A Tribute To My Father's Present-Day Romantic Poetry

This section is primarily a tribute to my father's Canadian poetry. I will in one or more other sections, pay tribute to the history of the romantic movment from Spinoza to Rousseau to 18th and 19th century German Romanticism starting with Kant and moving through Herder, Goethe, Schelling, and others.

Following in this tradition, my father's poetry pays special attention to nature, positive memories of days gone past -- call it 'nostalgia' if you wish -- but with an appreciation of today's natural and human wonders just as much as yesterday's.

There is a special attention to detail relative to the 'wonders of nature' -- as well as 'the wonders of human creativity and invention' that have passed away into history largely forgotten, and not sufficiently recognized and/or appreciated.

How many of us could write a poem about a simple 'blade of grass', an 'old birch tree', 'forgotten railroad tracks and steam engine trains', a 'cast iron stove', 'a dog that climbed a tree' and other objects and events of this type? We've all heard the expression: Sometimes it is important to stop our running around, working seemingly endless hours to simply keep our heads above water and pay our bills, caught in the narcissistic urban rat race -- and stop to 'smell the roses'.

Well, my dad's romantic Canadian poetry gives us all a chance to take a few minutes to smell the roses vicariously in all its intended and extended romantic, natural meaning -- to appreciate the wonders of a blade of grass, an aging, old birch tree and tree swallows mating and raising their young to fly away free and repeat the cycle, the lure of the spider, a dog chasing a squirrel up a tree, important memories from days gone past like steam engine trains, outdated train tracks, cast iron stoves, and the like...

All of these ideas and these types of poems in my mind are reminicent of at least two different times in history: firstly, the philosophical movement of German and English Romanticism in the late 1700s and early 1800s; and secondly, the birth of Canadian Romanticism through the wildlife paintings of the famous 'Group of Seven'.

18th and 19th century romantic philosophy I will address in a different section. Other elements of Canadian romanticism -- past and present -- I may address here at a later time. But for now, I will simply focus on my dad's present day Canadian romantic poetry.

Last but certainly not least in the spectrum of 'Romantic Philosophy' is the phenomenon of love. This subject is nicely captured with a very personal touch in two of the poems found below, written to my mom: 'Anniversary Song' and 'My Valentine'. I hope you will enjoy these and all the other romantic poems my dad has shared with us here as much as I have -- and still continue to.

Take a little time to vicariously -- smell the roses.

dgb, nov. 30th, 2007, updated Dec. 27th, 2007, May 2nd, 2008.