Being on the upper side of 50, much of Douglas’ biographical material can be assumed (various careers, relationships and university qualifications [even industrial hearing loss and roaring tinnitus related to playing in Ska bands]), but this may be a little unique – he is still married with a great wife and two children (it does happen) and is seeking to enrol in a PhD (towards producing a speculative notated memoir of a 1st Century CE Greco-Roman author … it is intended to be an innovative project in Creative Nonfiction). To date, a number of his works have been published online (at ‘New World Writing’) and in a number of print anthologies (including ‘Erotica of eternity’ [2022], ‘Let’s begin again’ [2022], ‘Garden of poets’ [2022] and ‘My Glorious Quill’ [2022]), in addition to gaining praise such as “… eliciting a strange sense of awe … [t]his is ground breaking and gorgeous … writing and deserves   to be read widely” (The Editors, POETiCA REViEW).

The principal point: the refrain known as ‘adaptation’

Phoenician red, a woman, the highest ranked blind court official,
The Tale of Genji, affinity or connection? 
A color, a lover, one version of material form, 
exceptional beauty, a mood or culture.

A magical spell, proverbs, epistles or scholarship?
Changeable, influential or formative.

Being, obligation, emphasis, prohibition or destruction?
Tasks, business, errands or that which is utilized.

Pick what is essential. 

Volo Veld

(ᚹᛟᛚᛟᚹᛖᛚᛞ)

The mystical land of Volo Veld
comes to all of us in our dreams –
including those that are called
‘intentions’, ‘wishes’ or ‘consent’.

It is a place of optimal social connection
where all good things are possible,
people are supportive, loving and kind …
and dreams take flight.

In the long-distant past,
El Volo was the name 
used for an ancient settlement –
a veld known to the Catalans.

That town still exists today –
in the region known to the Romans
as Provincia Nostra (‘our province’) …
it was where Julius Caesar settled his veterans.

The truth,
of course,
is that Volo Veld does not just describe a little town
in the south of France.

It is truly a physical location –
it is every moment and circumstance …
where genuine communion of spirit
can secure the best of intentions.

Sages throughout time
have known that applying such wisdom
at an individual and collective level
can lead to superlative results.

The ‘superlative’ can seem ‘supernatural’ to some,
but it is entirely natural …
just like us
being ‘at cause’.

What stands in the way of Volo Veld
is the same
as what delivers Volo Veld …
we are responsible for either outcome. 

The Sea of Wonder

In ancient times, 
the Sea of Galilee 
served as a gateway to 
(or escape route from)
Judea.

During one particular period,
its northern shores bordered
the region of the “Fallow Lands”
ruled by self-styled ‘Gods’ –
two powerful Roman generals …
Germanicus and Drusus.

Those ‘Gods’ –
and their families
(including ‘the golden child’ … 
the God’s son known as Caligula) –
lived and matured
in a melting pot.

To the east,
Roman Caesarea dipped its toes
in the Mediterranean.

To the west –
including beyond the Sea of Galilee –
lay the independent Greek city states of the Decapolis
(including Philadelphia …
an ancient ‘city of brotherly love’).

At the time, 
the young Caligula even minted coins
under different names
(in Hebrew, 
by the way, 
his name can be read in various ways
including ‘God manifest’).

Jesus trod the same territory
(or so it is said)
at the same time …
and while both Caligula and Jesus
experienced damnation
(of one form or another),
their names and reputations
echo eternally rousing emotions.