500,000

Last week, Not Dark Yet surpassed 500,000 page-views. I am thankful for any visits made to these blog pages and would like to take this moment to highlight some of the more popular posts so far this year. 

My most popular essay this year is “A Place a Place of Gratitude.” In fact, since I posted it in January, it has continued to rank number one on the blog list of “Popular posts.” I don’t think any other post has remained in first place for that long (almost six months in the number one spot, and over 1200 page-views so far).

 
A re-post in February was spurred by our nation’s dealing with refugees. In the poem, “Emigres,” I attempt to offer some insight from the point-of-view of a refugee family.    

“Have We Become a Nation of Day Laborers?” takes a look into the state of work and employment, showing how “From college profs to the loading docks, we're seeing changes in the workplace.”  

“Pot Luck Sunday at the Weaker Brethren Community Church” takes a look at how one might approach those who hold stricter religious views.

“Opportunity’s Last Call” is a poem inspired by the final transmission of the Mars rover, “Opportunity.”

Helen McNicoll was a Canadian artist of the Impressionist movement. Her work inspired a series of haiku which I wrote for my Saturday Haiku feature. You can see that series listed with links to each haiku at “Canadian Artist Helen McNicoll.”

“Birmingham Bards & Brews” is a spoken word event that happens at the Birmingham Public Library on the first Friday night of each month (except December). I did a blog post about the event last March.

“Make a News Road” examines the possible influence of Spanish poet Antonio Machado in an episode of the new Star Trek series, Discovery.

So many of us were affected by the tragic fire that gutted the Notre Dame Cathedral. I composed a Maundy Thursday Prayer for the Notre Dame Cathedral in response to that event.

“Remembering Harper Lee” is a re-post in honor of the author’s birthday which looks at Nelle Lee as one who exemplified the classic hero’s journey.

“Why Pray?” takes a personal look at how liturgical prayer, as in the 1979 Prayer Book of the Episcopal Church, can shape one’s outlook for the better.

Thank you to all who stop to read some of what this blog has to offer. I have not even touched upon the recipes, music, and humor shared, so there is more to peruse when you have the time. Comments are welcome, and readership is always appreciated.

-

300,000

I posted the first blog entry for Not Dark Yet on New Year’s Eve, 2009. Five years later, I had received 100,000 page views on my blog. Following that milestone, it took just over two years to reach 200,000 page views on January 26, 2017. On Christmas Day, a little less than a year later, the blog achieved another 100,000 views to reach 300,000. For whatever reason, more people are visiting. 

To mark that 300,000 occasion, I am doing a brief review of select posts from the past year in which those last 100,000 views occurred. Each title is hyperlinked, so you can click on the title to see the actual blog post. (Also, if you look to the right-hand column of this site, you will see the top ten posts for the past month)

I. Haiku

I do an original haiku every Saturday. Here are three from last year:

“Riverside” – using a painting by Renoir as inspiration, I was able to capture a quiet summer afternoon sensation.  

“Mount Fuji” – probably the shortest haiku I have written, only six syllables in all. Yet is was one of my most viewed. What I particularly like about it is the visual effect. The poem itself resembles a reflection of the mountain it addresses. 

“Solar Eclipse” – commemoration of the total eclipse seen by much of the country last summer.  

II. Poetry

“Sufi Tears” was written as a lament in response to the terrorist bombing of a mosque in Egypt.

“The Why of Daffodils” is one of a series of journalist poems I wrote called “Bearing Witness to the Times.” It asks the question, “why are we comforted by such beauty in the presence of our sorrow?”  

“The Government We Get” speaks to the notion that fascism seems to be the default means of government that people tend to fall back to when times are uncertain.  

“Life is a Seamless Garment” was written around 2001, but I did not release it until this year. It is one of my longer poems that speaks to the varied wonders of existence.

III. Essay

“Grace in a Time of Hate” is a reflection on a visit to Grace Episcopal Church after the dismay of watching the white supremacist march in Charlottesville, VA last August. 

“The Windows of St. David’s Church” tells about four unusual church windows depicting the literary heritage of the Anglican Church. It also recalls my first remarkable encounter with St. Hilda of Whitby.

IV. Music

“Seven Story Mountain” – Every Monday on my blog, it’s “Monday Music,” featuring a different music video each week from an eclectic choice of musical styles. One of the most viewed was a new discovery for me of a new grass Americana group called “Railroad Earth.” For me, “Seven Story Mountain” brought forth echoes of Dante and Thomas Merton.  

-

Top Ten Posts for 2013

If you look on the right hand panel of this blog page, you will see a running tally of the top ten most viewed posts for the month. I thought it would be interesting to go back and see what the top ten posts for 2013 were.  I have my own favorites, but what I prefer does not necessarily reflect what others are most interested in.

Here are the top ten most frequently viewed posts for Not Dark Yet in 2013:

1. Writing Haiku  During the month of April, I always pay special attention to poetry since April in National Poetry Month. This past April I posted an entry with information about writing haiku, the Japanese poetic form with three lines and syllable allotment of five, seven, and five. I thought it would be a good way to get people involved in writing poetry who might not otherwise think of themselves as poets.  I was amazed that this one went ballistic, with well over 900 views.  Seeing that kind of interest in haiku motivated me to start a weekly feature on my blog, Saturday Haiku, in which I write a new haiku each week. 
2. Are Our Lawmakers Capable of Passing Humane Laws?  I had already posted several pieces on immigration in 2012. This brief commentary was one I wrote after reading about an encounter that Alabama’s Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III had with some Latinos on the issue of immigration reform. 
3. Where Love and Reason Dwell is a photographic essay I wrote after visiting the historic First Universalist Church of Camp Hill, Alabama. It was a wonderful visit to a place near my own hometown, although I had never encountered the grand old church until this year. 
4. Everybody Knows (Leonard Cohen) was one of the Monday Music features with a video of Leonard Cohen from a concert in London. “Everybody knows the deal is rotten/ Old Black Joe’s still pickin’ cotton/ For your ribbons and bows…” 
5. On the Waging of War is an essay presenting my anti-war stance. The essay was prompted by the increasing use of drones in military conflict. 
6. Wednesdays with Dorothy: Making the Transition from Group Home to Apartment is from a series I did about my late friend Dorothy Burdette who spent half her life in an institution  (Partlow State School) before finding a new life in the community. 
7. All Souls’ Day: A Time of Remembrance is a reflection on two friends who departed this life in 2013. 
8. By the Waters is from my Saturday Haiku series. With each haiku I post, I always include a photograph from nature. This one featured a beautiful photo by Scott Wright. A lot of Scott’s friends saw this one which bumped it up to the top ten list.  
9. An Evening with Garrison Keillor is my review of a very entertaining evening when Garrison Keillor came to Samford University with an event that was billed as “Garrison Keillor: A Brand New Retrospective.” 
10. Recipes My Daughter Likes: Falafel  I posted several vegetarian recipes this year that are among my daughter’s favorites. This one got the most hits of all the recipes and was number ten on the most viewed posts for 2013.  

-