Much of what Mark hears is music, and his poems sing, not only in his own lyrical voice but also in tribute to the lyrics and rhythms of musicians and poets who have accompanied and eased Mark’s journey through this vale of tears. These are the poems of a working man, working his way day by day, noting the pain, but seeking, and often finding, the joy. “Living,” says the poet, “should be easy / like dying.”

    Robert Lee (author of Breath)

Mark Gibbons is my kind of poet—one who tells the truth and tells it straight. mostly cloudy is a crystal clear book of poems that helps us see the beauty in everything from shit jobs to loss and hardship. While Gibbons writes often about music of a certain era (Joplin, Hendrix, the Grateful Dead), his voice is its own kind of music, a kind that offers wisdom and comfort for this wild ride we’re on. At the end of these pages I’m left crying and laughing, with little fear of whatever comes next.

   Melissa Stephenson (author of Driven)

From the book:

the play is the thing

another day

another job

another delivery

you smile

politely inquire

about where

to place the order

or pick up the return

ask for a signature

thanking along the way

so thankful

you thank again

as you leave

your smile

behind

but once in awhile

the routine

snags on a sour mug

with shifting eyes

the disapproving stare

aversion maybe

even a fear

of contamination

unknown possibilities

requiring the necessity

to disassociate

or sometimes

there's a voice

that grabs your attention

like a warm bath

it pulls you in

to the eyes

that say

I love you

and swallow your

hurry-up work-pace

you stop

literally

figuratively

park your ass

in awe of

a fully present

human being

and you know

this is the true art

of living

of being

alive

at any moment

when each encounter

is felt

shared and lived

as if it were

the last one

and then

miraculously

you watch them

do it again

no applause

no roses at their feet

like the sand mandala

you're blown away

mostly cloudy

is a 96 page hand-stitched paperbook with spine - $16.00

To order by mail click here.

To order with Paypal:

From the United States

From other countries

Home Books Gordon Treichler Kiel G. E. Schwartz Swayze Gibbons Spring Franklin Merrill Roche White Ordering By Mail Contact

mostly cloudy

mark gibbons

With seven black and white photographs by Kurt Wilson.