Valhalla Lost

The seasons of a man's life are immutable, despite what the ads say about regaining youth through exotic exercise machines, clothes styles, fast cars, and magic hair potions. As there are many small victories day to day, there is also a sense of losing that creeps in and makes itself manifest in everyday life: the body ages, children grow up and leave home, the sense of adventure often declines amid the settling of routines, and a sense of one's mortality is painted more vividly as older friends and family members pass beyond the veil of this earthly life. But with a life of the spirit, the painting of mortality is not necessarily a trepidacious thing. The painting may take on new and even fantastic colors as new levels of meaning are revealed. In Valhalla Lost, the poet's second volume of poetry, the attempt is to paint the later seasons of life.