For Rhyme Or Reason by K. D. Kennedy, Jr., 116 pages perfect bound. ISBN 978-0-9723794-2-7 $12.00 plus $2.50 P&H. My Book contains rhymes, non-rhyming poetry, essays, and short, short stories.  My attitude toward writing is that you are not a poet unless you are compelled to repeatedly give your best effort.

Often times each poet,
contenders in the ring,
must don their gloves and show it,
though it’s a private thing.

To order send check or money order to: K. D. Kennedy, Jr., 714 W. Johnson Street, Raleigh, NC 27603. Phone the author at 919-828-3726, fax the author at 919-828-2043, or  Email the author.

Books by this author:

Our Place in Time
2002

Waiting Out in the Yard
2006

For Rhyme or Reason
2012

 

Progenitors

2014


Nominated for the 2011 Push Cart Prize

About the Book
About the Author

About the book

This book contains rhymes, non-rhyming poetry, essays, and short, short stories.  the Author's attitude toward writing is that you are not a poet unless you are compelled to repeatedly give your best effort. 

Sample of the work...
 
Two Boys Climbing

The quest was not for words not said,
on rocky, trying trails ahead.
Any climb would serve just fine.

Wolves and winds would howl and moan.
Insect bites caused us to groan.
On our own, the trials are fine.

He pulled me up and flashed a glance.
I nodded back and grinned askance.
The day was cool, the journey fine.

Place and time were trivial.
Sharing the reach, convivial.
Finding a friend, finer than fine.

 Nurturing

“I DON'T WANT to care for anything that demands my attention every minute,” my Mother would say.  This time she meant the miniature Bonsai trees that my Dad had lovingly nurtured over five decades.  She had enjoyed watching his works-in-progress over the years.  And it kept him out of her kitchen.   But now, he just couldn’t do it anymore.  At Ninety-three, his memory had diminished to a point that he knew he couldn’t keep loving, and pruning daily, his marvelous revisions.
      “Kenneth, you should give them to that nice Japanese man who comes to see you on Saturdays,” she said.  “And to the young fellow in your Sunday school class who is so interested.  Let them take their pick and throw away the rest!”
       Mother loved us.  She cared about everyone, all things animate or otherwise, but she insisted that everyone be responsible for themselves and their possessions.  It seemed harsh at times. But she had the right to feel that way.  My dad knew it all too well.
 One Sunday when Dad’s church doors opened, the first members entering let out shrieks of surprise.  There, in every seat on every pew, sat a freshly watered, healthy bonsai plant.  When everyone showed up for the service, there was a big smile on every face.  They understood that these were truly gifts of love.
      Mother was not likely to hug us with hysteria, lavish us with sloppy love, nor flower us with foolishness.  Dad, on the other hand, hugged us, lavished us, and this day flowered everyone with his most prized adoration, other than Mother, his beloved Bonsai.
      They both loved us in their own way.  And love was all we would need.


About the Author

I have had a great life to this point.  I have some business success, a relatively unbesmirched reputation, some security, some work in my community Raleigh, and Eastern North Carolina.  I had great parents, Dorothy and K. D. Kennedy, to whom I dedicate this book.  I could not have been more fortunate in choosing a wife, Sara Lynn Riley Kennedy.  I have four (4)excellent children and five (5) scholarly and athletically outstanding grandchildren.  I want the best for everyone, try to do good works, and believe that I have a good heart.  But I have my problems with temper at times, as well as sometimes not understanding the thoughts and actions of others.  I am sorry, but I will try to do better in the future. And if this honesty is not good enough for you, go take a flying leap into my book, FOR RHYME OR REASON, and see if you understand my foibles somewhat better (as well as the shortcomings of others on planet Earth). 

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