NOTE: To see the photos in the galleries full size, click on the first one and you have access to a slide show!
Episode 1: Sacred Space
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1032811/episodes/15046951-sacred-space
AT THE END OF 2023 we spent 2 months in India and some of these poems reflect my experience in the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Ganeshpuri where we participated in a retreat called Pilgrimage to the Heart and then stayed and offered service. Sacred space seems to exist in “powerful” physical locations, in reality we each carry own Sacred Space in our Hearts.
The Nobel Laureate poet Joseph Brodsky said :
Humanity should always be in touch with the Gods,
Poetry carries their messages,
A poem encases humanity.
TO SEE RELATED PHOTOS go to The Fire Ceremony web page
Episode 2: My Dolomites Adventure
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1032811/episodes/15691346-my-dolomites-adventure
After 3 days in Venice I take a bus up into the Dolomite Mountains to my starting point, Cortina. 6 days walking from town to town, across the most unusual and dramatic landscapes shaped both by glacial erosion and volcanic activity. As you listen to these poems enjoy my photos at thewalkingpoet.net My bucket list is shrinking and As one adventure ends, the next one is about to begin!
For photos see page “Europe July 2024”
Episode 3: Forgotten Texas
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1032811/episodes/15815003
In March 2024 I travelled to New Braunfels, Texas and spent days playing tennis and a night in Gruene Hall. A friendly bar and music venue. As usual with my camera in hand, I found people willing and open to share themselves. I discovered stories in my photos and my musings in an old note book and realized there was poetry hidden in there!
Episode 4: Optimism
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1032811/episodes/16782180
There is a Taoist parable of a farmer and his lost horse. It seems that a series of “misfortunes” occur, and each time his neighbors say isn’t that terrible . His response is “Maybe” or “It’s too soon to say”.
Since October last year, when my wife had a bad accident in London, and then with the result of the presidential elections and the first month of this presidency – I have had a hard time producing a podcast. However I have been saying to myself “be optimistic” “Its too soon to say”. “Be grateful for our life”.
The photos below relate to the second poem: SUNRISE TIME
Episode 5: Cherry Blossoms
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1032811/episodes/16985750
The last week in March in Washington DC, the cherry blossoms performed their annual wake up call, to remind us that nature is beautiful and apolitical. The Smithsonian museums gave us artists sharing their views of their worlds through their creativity – opening our minds, eyes and hearts to new ideas and ways to see and feel the world. The Smithsonian Zoo welcomed visitors to enjoy its animals and especially the happy Giant Pandas. These poems reflect my experience during those few days in DC.
Episode 6: From Florida to Japan
https://poetryfornow.buzzsprout.com/1032811/episodes/17141170
As I am about to leave to walk in Japan on the Kumano Kodo, I will leave Florida and the US and enter a different time zone in many ways. This will be a pilgrimage into another culture, into walking time when everything slows down and awareness of the moment takes hold. Meanwhile on my training walks I find refreshing moments. The final poems are from my book Step by Step about my Camino walk in 2016.
Episode 7: PILGRIM’S JOURNEY ON THE KUMANO KODO
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1032811/episodes/17604086
After 26 hours of travel and a nights rest my pilgrimage begins.
The Kumano Kodō is made up of multiple pilgrimage routes, and my first day is at the end of the Kiiji route, then I continue and in six days complete the Nakahechi route. Most of these poems start in the Japanese form of Waka or Tanka.
With a loose 5 line structure of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables . The music you hear is a duet of Japanese instruments, the Koto harp and the shakuhachi flute.
Episode 8: The Japanese Experience
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1032811/episodes/17752179
These poems give a small flavor of our 3 week journey through Japan, which followed my walk on the Kumano Kodo. In my photo book, Exploring Japan, the themes are Transportation, Food, Gardens, Shrines and Temples and unique cultural experiences like Sumo wrestling, Taiko drumming, a zen monk, making Mochi and Mulberry paper. These poems, some in the form of WAKAs, follow these themes.
Here is the link to my photo & poetry book on episodes 6 & 7
https://www.blurb.com/b/12498026-exploring-japan-the-country-and-the-culture
Episode 9: EPIC ICELAND
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1032811/episodes/17899074
In August 2025 my wife, daughter & Son-in-law drove and lived in an RV as we travelled around iceland for 10 days – now hear what we experienced! You can SEE some of what we saw on my website, and more completely in my book available as a pdf or printed at
https://www.blurb.com/b/12547137-iceland-travelling-the-ring-road
Episode 10: A FRESH LOOK
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1032811/episodes/18006885
I picked up my journals of 2017 and 2020 and I found some poems that really resonate with me today. Just a brief explanation I have been following a path of yoga called Siddha Yoga with our teacher Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, for many years. And on January 1st each year she gives us a message, “A SWEET SURPRISE”, something to think about for the year and that is how this episode will begin.
The poems of 2020 reflect a fresh view of the world that was sparked by the New Year’s message. 2017 was clearly a more challenging time, similar to 2025.