Books By Jon Michael
From Behind The Walls
Walls are communication barriers we build in relationships when we fail to be candid. Oh, the reasons for lack of candor are myriad and sometimes we rationalize as noble. We don’t want to offend a dear friend or family member so we intentionally spare them our true opinion. Or perhaps we have seen their mate in a compromising scenario and choose not to tell them for fear the emotional strain may be too damaging. You fill in the details of the particular scenario where you have chosen not to hurt a friend’s feelings so you omit details or tell a little white lie to spare them emotional pain. You have just begun to lay the first blocks of a communications and trust wall. Don’t do it! Tell them the facts and your opinions up front and avoid the walls to communications with your friends and family that will eventually render the relationship useless. The little white lies told to spare their feelings end up rendering your credibility a big zero and the relationship is doomed. Candor is the building block of a long and fruitful relationship.
Memories, A Lifetime Of Whispers
A volume of poetry that spans many eras and does justice to all of them. Memories, they enter into our daily lives, wispy images of our past life. They are our recollections of the irretrievable events of yesterdays, yester years, playing in rewind mode from deep within our psyches stirring our emotions. From early childhood through the decades Jon Michael's memories stir recollections of joyous times and no so joyous events as they dance across his heart and onto the page.
In The Hush Of Dim Light
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Open expression is guided by desire to share. Within us we have created vignettes of life’s experiences, our individual unique events. Some were rewarding joyful events while others were perhaps frightening or even traumatic. All are locked within our bank of emotions the greater the difference between what we expected and what actually happened the greater the emotional impact, cognitive dissonance. Some are/were significant enough to lead us to create walls to hide them so that we can emotionally contend and move forward even though they remain/remained emotionally unresolved. I’ve made poems of mine as a way to share decades of them and now to air them.
Essence Or Esoteric
There are as many ways to tell a story as there are people to tell them. Some of us work diligently to wring out the pure essence of a story with a minimum of verbiage and others write detailed tomes to ensure they are not relating in a manner that might be considered esoteric. Is one method an art form and the other analytical? Poetry attempts to tell a story that reveals the essence and permits the reader to add details that fit their experience base. Is that esoteric, you be the judge. Or there is the perspective that poets are lazy and another that, “the poet reads his crooked rhyme Holy, holy is his sacrament”( Paul Simon –‘ Bleaker Street’. ) Perhaps we poets fit better into the category of Riddlers, although it is not as important to define who or what we are as it is to read our work and decide for yourself.
Remembrances, Reality, Dreams
Recalling what has been is a platter of joy and melancholy that lends perspective to today and molds our hopes and dreams for tomorrow. Yesterday is gone and we only exist in the moments of today. Tomorrow we can only pray for and hope we will be granted by grace.
Insights Of A Walking Man: Heart Of An Itinerant Sojourner
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trace the experiences and relive emotions from the past and bask in the memories of yesterday as I contemplate this day and my tomorrows. One step at a time I run the riddle of life through my thoughts as the worst and best vie for prominence. For the lucky among us the best win out and we smile as we reflect. In the uncharted waters of life’s journey love is a mysterious voyage that unites two hearts in a magical spiritual ceremony.My walking affords time alone to immerse myself in those times when peace and joy were served on my pallet daily. I rejoice give thanks and savor their emotional pemmican richness, one step at a time it is one of the luxuries of a walking man.
Poet's Designs On Parchment Moons
"Poet's Designs on Parchment Moons" is the latest manifestation of two poet's collaborative creative/writing efforts. The result has produced rich modern poetry with thematic diversity from romance to philosophical interpretations. This is poetry from the twenty-first century's renaissance of the art form.
Counting The Ways
Love is ageless, timeless and eternal. "Counting The Ways," is a volume of coauthored love poetry written by soulmates and spouses who celebrate the gift of love everyday. Read and enjoy this beautiful collection of love expressed in words and be encouraged to know that love will find you, even if it finds you later than you might have wished for.
Ancient Rovers
When two ancient rovers meet and their souls connect, the result is an honest and lasting love. Jon Michael Willey and Susan Willey (La Belle Rouge) came from similar and different backgrounds and distant locations Their faith has always been a uniting force for them. The depths of the love they have to give and the passion they share have forged them into one soul. This collection contains poetic tokens of their very real journey of pain and love. A heart touching collection of poems written by two soul mates to each other. A chronicle of a long, arduous journey from confusion and pain to a life of unity, love and happiness. Read these poems and know that honest, enduring love still exists in the Earth, even if it arrives late.
Forever Love
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Some of the most beautiful and classic poetry ever penned has been love poetry. Within these pages you will find true love poetry written from the very cores of soul mates. Poetry to inspire you to love more personally and passionately. Take some time to enter a romantic, sensual world of poetic delights. When reading "Forever Love," your heart will be touched and enriched with the beautiful expression of real, devoted and lasting love. Over two hundred pages of love poetry.