Discovering What to Say

This collection of 39 poems, written over five years, chronicles the profound passages of later life-love deepened by loss, the solace found in nature, and the weight of memory. Written as the author’s spouse, Tevis, lives with Alzheimer’s in care, these verses don’t dwell on illness but instead reveal how a life fully lived continues to discover what matters most.

The collection unfolds in four movements: intimate encounters with the natural world that offer both refuge and revelation; tributes to literary guides like Linda Gregg, Rilke, and Merwin; explorations of childhood’s complex legacy; and meditations on sacred places-from the Lincoln statue at Chesterwood to quiet moments in Yale Divinity School Chapel.

Written from the vantage point of a septuagenarian, these poems grapple with essential questions: After a lifetime of experience, what deserves to be spoken? What can we offer to those we love, to ourselves, to strangers who might find meaning in our words? The title poem serves as both question and answer, suggesting that discovery itself-the ongoing revelation of what needs saying-is perhaps life’s most enduring gift.

This is poetry born from the understanding that even in life’s final chapters, especially then, we continue to uncover truths worth sharing. Each poem serves as a clue to how we might live and speak with depth when time becomes precious and every word must count.