DIRK DUNBAR - POEMS

Dirk Dunbar has served as a humanities professor for over 30 years. The recipient of multiple teaching awards and two grants for his work in science, religion, and nature, Dunbar has authored four books, two of which contain many poems. A former European pro basketball player, he married a German ballerina and they have three children and two grandchildren.  
Reviews of his books as well as further personal and professional information are available at https://dirkdunbar.com/ 

​Celebrate the Now

​Like pelicans sitting on dock polls
we feel the rhythm of mindfully
calming waves. The sun hugs
the horizon, shooting gold beams
across the water, highlighting
two dolphins playing near the end
of the pier. They nuzzle and gently
jump alongside each other. Only
a few feet from our feet, seagull
chicks scurry past, plucking
morsels from the sand. A crane
lands amidst cottontails swaying
in the dunes behind us, joining
the celebration. There is no
going back. Nature enchants all
her guests with a precious and
fleeting gift. Any foam filled
ocean will tell you, here and
now is all we ever experience.

​Steps to a Humane Age

By allowing the specter of history to follow natural paths
to newly discovered places inspired by wild dances in outdoor
civic centers, we could create nations without boundaries.
By hoarding guns, however, we fail to affirm life giving wombs
so kids increasingly wonder what’s the point? No wonder
we hear about suicide tweeting dis-eases when lawn care means
more than saving parks. Aware we are not the only ones, a simple
welcome sign shines along neighborhood trails winding directly
to the river of memory freely washing each of us with a brand
new lifestyle. Just by listening to spring forests filled with songs
and sounds of life yet to be named or cornered by ownership,
we can raise hope by following slowly moving clouds on peaceful
afternoons with our backs resting mindfully on Earth.
 

April

​Life breeds tree leaves
blue heaven magic meadow
brook blood moon touch
wind world balance inner
home cosmos.

​Imagine

​Masses of people jammed together in an unsafe space.
Do you know anyone there? If you think human nature
is at fault, what does that say about you? Do innocent
people, prior to being slayed, have rights more pressing
than those buying guns? Violence begets violence; those
who live by the sword die by the sword. Listen to your
sages and saviors, not racist spewing demagogues who
devalue women, talk about “shit hole” countries, put
personal gain over nature, education, the poor and other
torn and huddled masses. Mass shootings arise from a
bigoted, insane worldview. Imagine your child lying
in her blood at a bar, mall, concert, cinema, market,
studio, mosque, synagogue, church, or school. Imagine
love in place of hate. We are all created equal.