Introduction to Various Poems

Looking over my collection of Poems that I have generated over the last few years, I realized I had not really pushed them up online anywhere. My annual bill to keep my “greshamlancaster.com” web registration live came up and it got me thinking.

(Inner voice) "Do I really want to hassle with trying to get these pieces published by a traditional publisher or should I just push them up to the web and see if that generates any interest?"

I am going with the later and just making separate pages for each of my 124 (and counting) poems. Any publishers out there that happen across this and find it of interest, please let me know. Given the nature of reality, I truly doubt this will lead to anything,but you never know.

Just to put this in context, here is the story behind this recent several year spasm of poetry. I believe as reaction to the weirdness of the Covid era, or possibly some other motivation, my former Oakland neighbor and good friend John Campion sent a group of us, a provocation:


Short Poems–one per week for one year–nothing is expected

“This begins the project (I hope to send one haiku every week) and perhaps some kind of draft work towards a new book-length poem. Here goes…”
———————————————-
fox moves over ice
cracking lines to pull him in
guide the way acrossJohn Campion January 1, 2023

This led to a year of a group of us, ad hoc, contributing haiku and, later, short poems to an email list of 33 participants. This slowly grew into a three year exchange between some of us, still active. Maybe this was seen as SPAM by some on the arbitrary list, but I quite enjoyed getting random poems from various individuals and began contributing myself. It has been wonderful to hear all the various voices and styles of the other participants. A real inspiration.

I have never really identified as a poet, but I enjoy short form poetry for it’s ability to condense one’s mood and outlook in an abstract way that feels focusing and a dropping a burden of inner thoughts, all at once.

The Titles of some of the most recent Poems

I hope you enjoy looking through these. – SGL Sept. 9, 2025