Author Archives: Clise's Cornucopia

(Editor’s note: I wrote this in November of 2013 reflecting on a friend who’d passed in October of that year. He was a bright light to everyone in this world. He was gone too soon. He fought through more than any 100 people put togther. The last thing my beloved and nearly life -long friendContinue reading “Bathed in the Light”

By The Cat Called Bob I like the one guy who lives here. He lets me follow him around the house rubbing against his legs as we walk. The others don’t seem to like it at all. He scratches my ears. I like having my ears scratched. I like it better than rubbing my earsContinue reading “Getting My Ears Scratched”

(Editor’s note—I wrote this a while back. It’s based on a friend who has since gone on to the other side. The world is most definitely a lesser place without him.) By John Clise     The melancholy warrior poet soldiered on into the unknown. His season of rage was untold at that point. He’d beenContinue reading “The Melancholy Warrior Poet”

By John Clise   First, let’s get to the basics of one of my favorite places–Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.    According to the National Park Service, Mammoth Cave is the world’s longest known cave, with more than 400 miles of interconnected passages—so long that if the second and third longest caves in the world were joined together,Continue reading “Mammoth Caves–One of my favorite places”

By John Clise    Images of the underdog taking on the establishment, whether it’s Rocky as the undersized heavyweight, or the mysterious cowboy from High Plains Drifter, bring an adrenaline rush to most folks at least for a few minutes before they settle back into their everyday life of their head in the sand existence. Continue reading “A Season of Rage/The End of the Innocence”

By John Clise She sat alone drinking a cup of coffee in a corner booth of a diner watching the rain, thinking about her life. She’d been bought and sold more God damn times than she could remember. She was a fresh faced, just turned 18, hungry with two younger brothers, angel the first time.Continue reading “She Was Watching the Rain”

By John Clise Sometimes life gets to be like a traffic jam. Rushing as quickly as possible to get somewhere that we just won’t get there on time no matter what. We can see the destination but the road in front of us is clogged with other people’s wants, work obligations, strangers just blocking theContinue reading “A Drive in the Country”

By John Clise Bathed in the golden sunlight In sunflowers and daisies She did lay openly Monuments to war nearby Some set for decades Others freshly plowed Row after row of names Though she stares only at one And the child in her arms Overwhelming silence As the wind whips the flowers And the babyContinue reading “Une Saison en Enfer or L’ amore di una vita presa troppo presto”

(Editor’s note: This creative writing exercise may contain trigger words. No offense is intended) By John Clise A man lives his life like warm summer afternoon seeing everything with one eye open and the other shut. It makes people wonder what’s going on, not that they pay any attention to him unless he’s in aContinue reading “Living Life from the Window”

By John Clise You’re a light heavyweight in the battle of your life against a heavyweight bruiser. Your legs feel like lead. Your feet are like bricks. Your arms are like tree trunks. Your vision is blurry. You’re cut over and under your eye. Standing in between the ninth and tenth round you hear yourContinue reading “The Life of a Light Heavyweight”