Mark Nepo Journalist Profile

Articles

The Fifth Season

2 weeks ago | judithdcollinsconsulting.com | Mark Nepo |Judith Collins

Creativity in the Second Half of Life ISBN:9781250342423Publisher: St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's EssentialsPublication Date: 07/15/2025Format: Other My Rating: Currently Reading (ARC) non-fictionNow in his seventies, poet and philosopher Mark Nepo explores the rhythms of aging in the second half of life. As the years go by, the question for each of us becomes more and more real: What does it mean to age?
The Endless Agreement

Nov 4, 2024 | patheos.com | Mark Nepo

We think it all depends on us. But what ifthe trout allows itself to be caughtbecause this is its time? What if the enchanted part of the forkin the road breathes warmly on your neckbecause it needs the grounding of yoursteps? What if the dream you so passionatelycommit to dove from the Heavens intoyour mind as you slept, needing a potto grow in? What if the words of love are tired ofbeing trapped in your heart and so theypound from the inside until you letthem out?
After The Bomb

Oct 28, 2024 | patheos.com | Mark Nepo

After the bomb went off,after parts of the buildingfell about her, once everythingwas still, she lifted her brokenbody from the rubble, gaspingfor air. This is how it is with suddenexplosions. Like when your parentsbroke lamps and tables before leaving,and after parts of your home fell aboutyou, you stared through the brokenwindow, not sure where to go. This is how I dusted off the debrisof almost dying to cough my wayinto tomorrow.
Remnant

Oct 21, 2024 | patheos.com | Mark Nepo

I found my grandmother’s steamship ticketto this country from 1904 in the back of herdresser. And when my father died, there wasa heavy pair of pliers in his old box of toolsin the basement. These are remembrances ofwhat is needed to leave and what is neededto stay. Just what will you find of mine andwhat will it remind you of? I leave these oddvoicings along the way with no intent otherthan to affirm that life is worth living andthat all we have is now and each other.
The Party Of Your Life

Oct 14, 2024 | patheos.com | Mark Nepo

Always invite Death to your tablebut never let him choose the meal. Give him plenty of wine. He only pretends to keep secrets. Be sure to listen past the drama. He will try to make it all about you. But once it gets late and he stopsspinning tales, once everyone leaves,he will grow quiet as a lake under thestars. Look him in the eye then andhe will mirror the Mysteries of Life. Be kind to him for he is lonely, too,but never let him stay over. Keephim warm but call him a cab.
The Secret Of Repair

Oct 7, 2024 | patheos.com | Mark Nepo

It can’t be helped. Patterns coverthe mind, like moss that blanketsthe floor of the forest. The way things were or the waywe’d like them to be overlaywhat it means to be alive. And so, we have to put our facein the sun and rake our way throughwhat keeps covering our soul: be itsomeone else’s dream for us orour fear of never being enough. The secret of repair that monksand tired warriors knew is thatthe sigh that lets the bird flyfrom our heart also lets thepeace of centuries in.
As The Day Begins

Sep 30, 2024 | patheos.com | Mark Nepo

When you slowly lift your cup, feel the weight of all you’ve gathered from your time on Earth, bring it to your lip and feel the milk you were given as a child, feel the first time you cupped water from a stream, feel the love you drank from that healed you of all that was tangled in your story, feel the warmth you fed your mother or father when they were dying, even feel the snow your dog licks in the beginning of spring, and know that the smallest sip matters, as you place the cup, now made...
This Belongs To Everyone

Sep 23, 2024 | patheos.com | Mark Nepo

Yearning to be, we enter a lifelong process. We follow a thread of connection that reveals itself as a necessary art of being. The unexpected utterance that comes from honest living then helps us lift the veils we encounter. And so, the life of expression helps us keep the world together. This is the purpose of our will, to join the one conversation we all are born to. By seeing one thing in another, we release the Divine Nature in all things and find metaphors to live by.
Open The Riddle

Sep 16, 2024 | patheos.com | Mark Nepo

No matter what anyone tellsyou, opinions are shields andquestions are windows. And difficulty is there to haveus break the crust of bread inhalf, not hide it. And in the bright space openedby lightning, we can ask eachother, “What’s it like to be here? What’s it like to be you?”A Question to Walk With: In conversation with a friend or trusted loved one, inquiry in all sincerity, asking each other, “What’s it like to be you?”This excerpt is from my book of poems in progress, Tales of the Ferryman.
A Poet’s Vow | Mark Nepo

Sep 9, 2024 | patheos.com | Mark Nepo

Like a photographer of the invisible,I have spent my life trying to developimages in the dark room of my heart. Trying to give a face to the wind, togive a name to the light, to hold theirrepressible feel of Oneness until itreveals its intricate web of connection. Of course, this is impossible. But thishas been my joy: to squeeze water outof clouds to offer you a cup.