This book contains original poetry by Roger Davis, complemented by a selection of Bahá'í prayers and writings, on the subject of those spiritual realities that are essential and imperishable. The poems describe a deeply personal pilgrimage toward our mutual fate: our inescapable confrontation with mortality and our connection to the eternal. We all must come to terms with the inevitable demise of our physical bodies and capacities; this challenge gained intensity and urgency for the poet when his brother Rick was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most lethal and aggressive form of brain cancer. Rick's year-long battle with this merciless disease only served to highlight the spirit of enthusiasm, laughter, kindness and love with which he lived his life-the spirit honored in this book as his imperishable light. These poems, written in accessible, easy-going verse, convey the poet's not-so-easy personal grief and deep longing for answers and hope. The Bahá'í writings are offered as possible answers and a clear expression of hope for anyone searching for a deeper understanding of the nature of the human soul and its continued reality after death. The 40 poems, sometimes metaphoric, sometimes anguished, other times joyful or humorous, are offered in the hope that others might find them helpful in their pilgrimage through grief to that which is essential and imperishable.
About the Author: Roger Davis has been teaching middle school science for 40 years, and is still going strong. His teaching career has included 11 years in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, 9 years in Brasília, Brazil, and now 17 years in seaside Gloucester, Massachusetts. He is married, with 3 grown sons. His poetry reflects his interests in travel, outdoor activities, science and philosophy. He is an active member of the Bahá'í Faith, and as such considers himself a lover of mankind and a world citizen, with an artist's responsibility to hone his craft with a spirit of devotion and service. His poetic style incorporates rhythm, rhyme, metaphor and imagery in an attempt to keep his voice and message accessible and appealing to a wide audience. Most of his poems come by "talking them out" while walking or driving alone in quiet. Talking the lines out helps craft the sound of the poems, and the rhythm and rhyme seem to help with remembering the lines until they can be written down.