Author: Will Pennington
The Melody of Your Soul IV
Hosannas Rose Into the Night Continue reading The Melody of Your Soul IV
The Melody of Your Soul III
No Interval Could Unpair Us Continue reading The Melody of Your Soul III
The Melody of Your Soul II
Each Movement Measured Note by Note Continue reading The Melody of Your Soul II
The Melody of Your Soul I

Of Love and Moonsweat V
Our dance had a close but never an end, Continue reading Of Love and Moonsweat V

On Love and Moonsweat IV
The first night of our dance, consumed with desire, Continue reading On Love and Moonsweat IV

Of Love and Moonsweat III
The thrill of our touch, our first “sort-of” kiss, Continue reading Of Love and Moonsweat III

Of Love and Moonsweat II
The magical night of our meeting… Continue reading Of Love and Moonsweat II

Of Love and Moonsweat I

Play Me
In all the nights you dance with me… Continue reading Play Me

On Writing & Killing
Deleting words I’ve written is heart-wrenching. Continue reading On Writing & Killing

Sunrise Dreams
Photo taken in 2002 while I was deployed to Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, with Patrol Squadron Four. Continue reading Sunrise Dreams

Canvas Dreams
Sweet dreams, Campers 🙂 Continue reading Canvas Dreams

Apollo 8
Bright orb of night sky Drawing mind of man from birth Handmaid of our dreams Apollo 8 returned to Earth on this date in 1968. Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders were the first humans to view Earth in her entirety from space, and see the dark side of the moon. They and the command module were recovered in the Pacific Ocean near … Continue reading Apollo 8

Agape
Bearing gift of love Rising spirits’ lofty dream Dove ascends with sun Continue reading Agape
Haiku – Merry Christmas
Unto you this day Angels we have heard on high Tidings of great joy Merry Christmas, Writers ❤ Continue reading Haiku – Merry Christmas

On Love and Self
There are stages of love as well as grief. I suspect more people know the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Few people understand that love has stages as well: infatuation, passion, routine (or restless), partnership, companionship. If grief comes about through loss of loved one, where does love come in? Love comes with loss of self, meaning love causes self to become … Continue reading On Love and Self

A’rest At Sea
Nighttime. Lights out. Darkened ship. Sitting on a bollard in the catwalk. Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Miles below, ships of exploration and discovery, of war and peace, ships of commerce and pleasure, luxury and poverty, abandoned to the deep by the souls that manned them, destroyed by wind and wave and battle. Men and women, just like me, a’rest at sea. From tools of … Continue reading A’rest At Sea

Winter Thoughts
Sipping strong hot coffee while peering through the window; Scraggly hair and sleep filled eyes; Dreams still fading in the fog. Leafless trees hibernate storing energy for Spring; Dormant grass hangs on to green; Bird feeders full of diners Lack of cover lets me see the pruning that’s still needed; Clipping off the life impeding; Trim the wood that won’t bear fruit. Continue reading Winter Thoughts
A Sailor’s Favorite Bar
The Sailor has a favorite bar, in every port of call, A favorite girl too, slender, stout, or tall; I’m no exception to the rule, immemorial in its time, Not so very particular, though her beauty be sublime; My favorite port of call, my favorite among the dozens, Rota Spain and sweet Susanna, and all her pretty cousins; Black hair my green-eyed beauty, and tiny … Continue reading A Sailor’s Favorite Bar

Thank The Living Souls
And lost souls, too We mustn’t forget them Sun marches across the sky Leaves behind another day Poppies waving gently In red dotted field Poppy red, dead red Black soil, sweet soil The wagon rolls on Boots reversed in stirrups Taps and gun salute Widow hugs the flag Somewhere, sometime, Someone remembers them The silver drop cleanses Refreshes them to mind Memory returns an image … Continue reading Thank The Living Souls
Who Teaches the Eagle to Fly?
White Black Right Wrong Open Closed No shades No middle No question Authority Teacher Godhead Worship Easy target Unformed Uninformed Malleable Acolyte Foot soldier Abuse of trust Position Agenda Tyranny Infiltrate Calculate Indoctrinate Subjugate Annihilate Who teaches the eagle to fly? Continue reading Who Teaches the Eagle to Fly?

Where Does the Eagle Stand?
Bit by bit Clipped, ripped, lopped One limb, Then another And another And another. Ten branches To prune is to shape New growth Twenty-seven leaves X marks the spot Old Scratch Insinuating Subverting Bending willows Against the wind Opposites repel Hammer forms Sickle cuts Devil’s tongue Slick salesman Sells lemons Buys souls Slick illusion Grand delusion Where does the Eagle stand? Continue reading Where Does the Eagle Stand?

Live Your Life Like A Leaf
It’s that time of year! Originally posted July 6th, 2014 A leaf is a thing, That brings joy to my heart, Vibrant green, With points like a star, She hangs from the limb, waving at me, O, pretty leaf, what do you see? So live your life like a leaf, Just hangin’ around, And when your time comes, Just leap for the ground, A flying … Continue reading Live Your Life Like A Leaf
I Flew From You Last Night
First posted in October 2014. I flew from you last night, Reluctant, bound to her despite The dimming of the light That lies, and die vows of troth and love. Joy hastened sweep of hand, Relentless, bound to her demand And damning of the band That lies, and die vows of troth and love. Miles increase my desire, Reliant, bound to her cold ire … Continue reading I Flew From You Last Night
Progress
Deerhide moccasins (Hobnailed boots tread native path) Slip quietly away Continue reading Progress
Calm in Tempest
Washington morning Marble dreams in cloudless sky Calm before the storm Continue reading Calm in Tempest

Forest Magic
One day while in Maine I went for a hike on a sunny September day. I had often driven by the head of the trail but always had some other plan. But this day my goal was to trek to the end of the trail that captured my heart. Called Little Moose Pond, the trail wound on and I soon found my breath coming hard. … Continue reading Forest Magic

Susanna
After we parted Having said our goodbyes With breaking heart And taste of metal In my mouth I walked Unaware of everything but you Through the afternoon Into evening Nighttime breeze cool On my wet face Never noticing The sun had set When I looked up and Through the blur There you were The first one I saw The first one I loved My Cassiopeia … Continue reading Susanna
Primeval
No trace left behind As footworn path slips away Forest echoes past Continue reading Primeval
Mental
Lonely and alone You are seeking to atone For sin not yet borne Continue reading Mental
Frames
Black or white or blue Observed without reference Unframed, unafraid Continue reading Frames

Peace
Pond grass bends in breeze, Contentment rippling water, Minnows nip my toes Web image from pexels.com Continue reading Peace
Serenity
177 Over 88
Blackest before dawn Off the cuff, tally the score Dead men tell no tales Continue reading 177 Over 88
Moms, All of Them
Happy Mother’s Day to my mom, Margery Lucille Gillard, and to all the moms– neighborhood, church, school, little league, Air Force–who raised me. I am a little piece of each of you. Continue reading Moms, All of Them
Olongapo
Draft opening of chapter one of my novel, Olongapo. Black and White On the other side of the brown river the gray town trembles in a dull watercolor of shimmering heat waves. He’s crossed this bridge dozens of times and though the view never changes, it feels like he’s seeing it for the first time. Smog, dirt, and dust mix in a loose conglomeration … Continue reading Olongapo

Tell Me
Touch me Touch me Thrill my soul Thrill my soul Sing a song upon my tongue Whisper words into my lungs Fill my longing heart with the romance of your dreams Sing the words you yearn to share Sing the words and take me to the place you cry your tears. Give me Give me Hear my plea Hear my plea Hum my song upon … Continue reading Tell Me
Huis Ter Heide
My family invaded Holland in June, 1964. I have heard that The Beatles invaded America that year, too, but I had no idea who they were and probably would not have cared had I known. At four years old, I cared only for the ice cream freezer in the lobby of the old hotel we took rooms in, the cheese-man and his horse, the walk-in … Continue reading Huis Ter Heide

Patience
The truest test of patience is waiting for the pizza to arrive… (it’s here 🙂 ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ Continue reading Patience

Lamao Limay – Unfinished
(The 2nd and 3rd lines of each stanza are read rapidly.) Smiles are bright on brown faces I have known, eyes crinkled against the sun; Home is a shack with thatch for a roof and a barrel that caches the rain as it runs; An old woman sifts rice in the shade of acacia as her husband and sons fish from a boat not far … Continue reading Lamao Limay – Unfinished

Aaaaaargghhhh, Matey. Write Tight or I’ll Keelhaul Ye.
Even the Navy knows good grammar rules. I pulled this from the Navy Correspondence Manual at work. Continue reading Aaaaaargghhhh, Matey. Write Tight or I’ll Keelhaul Ye.

O, You Winsome Devil You
O, you winsome devil, you Grinning face turned skyward Round about your flaming head Laughing rays around you rise Seeding smiles in your eyes I cannot escape your sight Tho heaved my girth across the sky Your taunting likeness follows Aboil with rage and callow Berating heat upon your face You laugh and turn with me In coy defiance of my dread In darkness is … Continue reading O, You Winsome Devil You

Susanna XII, A Prose Poem
I wonder why, after all this time has passed, I still find the need to write of you. Your voice has faded and your face has dimmed into an outline, but when I concentrate, I see you clearly though for less than the blink of an eye. Not long after we parted and I returned to my own land, I walked past an orange grove … Continue reading Susanna XII, A Prose Poem

Honey
Pressed against glass, face down, born again in the cloud. Another memory retained for…what? “Marianne loves Bobby. 12th Grade. 17 Years old.” That lasted nine months before ending in bruises, abortion, and divorce. Yet, the photos remain, reminders of erstwhile lovers and friends, a past suffused in shade. Sadness the emotion as album pages flutter by, the memories that began in happiness later viewed from … Continue reading Honey

The Telescope
I peered through a telescope, to infinity it seemed, but nothing behind the eye to see, no focusing that way; Day by day I peered, each day the distance shrank, but now behind the eye, a lengthening distance grew; A length of twine unwound, stretched to furthest end, I began to roll it up, seeking the distant end. I turned the telescope, to look behind … Continue reading The Telescope

Hide and Seek, A Poem by Will
I look for you in the white feather that floats from nowhere, the light footfalls that pause when I pause, the whisper over my shoulder while I read; I read your message in the flash across the night sky and breathe your orange blossom fragrance when the nearest orange blossoms are miles away; You hover in shadow, your face like the cover of The Beatles, … Continue reading Hide and Seek, A Poem by Will

No Holds Barred; Poetry by Will
I don’t have the pain of some I know, though Blood flows rather freely from my wounds; Piercing the blister releases the fluid inside as Pressure drains away and brings blessed Relief; no, I tread that rocky, winding path Atop the jagged, knife-edged mountain, the Path that shows me either side at once– Arid on one hand, thick lush vegetation on the Other; occasionally, I … Continue reading No Holds Barred; Poetry by Will

The Filing Cabinet. And a Poem
What began in fellowship of open arms, broad smiles and welcoming words soon fell into routine. The wonder of the inchworm’s humped-back crawl faded as attention drifted elsewhere. Like a prairie dog village, heads sank into oblivious existence as curiosity waned. \ I could not describe the Bavarian village, framed by towering Alpine mountains and last seen as a child, well-enough so you’d know it … Continue reading The Filing Cabinet. And a Poem