Todd Edward Anderson

A Christian story-teller, poet, and thinker writing from Three Hills, Alberta.

Category: Poetry

  • Mirab, With Sails Unfurled

    Zenrox, tilling his field in the spring

    Shaka, when the walls fell

    Zinda, his eyes red

    Zinda, his face black, his eyes red

    Zima at Anzo

    Zima and Bakor

    Sokath, his eyes uncovered

    Uzani, when the light came over the mountain

    Temba

    Temba, his arms wide

    Temba, at rest

    Mirab, with sails unfurled

    Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process as well as to offer readers the first fruits of his poetry and reflections. He grew up in the forests of small-town Ontario, contending against nature in all its beauty and harshness.  His training as a literary scholar of Latin and English literature inflects his love of poignant turns of phrase, but it is the influence of his family and their myriad adventures together that infuses his story-telling and poetry with its substance and power.  Todd lives and writes in Ottawa with his wife and six children. If you are interested in supporting Todd’s work, please follow the links below to donate or buy his books.

  • Pie

    My left eye wanders as I write,

    Drawn away as a boy from chores

    Distracted by cherry red muscle cars,

    Trimmed and caked over by frost

    Delectable as after-dinner pie,

    Which signals to us all long before

    The oven door groans open

    And, back bent, a round rump low

    Hunts midst the heat for gold.

    Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process as well as to offer readers the first fruits of his poetry and reflections. He grew up in the forests of small-town Ontario, contending against nature in all its beauty and harshness.  His training as a literary scholar of Latin and English literature inflects his love of poignant turns of phrase, but it is the influence of his family and their myriad adventures together that infuses his story-telling and poetry with its substance and power.  Todd lives and writes in Ottawa with his wife and six children. If you are interested in supporting Todd’s work, please follow the links below to donate or buy his books.

  • Angels at the Harvest

    until wheat gathers in a wheel

    long lanes of brisk stalk rise alone

    like so many saints at vespers

    who sing and solitary kneel

    Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process as well as to offer readers the first fruits of his poetry and reflections. He grew up in the forests of small-town Ontario, contending against nature in all its beauty and harshness.  His training as a literary scholar of Latin and English literature inflects his love of poignant turns of phrase, but it is the influence of his family and their myriad adventures together that infuses his story-telling and poetry with its substance and power.  Todd lives and writes in Ottawa with his wife and six children. If you are interested in supporting Todd’s work, please follow the links below to donate or buy his books.

  • Shout

    I stepped into your shout

    and wrapped my arms around

    your shaking chest, as tears

    dropped to the silent floor

    while the nurse hung her head.

    Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process as well as to offer readers the first fruits of his poetry and reflections. He grew up in the forests of small-town Ontario, contending against nature in all its beauty and harshness.  His training as a literary scholar of Latin and English literature inflects his love of poignant turns of phrase, but it is the influence of his family and their myriad adventures together that infuses his story-telling and poetry with its substance and power.  Todd lives and writes in Ottawa with his wife and six children. If you are interested in supporting Todd’s work, please follow the links below to donate or buy his books.

  • As I Step Home

    As I Step Home

    walking is heel work

    soft ground compressed

    soon sets in frost’s grip

    unyielding

    inhospitable

    still heel must lead

    and foot follow

    back to front

    mile on mile

    wildflower left or right

    sky heavy with late light

    yet knee bends dutifully

    slow sequence of steps

    remembered from door to door

    this tree weeps over her fallen dress

    tatters and tears mingling together

    on cold ground

    accustomed to receive them

    that tree clutches cones

    like pearls

    gaudy in excess

    piercing train triumph hangs like church bell blasts

    over town air

    as I step home

    Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process as well as to offer readers the first fruits of his poetry and reflections. He grew up in the forests of small-town Ontario, contending against nature in all its beauty and harshness.  His training as a literary scholar of Latin and English literature inflects his love of poignant turns of phrase, but it is the influence of his family and their myriad adventures together that infuses his story-telling and poetry with its substance and power.  Todd lives and writes in Ottawa with his wife and six children. If you are interested in supporting Todd’s work, please follow the links below to donate or buy his books.

  • To My Children

    To My Children

    Pickety pack your stuff

    Leave out all the fluff

    Toys go here

    (for the garbage, I fear)

    And all your father’s guff!

    Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process as well as to offer readers the first fruits of his poetry and reflections. He grew up in the forests of small-town Ontario, contending against nature in all its beauty and harshness.  His training as a literary scholar of Latin and English literature inflects his love of poignant turns of phrase, but it is the influence of his family and their myriad adventures together that infuses his story-telling and poetry with its substance and power.  Todd lives and writes in Ottawa with his wife and six children. If you are interested in supporting Todd’s work, please follow the links below to donate or buy his books.

  • Small Town

    Small Town

    These towns aren’t small

    They recover space in our heart

    If we let our feet out the door

    The nothing we might wander into

    Keeps our aspirations honest

    A jug of milk swinging at my side

    Refreshes the sidewalk

    What else has been carried

    Upon these crumbling paths?

    I must unlearn the driving eye

    Fixed upon life-and-death roads

    Where a glance at my phone

    Is near enough a glance in the ditch

    While I wait to cross

    The paved street in this town

    To my left the road leaks out

    Into tan countryside

    Until it is swallowed by the sky

    A field nearby alone receives

    The grace of a cloud poured forth

    Bars of light filter through

    Silent pilgrims years on foot

    In search of holy ground

    photo by Hannah Anderson

    Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process as well as to offer readers the first fruits of his poetry and reflections. He grew up in the forests of small-town Ontario, contending against nature in all its beauty and harshness.  His training as a literary scholar of Latin and English literature inflects his love of poignant turns of phrase, but it is the influence of his family and their myriad adventures together that infuses his story-telling and poetry with its substance and power.  Todd lives and writes in Ottawa with his wife and six children. If you are interested in supporting Todd’s work, please follow the links below to donate or buy his books.

  • The Refuge

    The Refuge

    Unsought miles of land roll down from mountainside
    As children nestle ‘round their grinning father
    And strive to show their lineage to all.
    A skad of Saskatoons await the dawn,
    Entangling Poplar, Spruce, or barbed fence posts.
    I see the dark stain of purple berries
    Upon my daughter’s hands.  She has feasted
    On each small wonder in this restful place,
    While I, without a care, wander midst mulch,
    Axe in hand swinging lazy at my side.
    Below the chief of mountains, a river
    Curls and bends, chortling among mud and stone,
    While far above, children fly down dirt roads,
    Laughing as they steer toward adventure.
    My wife, cozy in the kitchen, opens
    Heart and mind to scripture, finding there as here
    A refuge brimming full of heav’nly peace.

    photo by Hannah Anderson

    Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process as well as to offer readers the first fruits of his poetry and reflections. He grew up in the forests of small-town Ontario, contending against nature in all its beauty and harshness.  His training as a literary scholar of Latin and English literature inflects his love of poignant turns of phrase, but it is the influence of his family and their myriad adventures together that infuses his story-telling and poetry with its substance and power.  Todd lives and writes in Ottawa with his wife and six children. If you are interested in supporting Todd’s work, please follow the links below to donate or buy his books.

  • These Tears Are For You

    These Tears Are For You

    Cedar grimace in cold summer showers
    While lonely pools drown out the undergrowth,
    Exposing ragged roots to somber air.
    The storm has passed but its wild mark remains.
    Birch and Hawthorne, skewered by tongues of fire,
    Lay spent in the mud, never more to rise.
    Rain obscures our memory, washing out
    Years of triumph or trouble with urgent
    Summons to attend the trials of today.
    All manner of griefs crowd in together,
    Not sorrow of friends forever parted,
    But menial tasks unfulfilled, holding
    Hostage the nobler part of us that yearns
    For purpose unfettered by the mundane.
    And worse, these small tyrannies numb our hearts
    At the parting hour, as expectations
    Of a free and undiscovered country
    Displace our care for loved ones still at hand.
    But now, in looking back at those who wave
    Even as they weep, I cannot find my tears.
    Alas!  These trees weep; these friends also weep.
    What can I say?  These words, these tears, are for you.

    Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process as well as to offer readers the first fruits of his poetry and reflections. He grew up in the forests of small-town Ontario, contending against nature in all its beauty and harshness.  His training as a literary scholar of Latin and English literature inflects his love of poignant turns of phrase, but it is the influence of his family and their myriad adventures together that infuses his story-telling and poetry with its substance and power.  Todd lives and writes in Ottawa with his wife and six children. If you are interested in supporting Todd’s work, please follow the links below to donate or buy his books.

  • Mrs. Dombey and Daughter

    Mrs. Dombey and Daughter

    The window stood open
    The window which lay forever closed
    Now stood open to the twilight
    And the child pressed against her cheek
    Spoke no sound nor cried out
    Nor would she move
    Bright cheek against a pale cheek
    Neither moving but all quiet
    Her hair golden shining in candle light
    Against her mother’s cheek just so
    And nothing to be done
    While on rolled twilight
    While the window lay ghastly open
    Symbol to the future of that child
    Exposed by each and every twilight hence
    And still she held cheek to cheek
    And still she lay still in fear
    While the doctors watched their reputations
    And the watches raced their hands around their faces
    Raced and raced the quicker
    And then the quivering “Mama!”
    Trembled the eyelids of her mother
    With a shadow’s shadow of a smile
    Then twilight ebbed and all was calm

    Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process as well as to offer readers the first fruits of his poetry and reflections. He grew up in the forests of small-town Ontario, contending against nature in all its beauty and harshness.  His training as a literary scholar of Latin and English literature inflects his love of poignant turns of phrase, but it is the influence of his family and their myriad adventures together that infuses his story-telling and poetry with its substance and power.  Todd lives and writes in Ottawa with his wife and six children. If you are interested in supporting Todd’s work, please follow the links below to donate or buy his books.