Welcome to WNIJ's Poetically Yours. Poetically Yours showcases poems by northern Illinois poets. Today's segment features poet Richard Holinger.
Holinger is a published author, including his books: Kangaroo Rabbits and Galvanized Fences, a collection of his newspaper columns, and North of Crivitz, a book of poetry focusing on the North Woods and upper Midwest. His work has received three Pushcart Prize nominations, and his essay published in Thread received a “Notable” mention in Best American Essays 2018. Holinger's works have appeared in several different journals.
He lives in the Fox River Valley area west of Chicago. Degrees include a Ph.D. in creative writing from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Today he shares his poem “Nature Walk.”
The burning bush leaves little doubt
of its power to kindle thoughts of God,
mouthpiece speaking to Moses who,
like any one of us, was left gawking
when spoken to by his father
in tongues of flame.
We strolled on by, not giving
much credence to its silent roar
delivering its message sent not
so much in holy writ as written
silently on each brittle mind
to burn there afterward
as we followed the long,
white arrow paving the way
for runners jogging cross-country
into woods and fields and grasses
where nothing and everything
would happen next,
searching for something worth the fire
we started out with, a dry leaf, twig
or pine needle to depend on much
as the grasshopper looks after each
hop for the next best place to land.
