Blog

  • |

    Moving & WIP Update

    ByR. William Parmenter Reading Time: 4 minutes

    I don’t have a poem or prose prepared for this week because I am focused on our upcoming move from Arizona to Michigan. The days have been spent sorting and packing and sorting and packing and — yeah. Moving to a new location is one of those things that I love and hate at the same time. On the one hand, it is exciting to leave a place I’ve never really connected with and go back to a place I love. On the other hand, it is so much work! Not to mention, leaving some family members and friends is also very hard.

  • Wind In The Pines

    ByR. William Parmenter Reading Time: 3 minutes

    This poem came to me as I listened to the wind in the pines. It is a sound I absolutely love next to that of waves. This is one of those poems that I wrote the initial idea down, but then refined it. Words were adjusted and line lengths changed for flow, and as I did that, I noticed something of a linear timeframe forming. So then I considered the first stanza and thought of a way to talk about human history or even a singular life.

  • More Mountains

    ByR. William Parmenter Reading Time: 1 minute

    After the clouds cleared one morning, I could see more of the mountains in the distance. This poem came to me as I thought, there are always more mountains. I started considering how we all have these mountains we’re climbing, all the ones we’ve already climbed, and all the things in between.

  • I Simply Write

    ByR. William Parmenter Reading Time: 2 minutes

    I simply write. I try to make sense of the words and the world. There’s usually a question or thought on the tip of my tongue; the hesitant pause — my finger raised, brow furrowed, mouth partially opened — waiting for my brain to stop talking long enough for me to get a word in edge wise.

  • Desert Rain

    ByR. William Parmenter Reading Time: 1 minute

    A little free form bit to capture what I saw, felt, and smelled the other day. Rain in the desert has a distinct smell, with mostly that of the earthy, peppery scent of the creosote bush. Something I will miss when we leave the desert.

  • Paper Ball

    ByR. William Parmenter Reading Time: 3 minutes

    This poem is about many things. Manic episodes and depression, self-esteem, confidence, and reworking failed dreams. It’s about trying and failing and trying again. It’s about finding yourself amongst the chaos. I found this poem again after I published my book, Between The Dark and The Light. I’m a little sad that it isn’t in there, but maybe it will end up in a second or special edition — or a completely different book! Recently, I looked at it again while considering what poems I wanted to share on here.

  • |

    Post-Consumer Byproducts

    ByR. William Parmenter Reading Time: 2 minutes

    My debut poetry book, Between The Dark and The Light, was published on December 10, 2024. It is wild to me that it has been out a couple of months already! My intention was to celebrate by sharing a poem from the book on the 10th. That day came and went as I was caught up in all the other things that life requires.

  • Missing The Rain

    ByR. William Parmenter Reading Time: 2 minutes

    I wrote this poem today after walking my dogs. It occurred to me how long it has been since we had rain here in the desert valley of Arizona — which has been about 170 days. Usually we would have had some by now and the wildflowers would start blanketing the ground in a burst of yellow, orange, and purple.