Synkroniciti is excited to welcome poet David Holper. “Wild” features two of his perceptive nature poems. The first, “Connecting the Dots,” reminds us of a children’s activity: the connect-the-dots pages in activity books, and posits that we could use similar skills to notice and acknowledge the connections between human behavior and climate change, a “message” that “is often buried in the louder message that everything is just fine, folks.” Armed with deft clarity and intelligence, David points out several warning signs that humanity continues to ignore in pursuit of profit and ignorance. “Hiking to Hyperion” relates an experience visiting the tallest tree on the planet. At first David finds himself lost but allowing “the forest (to) draw me over one last fallen tree,” he is faced with the giant, which he can’t fully perceive from the ground. It’s a magical, holy moment filled with awe before he goes home, “climb(ing) into the self that so easily forgets such vastly important things.” David has a profound sense of wonder and a sage wisdom that leads us to a deeper sense of reverence and awareness. He questions our “modern” priorities and our failure to safeguard life.
Order your copy of “Wild” to read David’s intelligent and awe-filled poems: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
David Holper has done a little bit of everything: taxi driver, fisherman, dishwasher, bus driver, soldier, house painter, bike mechanic, bike courier, and teacher. He has published a number of stories and poems, including two collections of poetry, The Bridge (Sequoia Song Publications) and 64 Questions (March Street Press). His poems have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies, and he has recently won several poetry competitions, in spite of his contention that he never wins anything.
He is an emeritus professor at College of the Redwoods and lives in Eureka, California, where he served as the inaugural Poet Laureate. He thinks Eureka is far enough from the madness of civilization that he can still see the stars at night and hear the Canada geese calling.