Guest Pages by Kent Lewis
My friend Kent has agreed to share several pieces he’s written. They’re great! They’re grouped together in Coins and Koans. They can also be found separately in The Double Refuge and Crisis 22: Ukraine:
I’ve put “Starbuck’s Lament” in Crisis 22: Ukraine, at the end of my chapter on Russian and American exceptionalism. It’s one of the most powerful poems I’ve ever read — up there with Shelley’s “England in 1819” and Auden’s “The Shield of Achilles.” He’s my friend, so I’m biased, but judge for yourself! “Starbucks Lament” isn’t about a café worker, but about our reactions to the rich and powerful when they treat the world as if it were their personal golf course. Will they drive us spinning into the air, or putt us down the hole? Will we be their willing caddy? This golf metaphor is my own — Kent’s metaphors are closer to Melville’s Moby Dick.
I’ve put “The Binding of Abraham” in The Double Refuge, right after a page on how we might widen our definitions of God, Christ, loyalty & freedom.
Kent also contributed “Drink wine” to my page, Nishapur Wine (in The Double Refuge). Kent’s poem is half-way down the page.
“The Loneliness of the Kaiten Sushi” is in Coins and Koans.