Enjoy My New Christmas Poem titled “On This Heavenly Night.”

If you would like a copy of this print please email me at daveblack99@comcast.net and I’d be glad to send you a copy. Dave

Things I Couldn't Say until Today

By Dave Black

Things I Couldn’t

Say Until Today

“This book is for anyone who likes good lyrics in a song.

And like a good song, my hope is you will find my story entertaining.

It is also my hope that you enjoy the illustrations, which enhance the feeling in each poem, capturing a moment in time on my journey”

Dave Black

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Things I Couldn’t Say Until Today is a collection of poems that takes you on a romantic journey looking back on my single days going through all the highs and lows of dating and the time in between relationships. It captures unique moments in time, including memorable days courting my wife into a theme. This romantic journey is full of reflections which relate to any era in time.

Writing began by going through a box of poems I had written long ago, held in storage for decades. It contained many of the poems that became the foundation for this story. The theme became clear with the title poem The Things I Couldn’t Say Until Today.

The story contains poems about Benevolence, a First Date, the special feelings of new love with This Magic Night Lingers and others.  There are references to nature and seasons with True Nature, A Time for Spring, Summer Wishes, A Change of Season and Winter Land. 

There are poems about living through lost love, like Fragments of Smoke and believing there is a someone for you as in A Better Plan. These lonely times provide a great back drop for other poems like Erosion and Fog to name a few.

The story includes moments of growth by making peace with the past, as portrayed in a poem called Bridge the Gap. The story ends with a reflective poem entitled Wedding Day Revisited which ties everything together.  The original color illustrations enhance the Things I Couldn’t Say Until Today.

About the author

Dave Black grew up in Minnesota admiring the clever use of words and the telling of stories in song. Artists like Al Stewart and Dan Fogelberg, who can tell a story in perfect, yet simple rhyme were key influences. And the master, Bob Dylan, who can paint a story complete with deep yet relatable verse to a beat. You were and still are his idols!

Unfortunately, Dave has never been able to carry a tune musically. Yet, embraced the notion that he too, “could” tell a story with verse that spoke about a moment in time and that he could get a message to rhyme. See, its that easy if you try!

He started primitive efforts in writing while his mind was roaming during college lectures, when he should have been listening. I’m sure the professors would look and be pleased that he was taking copious notes at the time; what little did they both know.

That’s how it started and soon after he was trying his hand at creating poems to express his feelings. These efforts were enhanced when he first fell in love. He admits that he was able to share his feelings through his writings much better than he was verbally. Through the years following there were many shifts in relationships and fortunately, he was able to chronicle his feelings in verse, capturing all the highs and lows.

Many of his thoughts were written in note form in need of polish. Some came to him as inspirations and quickly the words just flowed. Other poems were lying in wait, incomplete and took a fresh look years later before they were shaped into what they are now.

It wasn’t until recently that he was able to put this into a theme and recreate his journey in a way that is relatable to what many go through on their journey during their single days.

Dave lives in Woodbury and has lived in Minnesota his entire life. He is also a long time sports enthusiast playing hockey and golf when he’s not watching his favorite sports teams. He likes to spend time at his lake cabin fishing and boating, spending time with his wife Cheryl and his family. He continues to write mainly in poem and verse form with hopes of putting together another story in the future. He likes to say “This is his first album".

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATIONS

Adding the illustrations to the story was a key ingredient. The poems were good on their own but something was lacking. The process of finding illustrations which best matched the message of each poem became a tall task. Dave first searched the web and eventually found some matches but they were unusable due to copyright licenses.

He searched for an artist who would be interested in creating water color art. After a short time, he found an artist in India through a company called Freelancer and became connected with Tejal. She was wiling to give this a try. In the featured poem below he challenged her to capture the feeling of driving in a sports car on a full moon night and she nailed it!

The process took some time as Dave had to describe exactly what he wanted as she wasn’t able to see the actual poem ( due to them not being copyrighted at the time). Shaping each illustration was tricky and if it wasn’t for her patience none of this would be possible. Dave is deeply indebted to her and work she did on this project.

The illustrations range from nature scenes, campfires to full moons, trees and benches, silhouettes of people, and an anvil falling from the sky on a unsuspecting man, to images of Met Center, the local bar and many others.

If you have needs in the future for a talented artist Dave highly recommends Tejal M. @superiar. She can be found through freelancer.com as well.

Listing of Poems and Table of Contents

Benevolence

First Date

It’s Time For Spring

Heaven in your Eyes

Our First Kiss

True Nature

Because of You

Our Simple Love

This Magic Night Lingers

Summer Wishes

Prelude

My Brightest Star

Water Color

My Thanks to You ( A Love Song)

I’m Going to Say It

An Early Morning Prayer

Tonight’s Sky

Windy Day Thoughts

Skipping Stones

A Cold Fall Night

Fog

Last Stop

Whether or Not?

Another Morning

Sunset in the Shadows

For a Lost Love

Crushed

Erosion

Aftermath

In Days of Rebound

Fragments of Smoke

One Year ago Today

Another Phase of Loneliness

The Things I Couldn’t Say Until Today

Back on the Run

So Glad We Met (ode to Met Center)

Wild Oats

For a Drifter

Bridge the Gap

A Change of Season

Illusions

Last Fall Campfire

Snow Flurries

Winter Land

This Full Moon Winter’s Night

The Fog is Lifting

A Special Kind

First Signs of Spring

The Perfect Shell

I Wish You Well

When I Get There

A Better Plan (Near Mrs.)

True Loves so Few

Enough

Sharing Hands

Worth the Wait

I’m Falling for You

Ever Flowing

Coming Home

While you Sleep

Stages

Our Wedding Day (Revisited)

featured Poem

This Magic Night Lingers

Our night is over so now I drive

Away from your door feeling so alive

The sound carries a beat to the song

on the radio, with a rhythm ever so strong.

Your perfume is in the air, as I hold the wheel

Scents of this magic nights linger and reveal

So much that, past your house I sail again

To replay it over, as my head starts to spin.

My senses alive, some call it love

I’m new to this feeling, I thank God above

I’ll be up all night its true, this is not a sham

Thinking about how caught up in you I am.

Over and over I replay our favorite song

And to know you by heart, I wanted all along

To capture this moment right on cue

As I drift ever deeper in love with you.

Tomorrow night I will float to your door

And we’ll do it all over again!

Dave’s comments:   This poem speaks of the drive home after a great date. You want to keep driving as you feel so good listening to the music in your car.

This is about as carefree as it gets. The illustration hits home as I once had a car like that and took this endless drive more than once!

If you liked this poem, please tell others.

The best compliment an author can have is someone telling others of their work!

To get a bonus poem

please submit a Review below.

To submit a review please send

via email to daveblack99@comcast.net

Reviews will post in two days after submission, Thank you!

BOOK REVIEWS

Mark U. Plymouth MN. “Things I Couldn’t Say Until Today” is a journey down memory lane for all of us. It captures the roller coaster of emotions we experience during our dating years as we are eventually guided to the love of our lives! Beautiful original artwork accent each and every poem. Cozy up near the fireplace, have a refreshing beverage, pick up this book and travel in time back to your youthful past.

Jeff L. St. Paul MN. Dave has a knack for telling a story with each poem that is relatable to many of things everyone goes through. The illustrations bring out his poems. This is a coffee table book as I have read many of the poems over and over again. It as for everyone to enjoy.

Dan B. Mahtomedi MN. “Things I Couldn’t Say Until Today” is a splendid collection of emotionally charged and satisfying poetry. For those fortunate enough to find love, the verse strikes a familiar chord that resonates with the emotions of falling in and out of love. The lovely watercolor art unites the poetry with images that enhance the beauty. And, nowhere else will you find a poetic ode to the Met Center which looms large in the memories of a child growing up in the shadows of the stately old arena. “Things I Couldn’t Say Until Today” is an enjoyable and fulfilling journey.

Kay F. Hayward WI. Dave does a really good job writing with emotions that express his feelings very well. The Illustrations really bring out the best in his poems. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

Madison F. Baltimore MD. Anyone who has been in a relationship will find their own personal connection to Dave’s poetry. With colorful illustrations to match vibrant and choice words, Things I Couldn’t Say Until Today is a beautiful collection of poems that tell a relatable story of the highs and lows of romance throughout different stages and seasons of life." Buy this book!

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