Edwin Markham with book

a thinking eye
but jolly cheek
a furrowed brow
but kindly stance;
the hair of a hippie
and student & master—
the burden of life
and love of wife—but
something perpetually
unsettled within him;
button-up coat over
raw, naked soul—
a book in his hand
and ten in his pen

Edwin Markham portrait from Gates of Paradise

Terri Guillemets
unedited freewriting experiment, inspired by the “barbaric yawp” scene from Dead Poets Society

Edwin Markham profile

hair like roaming waves of the sea
eyes reflecting the light of heaven—
studious, compassionate, soulful—
pythagorean shiny nose
laugh lines loved into place
a beard that let the cat in
face aglow with manly health,
honesty and freedom

Edwin Markham portrait from The Man with the Hoe with Notes by the Author

Terri Guillemets
unedited freewriting experiment, inspired by the “barbaric yawp” scene from Dead Poets Society