Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains. – Henry David Thoreau from Walden or, Life in the Woods
It has been at least twenty-five years and now it has been done. I have – finally – self-published my first book. This Sword is a book of poems that focus themselves around one Man, God, Being, New-Clear Reaction that is Jesus Christ. I studied poetry with some truly great poets at one of the premier writing universities at the time, so I wished to bring – as much as I could muster at least – a real literary artistry and craft to this book and each poem. I am sure there are failures, successes, real moments aspired to as well as opportunities missed, but through it all regardless we can now say – it is done. And what is done anyway? Both Wordsworth and Whitman really never stopped updating, adding, editing, and continuing their poetic projects which they began in their earlier days decades before. There really is no end to such things – particularly when eternalities are engaged.
It has possibly taken me as long to format this e-book as it did to write and arrange the poems themselves. Thankfully perseverance was the name of that game and now here we are. I think – God willing – that any future books of poems will be easier to put together – we shall see haha! Regardless poetry is a completely different beast when it comes to publishing – as I have come to realize first hand – particularly when e-publishing. This is because unlike prose – fiction or non-fiction – poetry requires great care and detail to specific line breaks, stanza constructions, and page layouts. Most e-publishing platforms available today simply DO NOT cater much at all to these idiosyncrasies of publishing poetry, and for legitimate reasons, for when looking on screens today we can adjust the zoom, the format, the layout, and each platform is different. From the iphone to android to ipad to kindle to various ebook providers the possibilities are vast, and there is simply no way to appease them all into one set and static format equal among all. And so the only real solution to this frustration is to “officially” publish the poetry as a PDF for download that is fixed to its format and structure. In this way the PDF format is shall we say “the official” version of this book and poems. I do intend – eventually – to make this book available on the various ebook platforms like Amazon, Kindle, Apple, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Google, etc. but there are more hurdles to overcome with each platform and frankly I am not sure if jumping through such hoops is the best use of my time particularly when it is a format that is in flux and change and not necessarily what the author intended for his work. I do however hope and intend – perhaps sooner than anything else – to be able to offer a physical print edition of this small book of poems. I think that is actually far easier to accomplish than more further ebook efforts. Of course if any developments on that front do occur I will let you all know here and how to obtain your own copy, etc. It is truly wild and exciting (and honestly a dream still for me maybe) that this has been accomplished. I am so extremely grateful and must give all praise and glory and recognition to Him for putting this all together – for my own efforts to carry on and keep going to the finish line wherever that may lie – Lord truly knows that without Him how could this (anything) get done!
So without further adieu – Here is the link – where the official ebook of my first book of poems – This Sword – can be obtained. This book is free to all and there is an option to donate and pay whatever amount a person wishes if they so choose. I learned years ago that my love of literature was not necessarily a financial endeavor and perhaps this makes the love even richer and more valuable. If you wish to donate to the efforts please feel free as it is greatly appreciated as a sharing and communion together, but this has never been about money for me. It is much more about love, expression, transmission, witness, and reaching out sharing with all. I truly truly hope you imbibe the book and all my writings and sharings and find enjoyment and value from such ventures. Please feel free to share your views, opinions, impressions, and points of view (good bad ugly ecstatic it is all welcome!) here on this blog or personally by reaching out to me directly. Oh and yes I am writing under a pen name – the esteemed and accomplished David Henry. I truly hope and wish enjoyment for you with all of this. Thank you again so much for all of your support and love over the years I truly cannot thank you enough. God bless you and all of yours now forevermore.