. Open the book to any page and sample a small colored poem square to decide if this quilt book is a must read for you. A blank page is placed opposite each poem for your use. Write a comment about the poem you just read, write a poem of your own, or use the blank page like a movie screen and let your creative mind blend the words and mental images. These poems are not about the author's struggles, pitfalls, lessons and surprises in life. Nor are they about the beauty he sees in creation and the creative process of living. The poems are a search for DNA trails leading the reader and the author to remembered information. This may be a path to the information, lessons in history, knowledge, love, and survival given to you by thousands of your ancestors. The 111 poems have 60 pen and ink drawings to lead the reader on to the poem's stage for exploration and understanding, often with a humorous bite. In his poems Geezer Wedding, Buzzards, The Home That Isn't, Taxes April 15, and Bed Bugs, Clever cuts a poetic trail through timely issues faced by older Americans. These issues include marrying late in life, parenting parents, and struggling with information overload in a world changing with exponential speed. Buzzards Buzzards follow each of us Sensing our decay from birth hour... waiting For signs of our tiring, cynicism, quitting. Casting a smell that brings them bearing in on our homing lines While we look for a safe place to lay down Escaping the weariness, demands more than we can give As they settle their wings and stare, waiting to pick our bones Most disgusting of birds In anger I rise striking at the air Damn them! I am not ready yet Where is my strength to try again? Chasing them back to flight They circle a bit lower once again Lower than before.