James E McCollum

The Old Mill Creek: The Park Collection James E McCollum

Each poem within this collection, whether historically based, fictional, or fantasy, has some connection with or to my father's sacred ground, the Old Mill Creek; founded in 1861, the 2,500-acre nature preserve is Ohio's first district park. Your reading journey includes ""Star-crossed Lovers Nevermore,"" a poem inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Two poems connected with the family Home Cemetery, where generations of my father's family and relatives rest, is nestled within the park. The final three poems are a trilogy, part fiction with small, surgical incisions of real events that follow a family's journey through ""Magic in the Trees,"" ""The Dragon's Lair,"" and ""The Miracle of the Polished Stone."" The trilogy presents a dynamic illustration of the dichotomy of human consciousness; the Yin and Yang of the circle of reality and fantasy, tragedy and joy, and despair and redemption.