Reflections of a Wandering Mind

Since I was very young, I have always enjoyed poetry. When I was five or six years old, my mom had a book of poetry that she would occasionally read to me. I especially remember a poem about various denominations of money having a conversation, all of them explaining in pompous tones why they were more important than the others, until all were looking disdainfully at the penny. The penny then quietly explained that while all their boasts were undoubtedly true, they certainly didn't go to church as often as he did. I thought that was funny then and I still do today.

I still have my 6th grade reading book, primarily because it contains some poems I wanted to keep: "Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening" ( Robert Frost); "Little Orphant Annie" (James Whitcomb Riley); and "The Glove and the Lion" (Leigh Hunt), among others. I hope that kids in school today get a chance to play in the poet's word games.

I have written verse for as long as I can remember, but I never saved anything. I would just write for the enjoyment of the moment, often on loose scraps of paper. Then, about eight or ten years ago, Joan convinced me to save some of these verses. I started a file and very haphazardly would throw a few of the things I wrote in it. Finally when I wrote "The Eagle and the Wolf" it was the first thing I ever felt was really worth keeping and sharing. So after that I was a little more conscientious about saving my poems. I hope these poems and stories touch a few emotional chords, or stimulate some thought. Thanks for reading them!

Eddie Wilcoxen

See a preview of Reflections of a Wandering Mind