The pieces in my first collection of poetry run from shared moments of tenderness in the backyard to silly moments of imagination and sincere meditations on living and dying.

The cover is letter-pressed by Kseniya Thomas at Thomas Printers in Ogden and the text is printed at a local press. I hand-bind each book.

In the spirit of art as gift propounded by Lewis Hyde, copies of The Purpose of a Pebble are free upon request, with one catch: that you share something with me or with anybody else. Something you’ve made or something you do. A song, a poem, a picture, a dance, a woven basket or a dirty limerick. Whatever it is, give it. Give it knowingly and willingly and give it freely.

Requests can be sent to royalaxation[at]pm[dot]me.

EXCERPT:

ALL I KNOW HAVE LOST

with Nalini Nadkarni

All I know

have lost—misplaced

somewhere in the sea

or pasture

of the living dead

Standing there they disperse

their fruits

in altered landscapes

isolated

lonely

a tree in the desert

the last body standing

before the fall

the drop

the timber of ourselves

and others

inevitable.