Paul Donovan, member of NCWN-West for many years, passed away.

Paul Donovan, poet, from Murphy, NC,  published an autobiographical book of poetry, Ramblings of an Idiot, and is published in journals and anthologies including Lights in the Mountains. He  spent his time since becoming aware of the healing art of Reiki, writing poetry and essays from a more

spiritual prospective. Paul was the host of Fireside Friday, a monthly reading sponsored by the Curiosity Book store at the Shoppes of Murphy. Some years before, as NCWN-West Rep for Cherokee County, he held a reading each month at Shoebooties restaurant.

Paul also initiated the first Netwest anthology, Lights in the Mountains, with his ideas for a poetry anthology by local poets. For many years he conducted the annual essay and poetry contest for high school students of Cherokee County. He was well liked and it seemed easy for Paul to collect funds from local businesses in Murphy to award cash prizes to the student winners.The winners of the contests and their parents were guests for a dinner at Shoebooties each spring.

From the early days of Netwest, Paul was active and a loyal member. In more recent years, his writing turned to personal essays about his childhood and growing up in Pennsylvania. He enrolled in a class on memoir at Tri-County Community College and his classmates enjoyed his stories.

If you knew Paul and would like to add to this post, just leave a comment. If you don't have a gmail account, you can easily  publish as anonymous. Write your name in your comment or leave it anonymous.

We will miss Paul. Condolences to his lovely wife, Ann.

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Paul Donovan, Ramblings of an Idiot                        Main Street Rag, 1999

Eroding Conversation

I feel the inner confusion

            Much deeper than what

I’ve ever felt before

            Control is just a word

until you lose it

            It’s like the babbling brook

that slowly erodes the

            unmovable force

that once was me

            the rains come

the brook gets higher,

the erosion continues

            perhaps there is peace,

if I should decide to go with

the flow.

            That would be nice, but

for some ungodly reason

I can’t

            I just can’t

Shattered Mirror

Sometimes,

            I feel as though I am a mirror

others look into and take out what is

best in me

            leaving the rest behind,

the shattered unwanted pieces that

are me too.

MISTY SHADOWS

Morning mist

clinging to my window,

like a salamander

to the wall

of a swimming pool

sensing his demise.

Peering through the dense fog,

seeing only dark shadows,

trying to make sense

of a fuliginous world,

            I realize,

my tears are adding

to the darkness.

            I may never

again see the light of day,

            as it once was.