Mirror Poems

by Steven L. Griffing

Overview

The poems contained in this book were composed, primarily, in 1986 and 1987 when I was living in Columbus, Ohio and Los Angeles, California. In June of 1986, I moved from Columbus to Los Angeles, and embarked on one of the most profound writing experiences of my life.

I worked as a security guard in Los Angles from June of 1986 until October of 1991. My work had some influence on my poems from this time, but the main influences were the people and culture of southern California, the climate and geography of southern California, previous and present life experiences that I was having, an understanding of God and a search for the meaning in life, an interest in women, and a love for nature, which I still maintain today.

I was fairly low income, and surviving, almost, entirely on my own. Previously, and at about the same time (through the end of 1986), I was finishing off some major parts of my book on the golden section. Concurrently, and years later, I was writing up my essays on philosophy and life, which I did not finish until after I had returned to Columbus, Ohio, at the end of 1991.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780759633919
Publisher:	AuthorHouse
Publication date:	08/13/2001
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	116
File size:	363 KB

About the Author

I am a Caucasian male of age forty-four. I am single and have no children. My surviving parent is my mother, Penelope Scott Griffing. I was born in Canberra, Australia, A.C.T., however, since both of my parents were American citizens when I was born, I was born as an American citizen. My family moved to Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A. when I was seven years old, so I have remained an American citizen all of my life.

I have been working for the Columbus Public School District since February of 1998. In October of 2000, I started work as a full time tutor for Specific Learning Disabled students at a local Columbus Public Schools' high school.

I attended Oberlin College from 1974 to 1979. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in mathematics. I attended California State University at Los Angeles in California from 1981 to 1983, where I received my first state teacher’s credential in mathematics.

I was a member of the 3HO (Happy, Healthy, Holy) group from 1979 to 1983. 3HO was the branch of the Indian Sikh religion, established here in the United States by Yogi Bhajan in the 1960’s.

My hobbies include reading books and magazines, going for walks, talking with friends, watching certain television shows and movies, and plants and gardening. My current memberships include The Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club.

My other writings include The Golden Section: An Ancient Egyptian and Grecian Proportion, Mirror Paintings and Early Starts, and Essays on Philosophy and Physics, although no material from these works has been published, as yet.

Some philosophical statements might include the following. God is beautiful. God is bright. And, God is big. Everyone is beautiful. Everyone is bright. And, everyone can speak. All of Creation is a miracle. All of life is magic. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

God is in me, and I am in God. The universe is in me, and I am in the universe. Food, water, and air are in me, and I am in food, water, and air. I eat, I drink, I breathe, I live. The universe eats, the universe drinks, the universe breathes, the universe lives. On earth, we have the four elements of earth, wind, fire, and water.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	v
Chapter 1	01-06/1986
1.	Mirror, Mirror	3
2.	Big Fish	4
3.	Sitting on a Mound of Dirt	5
4.	What Will It Take?	6
5.	The Plant	7
Chapter 2	07-12/1986
6.	Winter Song, Winter Dance	11
7.	We Will Build a Sacred Manger	12
8.	Stand by Me	13
9.	Beautiful Bird	14
10.	Oh, Beautiful Bird	15
11.	Your Beautiful Eyes	17
12.	Incessant Love	19
13.	Do Another Dance for Me	21
14.	She's Shady, Silent, and Gray	22
15.	Look at Me, Now	23
16.	Nightfall	25
17.	Laughter in His Eyes	26
18.	Be a Painter of My Dreams	27
19.	Our Spiritual Sky	28
20.	The Little Elf	29
21.	In the Dark Part of Our Lives	30
22.	He Looks at You	32
23.	You are My Truest Love	33
24.	One Soldier after Another	35
25.	I Have a Black Heart	39
26.	What Totem Pole, or Obelisk is This?	41
27.	I Fly; I Cry; I Die Away	43
28.	Little Bluebells on a Stem, I	45
29.	It's a Little Orange Ball	46
30.	I Send the Counselor Renovating	48
31.	Little Bluebells on a Stem, II	51
32.	The Plaintiff Called a Little Bit Earlier	53
33.	When the Few of Us Shall Lament in Peace	55
Chapter 3	1987
34.	I Have a Hard Life	61
35.	Enclosed, Herein, These Withered Walls	62
36.	Racing Cars	65
37.	Inquiring Minds	66
38.	Forsake Thee, and Forsooth	67
39.	The Light of Lights	68
40.	But, Once the Wind has Blown	70
41.	Believe in Me, Obsolescence	78
42.	At the Quiet End of Time	81
43.	Boundless Seas, and Boundless Clowns	86
44.	Unbridled Passion	87
45.	Around and Around the Wheel Goes	90
46.	I Stand before God	93
47.	The Wind Whispers through the Tulips	96
48.	The Dark is Devastating	97
Chapter 4	1988, 1990, & 1996
49.	The Wolf	103
50.	I Live in a Broken-down Palace	105
51.	The Atomic Sun	108
	Bibliography	109