Personal Pens

By: Kokopelli Warrior Nov 2024  As of now, I’ve been participating in A Gathering of Men (AGOM) for over 5 years. I believe I found the group in Sept 2018 and went through formal initiation August 2019.  I found AGOM quite by accident, or perhaps it’s more accurate to call it “serendipity”.  Going back to…

Song of the Lover                         I He saved her from the sea and was almost drowned to bring her in risking all to spare her but there beside him on the shore she failed no matter how he tried to force from her the salt tide lingering He suffered her to fade her body laid…

Jacob and Joseph of Krakow A tale by Eugene Marckx In the night Jacob was startled awake by a dream voice. It called him to leave his dying wife and go west from the town of Krakow to the city of Prague. “Don’t leave me,” his wife whispered, and so he stayed by her side…

What if I could give myself a bit more attention? A bit more care? Maybe even a new respect by clearing off a bit of the old clutter? What if this alone could wake me – break me up? Open my eyes to whatever’s in the air? Find a new breath for this pair of…

By John Thompson Sometimes these days I find myself so full of joy and gratitude that I feel like I might just explode. That’s not hyperbole: I really am beside myself, wondering what to do with so much overwhelming energy. I still have my sorrows and grief, mind you, and my discontents, but even when…

by Ray Ruhlen We have an extended family of crows around us, I have fed them daily after lunch for many years, we get along together, the crows, me, and out black cat, Mr. Squeakers, who I take out for a walk after lunch and in that time throw torn up bread for them, They…

As follow-up to the Web discussion last evening (6/18/2020), I’d like to offer this… simply as “Food for Thought”.  During the discussion, there were several references to “The Hero Journey”. It is my understanding this is a shared belief and experience within AGOM. Personally, this concept, especially as articulated by Joseph Campbell, is a “center-piece” for me…

Among my brothers and sisters we don’t send cards on birthdays, but we always try to make time to call — to talk and listen, even if for only a few minutes. These moments are often forgotten but not the sound and warmth of the voice. It was my birthday in the middle of the…

A memoir by Eugene Marckx   Among the dogs in my life one stands out, a Black Labrador mix that came into our family when we weren’t looking for him.  We were looking for a small black Cockapoo that had run away from us, a dog one of my sons had gotten off his paper route. …

Davison has been a part of A Gathering of Men almost from the beginning. He has participated as a story teller, board member, president, facilitator. He’s been a mentor to many men over the years. Additonally he’s participated in The Noble Journey, sponsored by Counceling Associates, Which helped me explore four primary male archetypes (King,…