I am always extremely grateful to have poems featured in the syndicated newspaper column, American Life in Poetry, which was started by my mentor and former teacher, Ted Kooser, and has now been taken over by poet Kwame Dawes. This time, the poem is “[Sometimes we wonder what unfailing means],” the first sonnet in a heroic crown titled “Simple Machines,” which is also the title poem of my eighth poetry collection. Because Simple Machines is a book comprised largely of sonnet sequences, I didn’t expect to have any of the poems taken for American Life in Poetry. So, it was quite a thrill to learn that “[Sometimes we wonder what unfailing means]” can stand on its own.

In any case, you can read the poem here.