Poems

Richard D. Alexander wrote hundreds of poems, most of which are distributed among several books, and some of which are unpublished. Here is a list of over 350 individual poems and songs by title or (if untitled) by first line. A link to a PDF of each poem, often preceded by an introduction to the poem by the author, appears to the right of a gradually increasing number of the entries. References are also provided for poems that have been published. For the full volumes within which most of RDA’s published poems appeared, see the menu above, especially under his popular books.

 

  • “About Creepy Crawlies: The Tiny Beasties That Wear Their Skeletons on the Outside and Walk on More than Four Legs—and Sometimes None (title for collection of 11 verses; see “Of LadyBugs and Their Betters”, “The Ballad of the Forked Fungus Beetle”, “The Professor and the Cockroach”, “Bark Cricket Biology”, “Concerning the M Word”, “The Strange Case of the Entomologist’s Heart”, “The Nozzlehead Journeyman”, “Reflection”, “To A Fly, Probing”, “Phantasm”, “Freshman’s Interlude with Coelenterata”.)
  • “About Going All Alone” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “About the Social Contract” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “After All, How Could Eternity“
  • “After Chickamauga” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “After decades rife with science strife…” [with peeking cricket drawing]  (in Notes on the Faculty) [PDF]. [RDA also produced bookmarks with this poem and image, which were distributed with his books when gifted privately or ordered from Woodlane Farm: PDF (of bookmark)]
  • “After Two Months At Blackburn”  (in Club 48) [PDF]
  • “All I’m Tryin’ to Do is Change Your Mind” [song: with lyrics and melody line] (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “All Organisms Evolved to Have a Long Life…“
  • “Amigo” (in Playin’ Cowboy)
  • “The ancient profs who never die…”  (in Notes on the Faculty) [PDF]
  • “And Even When It Seems So…“
  • “And the Dreamingest of Times” (with three illustrations, in The Mockingbird’s River Song; also in Stealing Watermelons) [PDF]
  • “Another Boy’s Voice” (in Stealing Watermelons) [PDF]
  • “Arnie Beckett” (song: with background story, lyrics, and melody line, in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]; (also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Art and Science“
  • “At any given time between five and ten…”  (in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]
  • “Aubrey Hart – Museum Shop Man”  (in Notes on the Faculty [PDF]
  • “Australian Impressions“
  • “Australian Signs“
  • “Bad Man Ballads” (title for collection of three verses; see “The Ballad of Billy Cook”, “Billy E. Hardesty”, and “Nevada”).
  • “The Ballad of Big Billy Potts” (song, after Robert Penn Warren; in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Ballad of the Billboard Bandit II” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song; also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Ballad of the Billboard Bandit III” (in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Ballad of Bill Suiter” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Ballad of Billy Cook” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song; also, as a song entitled “The Tale of Billy Cook”, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Ballad of the Forked Fungus Beetle” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song; also, as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Ballad of Newton Fygge” (song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Ballad of New York City’s Finest” (song, subtitled “You Load Three Thousand Tons, and What Do You Get?”; in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Bark Cricket Biology” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “Barn Fire“
  • “The Best Three Horses I Ever Rode” (in Playin’ Cowboy)
  • “Big Bluestem” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song; also, with background story, in Notes on the Faculty) [PDF]
  • “Bivouac: 1951” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Billy E. Hardesty” (song: with background story, lyrics, and melody line, in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]; also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “A Bit of Heritage“
  • “The Blonde in the Lavender Buick” (song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Bluey Morgan’s Mate” (song: with background story, lyrics, and melody line, in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]; (also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Booger Song” (song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Boulders“
  • “Bragging Rights” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “Brick Wall“
  • “Brumby”  (in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]
  • “Buckskin” (as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Bushflies”  (in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]
  • “The Butcher Bird and His Wife” [song: with background story, lyrics, and melody line]  (in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]
  • “Butcherbirds“
  • “But, Still, Assuming That We Really, Truly Cared…“
  • “But surely we’ll continue to expect” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “Cadence Calls” (song: with background story, lyrics, and melody line, in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]; also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The California Mare” (as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Campfires“
  • “The Car and the Payment Book” (song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Cassowaries“
  • “The Centerville School Reunions and Letters to Mrs. Orville Frye, Ida Belle and Mella Seymour” (in Stealing Watermelons)
  • “Change Your Mind“
  • “The Changing of the Seasons” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Charles Walker – Professor of Frogs’ Lives” (in Notes on the Faculty; also, as “Charles: Professor of Frogs’ Lives”, in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Charlie Was a Soldier” (song, after John Prine; in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Clarksburg Cat” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song; also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III; also, as “The Song and Story of The Clarksburg Cat”, with background story, in Notes on the Faculty) [PDF]
  • “Claude Hibbard – Hibbie – Fossil Man” (see “Hibbie: Fossil Man”).
  • “A Common Sort of Man I Know” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Concerning the M Word” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “Consciousness and Self-Awareness“
  • “Coober Pedy’s Crime Wave” (song, also called “The Coober Pedy’ Pub”: with background story, lyrics, and melody line, in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]; (also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Coon Tail Blue” (song: in Playin’ Cowboy)
  • “The Cowboy and the Pleasure Horse” (in Playin’ Cowboy; also, as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Cowboys Never Tell” (song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Creating the Treasures of Your Truths and Mine” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Crows in Ann Arbor” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF] [somewhere there is “my response to the editor that rejected it– included here?]
  • “Curl Up and Diet?“
  • “The Cutter’s Colt” (song, in Playin’ Cowboy)
  • “The Daintree“
  • “Destinos des Amantes” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Dingo”  (in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]
  • “Dixie Coke in the Northern Territory“
  • “The Doc and the Roan” (song, in Playin’ Cowboy)
  • “The Doctoral Student’s Candidacy Examination” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Does One Modern Democracy Ever Really…“
  • “The Dog in Melbourne“
  • “Dogs, Crossing Streets…“
  • “The Duck Named Billy” (as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The East Pasture” (in Pop’s Story) [PDF]
  • “Edwin Mackey” (in Pop’s Story) [PDF]
  • “Effects of a Bit of Heritage” (in Stealing Watermelons; also, as a song entitled “The Effect of a Bit of Heritage”, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Eight and a Half Per Cent“
  • “Elizabeth”
  • “Emory Mulholland, Township Supervisor” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Endowed to Glimpse…“
  • “Engram“
  • “Epitaph” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Esthers Bihlmeyer“
  • “Eternity and Me“
  • “Eternity for any man…” (in Pop’s Story) [PDF]
  • “Even We Two, Life Mate” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Even When Life’s Vagaries“
  • “Evolution of Sterile Castes in the Social Insects: Kin Selection or Parental Manipulation?”  [an academically peer-reviewed scientific statement in poetic form (!)] (in The Florida Entomologist  57 issue 1 (1974), p.32. [PDF]
  • “Exploring the Universe” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “A Family’s Death” (as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Farmer and the Weatherman” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “The Fight on Graham’s Hill” (see “Song from the Fight on Graham’s Hill”)
  • “Folk Song” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “For Doesn’t Merely…“
  • “Forever Again“
  • “For Life to be Worthy” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “For Most” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Fort Knox: 1952” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Fox-Hunter’s Tune“
  • “Freddy Fox and His Nasty Appetite”
  • “Fred Parker’s Auction Sale” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Freeway Blues” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song; also, as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III))
  • “Freshman’s Interlude with Coelenterata” [with background story] (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “A Funny Little Man I Knew” (in The Mockingbird’s RiverSong) [PDF]
  • “Gaps in the Bitumen“
  • “Garner Thompson” (in Playin’ Cowboy)
  • “Generation Gap – The Worth of Experience” (in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]
  • “Gettin’ Up the Cows” (song, in Playin’ Cowboy; also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Ghost of the Old German Horse Farmer” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “The Girl in the Palm Café“
  • “Gnomes of the Night” (or “Waiting for the Bus”; as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “God, Early On (Scenario-ing the Past“
  • “God, in the Model of Know-It-All“
  • “God, Most Recently” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song; also as a prelude to chapter 14, “Evolution and Religion”, in his 2013 Festschrift) [PDF]
  • “God Still Later“
  • “Good Man Blues” [song: with lyrics and melody line] (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Good Old Boys” (song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “A Good Poem” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [Actually two poems meant to appear together, both on the topic of the definition of poetry; earlier versions have only the first under this title, and the second is called “Of Dawns and Decadence”. Followed by two dictionary definitions which likewise appear meant to be associated with the poem. Followed by “Music for the Soul” on the same topic.] [PDF]
  • “A Good Poem” (early version, unpublished) [PDF]
  • “Grandma and Grandpa’s Farm“
  • “Grandma Brady’s and Mella Seymour’s Stories and Songs“
  • “Grandma Brady’s View of the Shooting of Adam Spear” (in Stealing Watermelons; also, as a song entitled “The Shooting of Adam Spear”, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Grandpa’s Radio” (song: with lyrics and melody line, in The Mockingbird’s River Song; also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III; also in Playin’ Cowboy) [PDF]
  • “The Groomes Family Song” (in Stealing Watermelons)
  • “Grownups Always Have More Fun“
  • “A Haircut Poem: 1950” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Harley Davidson Reining Horse” (in Playin’ Cowboy; also, as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Heroes: The Shape of a Homemade Fiddle” (title for collection of twelve poems; see “Heroes are Works of Art”, “Arnie Beckett”, “Aubrey Hart: Museum Shop Man”, “Hibbie: Fossil Man”, “Kybe Hartweg: Curator of Reptiles”, “Charles Walker: Professor of Frogs’ Lives”, “Theodosius Dobzhansky”, “Fred Parker’s Auction Sale”, “A Funny Little Man I Knew”, “Emory Mulholland: Township Supervisor”, “Noble Porter Heath II”, “A Place for Sam”.)
  • “Heroes are Works of Art” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Hibbie: Fossil Man” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song; also, as “Claude Hibbard – Hibbie – Fossil Man” in Notes on the Faculty [check– are they the same?] [PDF]
  • “High Street“
  • “The Hitchhiking Lady“
  • “The Horse Haulers” (in Playin’ Cowboy; also, as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “How can I leave thee?…” [Ode to Blackburn]  (in Club 48) [PDF]
  • “Humor and the Arts: Hypothesis” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Humor Mocks Reality: Hypothesis“
  • “If Meanings, As We Realize Somehow…“
  • “If Not in Years, Then How” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Illinois Farmer”  (in Pop’s Story) [PDF]
  • “I’m Never Goin’ Back to the River No More” (song, subtitled “A Turkey in the Straw Story”; in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “In the Outback”  (in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]
  • “In the Vernacular of the Common Man”
  • “Injustice” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Insult” (song, after John Lomax; in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “I stopped beside the great osage corner post…”  (in Pop’s Story) [PDF]
  • “It is surely time for the adaptive structures…”  (in The Mockingbird’s River Song; also in Notes on the Faculty; also as a postlude in “Religion, evolution, and the quest for global harmony” in his 2013 Festschrift) [PDF]
  • “It Was Not a Pretty Sight” (song: with background story, lyrics, and melody line, in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]; (also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “I’ve been cautioned by some that my essay’s too dense…” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “I Wish I Was a Rock” (as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Jack Jouett’s Ride” (in Playin’ Cowboy; also, as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Jake the Joker“
  • “Janba’s Deed” (song: with background story, lyrics, and melody line, in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]; (also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Jessie Lee James“
  • “Just for Fun” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Just-So Story Revisited” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Karrie Tree Limerick”  (in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]
  • “Kayarawacaca“
  • “The Kumarina Pub” (song: with background story, lyrics, and melody line, in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]; (also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Kybe Hartweg – Curator of Reptiles”  (in Notes on the Faculty; also, as “Kybe: The Curator of Reptiles”, in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Larry Rose’s Run” (in Playin’ Cowboy)
  • “Last Night Autumn Became Winter” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Last Supper in the Old Church” (song, with Nina Harper, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Laughing Face“
  • “Lawn Pride” [with background story] (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Legend of Steel Dust” (song, in Playin’ Cowboy; also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III).
  • “Lenawee County” (song: with background story, lyrics, and melody line, in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]; (also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Life Effort” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Lifetimes Are Not Measured In Years”  (in Pop’s Story) [PDF]
  • “Lilac Time in Michigan” (unpublished) [PDF]
  • “The Lion’s Den” (song: with background story, lyrics, and melody line, in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]; (also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Little Birdie in the Tree” (in Stealing Watermelons)
  • “The Lizard and the Salamander” (as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Logic of Lifetimes Paired“
  • “Lorrie’s Poem“
  • “Love Poem to a Former Employee” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Magpie Goose: A Difficult Rhyme” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “Major was a bay road horse…”  (in Pop’s Story) [PDF]
  • “Mary Jones” (or “The Mary (Jones?) Mystery”)
  • “The Mayor’s Cutting Horse” (in Playin’ Cowboy; also, as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Me and Old Slim” (with background story, in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]; (also, as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Meaning of a Man” (inThe Mockingbird’s River Song, with background story and a quotation) [PDF]; (also, as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Memory of memory…”  (in Pop’s Story) [PDF]
  • “Message to Naomi” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Mexico“
  • “Mill May” (in Stealing Watermelons)
  • “The Military Trainee’s Lament” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “Miss Rubena’s Wings (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “The Mockingbird’s River Song” (song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Motivation” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)[PDF]
  • “Moving Softly Through the Village” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Music for the Soul” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [follows the two-part “A Good Poem” with which it is associated and deals with the same topic of the definition of poetry.] [PDF]
  • “My Blue-Speckled Hound” (unpublished) [with introductory essay] [PDF]
  • “My Blue-Speckled Hound” [song: with background story, lyrics, and melody line] (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Nasty Old Witch” (as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Nevada” (with background story, in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]; (also, as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “A New Australian Carelessly…“
  • “The New Chum and the Desert Water Bag” (song: with background story, lyrics, and melody line, in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]; (also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “New Museum Folk Song”  (in Notes on the Faculty) [PDF]
  • “The New-Time Old-Time Horse Sale” (in Playin’ Cowboy)
  • “The Night the Steers Got Out” (song: in Playin’ Cowboy)
  • “Nina Harper’s Song“
  • “Nine Gal Tavern” (or “Old Nine Gal Tavern”; in Stealing Watermelons; also, as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Noble Porter Heath II” (a prose poem, in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “North to Iron Range“
  • “A Note to Mitch” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Not in the Minds of Children“
  • “The Nozzlehead Journeyman” (as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “NYC I“
  • “NYC II“
  • “The Oats-Threshing“
  • “Of Bliss and Ignorance” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Of Dawns and Decadence” [see “A Good Poem”]
  • “Of Ladybugs and Their Betters” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “Of Routes and Ways” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Okefenokee” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Oklahoma Horse Sale” (song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Oklahoma Slide-In” (song, subtitled “The Coontail and the Grease Gun”, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Old Arthur“
  • “The Old Bloke” (song, original from 1968: with background story, lyrics, and melody line, in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]; (also, as “The Old Bloke: 1968”, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Old Bloke (reprise: 1998)” [song: with background story, lyrics, and melody line]  (in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]
  • “The Old Cowboy” (in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Old German Horse Farmer of Freedom Township” (in Playin’ Cowboy)
  • “The Old Man beside Me on the Bus in Montreal” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Old Sam, the Usin’ Horse” (in Playin’ Cowboy; also, as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Old Tom the Townsville saddler…”  (in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]
  • “On a May Day” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “On Being a Reiner” (in Playin’ Cowboy)
  • “One by One” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “One God, One World?“
  • “The One-Horse In-Line Gooseneck” (in Playin’ Cowboy; also, as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Ones Who Continue” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “On Judges and Judgment” (song, in Playin’ Cowboy)
  • “Only the Trees” (in Pop’s Story; also in Stealing Watermelons) [PDF]
  • “Outback Tracks at Night“
  • “Out of the Heart of an Old Farmer”  (in Pop’s Story) [PDF]
  • “Outsiders“
  • “A Paradox“
  • “Parents Never Live Forever“
  • “A Part of the Hunting” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Passing of Pianos, Wood Stoves, and Quilting: Darkened Rooms Upstairs and Kindreds Lost” (title for a collection of 22 songs; see “Scotch-Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch: A Family’s Death”, “Miss Rubena’s Wings”, “When Eddie Died”, “The Ballad of Bill Suiter”, “High Street”, “Okefenokee”, “For Most”, “To Comprehend Death’s Imminence”, “Even When Life’s Vagaries”, “Perhaps”, “For Doesn’t Merely…”, “After All, How Could Eternity”, “Elizabeth”, “Secrets in the Piatt County Nursing Home”, “If Not In Years, Then How”, “Self-Awareness”, “There Are Reproductive Trade-Offs…”, “All Organisms Evolved to Have a Long Life…”, “Some Parents Are Better Than Others…”, “If Meanings, As We Realize Somehow…”, “But, Still, Assuming That We Really, Truly Cared…”, “And Even When It Seems So…”).
  • “People! People!” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Perhaps” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “Phantasm” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “A Place for Sam” [with drawing]  (in Notes on the Faculty) [PDF]
  • “A Place to Grow“
  • “A Place to Know” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Play Is Children’s Work“
  • “Pleiotropies” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “The Pocket Stone” (also known as “The Pocket Stone”; in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “Poem for Lorrie” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “Poems for Grandchildren from Grandpa’s Farm” (song: in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Postscript In My Book“
  • “Prairie Lookout” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Professor and the Cockroach” (as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “A Pub in Brisbane“
  • “The Publican at Eromanga”  (in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]
  • “The Rabbit’s Heart” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [a prose poem] [PDF]
  • “Racetrack Jack” (as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Rattlesnake” (song, after Alan Lomax; in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Raw-eet“
  • “Reality and the Human Enterprise” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Reality and the Human Social Enterprise”  (unpublished) [PDF]
  • “A Recapitulation” (in Stealing Watermelons)
  • “The Red Spearhead”  (in Pop’s Story) [PDF]
  • “Reflection”
  • “A Reflection at Kingoonyah“
  • “Reflection: Synergism and Self“
  • “Reminiscence” (in Stealing Watermelons)
  • “Reverse Reciprocity” [in The Mockingbird’s River Song; also, with subtitle “in memoriam William D. Hamilton”, with background story, in Notes on the Faculty) [PDF]
  • “Rewards in Heaven“
  • “The Rocking Horse Song” (as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “The Salt Ritual“
  • “Salty Dog” (song, after a verse in Talley’s Negro Folk Rhymes; in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Saturday Night in an Ozark Tavern” (as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Scotch-Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch: A Family’s Death” (in Stealing Watermelons)
  • “Secrets in the Piatt County Nursing Home“
  • “Self-Awareness“
  • “Shiloh” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Shooting of Adam Spear” (see “Grandma Brady’s View of the Shooting of Adam Spear”)
  • “The Short Horse Hustler” (as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Small Things Count“
  • “Soft Morning Fogs“
  • “The Soldier’s Lament” (song, with Noel Behn; in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Some Later Australian Opinions”  (in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]
  • “Some Parents Are Better Than Others…“
  • “Something About an Old Man” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Something Almost” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Song from the Fight on Graham’s Hill” (or “Fight on Graham’s Hill”; in Stealing Watermelons; also in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Spring Time on Grandma’s and Grandpa’s Farm” (check against “Lilac Time in Michigan” and “Grandma and Grandpa’s Farm”)
  • “The State of the Botanist: Telling It Like It Is” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Stealing Watermelons“
  • “Still we can hope that poetry“
  • “The Strange Case of the Entomologist’s Heart”
  • “The Strange Story of Mr. Schwellenbach“
  • “Strine“
  • “Synergism: Ultimacy: Self” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The Tale of Billy Cook” (see “The Ballad of Billy Cook”)
  • “The Ten Good Parts of Living“
  • “Texans in the Toilet” (in Playin’ Cowboy; also, as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “That Fast-Footed Son of a Gun” (song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “That Old Sangamon” (song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Theodosius Dobzhansky” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song; sometimes subtitlted “Famous Evolutionist”) [PDF]
  • “There Are Reproductive Trade-Offs…“
  • “Tiny Moth” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “To a Fly, Probing” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “To a Landlord’s Family, Deceased“
  • “To a Life Mate” (sometimes subtitled “Should We Be Primitives”, in The Mockingbird’s RiverSong) [to his wife Lorrie; the book is likewise dedicated to her] [PDF]
  • “To Comprehend Death’s Imminence”
  • “Today and Tomorrow” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Today an Old Lady” (in The Mockingbird’s RiverSong) [PDF]
  • “Tom Groomes”  (in Pop’s Story) [PDF]
  • “The Trainee’s Lament“
  • “The Trees in My Woods”  (unpublished) [PDF]
  • “Tree Treasures in My Woods” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) compare with the previous
  • “The Tree Swing” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “This Old Life I Live” (song: in Playing Cowboy)
  • “Tribute” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Tropical Trucks” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Two and a Half Per Cent” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Two Months Away“
  • “The Unicorn That Dreamed” (as a song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “University Administrations” [for Billy E. Frye]  (in Notes on the Faculty) [PDF]
  • “A Valley in New South Wales”  (in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]
  • “Wachope“
  • “Wagon Boss” (in Playing Cowboy)
  • “Waiting for the School Bus (see “Gnomes of the Night”)
  • “Wally Umbulgarri” [the subject of this poem was painted by RDA, and is the book’s cover image] (in White Man’s Fire) [PDF]
  • “Walter Bihlmeyer” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song)
  • “We Had a Good Time with the Cattle: My Chickory and I” (in Playing Cowboy)
  • “We’ll Be Reminded” (sometimes titled “We’ll Be Reminded, Life Mate”, in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “What Is It Between a Horse and a Human?” (in Playin’ Cowboy)
  • “What? No Sheep? (With Apologies to Ogden Nash)“
  • “When Eddie Died” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Where Cities Grow” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “The White School” (in Stealing Watermelons)
  • “Winter: A Point of View” (in The Mockingbird’s River Song) [PDF]
  • “Wombat Picher“
  • “The World’s Most Highly Educated Man” (song, in Dick Alexander’s Song Book III)
  • “Writing Example: General Purpose Biology Report” (in Biology 494 Evolution & Human Behavior Coursepack, 1992) [A class assignment, followed by this facetious poetic example] [PDF]
  • “Your Welcome Card Was Received…“

 

This website was launched in June 2010 and is a work in progress.

Thanks to Nancy Alexander and Lorrie Alexander for guidance and permission.

Thanks to Sara Paccione for contributing most of the scanning and posting of poetry.

For more information or to become involved, contact David Lahti at dclahti@gmail.com.

to top of page

 

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.