<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>maps from a good kingdom</title>
	<atom:link href="http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com</link>
	<description></description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:11:27 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.com/</generator>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<cloud domain='mapsfromagoodkingdom.com' port='80' path='/?rsscloud=notify' registerProcedure='' protocol='http-post' />
<image>
		<url>http://www.gravatar.com/blavatar/cc19a3f2b723e7e0cba0cbca32a4ad26?s=96&#038;d=http://s.wordpress.com/i/buttonw-com.png</url>
		<title>maps from a good kingdom</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com</link>
	</image>
			<item>
		<title>11/8/09 update to original post &#8216;Poem and Essay refining&#8217;</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/10/24/publication/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/10/24/publication/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:29:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[assays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bear River Writers Conference]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[draft revision]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[workshops]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/?p=1304</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Contrary to the note below, poems and essays unpublished here have returned and soon I will be returning my essays at Traverse Magazine&#8217;s site, myNorth.com.  Due to other demands, I will not be working toward outside publication.  I will post more here when I can.  As always, thanks for reading and be [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1304&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/10/24/publication/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Relevance</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/10/10/relevance/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/10/10/relevance/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:30:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[memoirs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/?p=1301</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I don&#8217;t care whether or not you know that it was I
who helped you from Point A to Point C -
because I have decided for me, as fellow pilgrim, that is my job.
But in the future,
if you should map out this time in your life,
through the whole mess and uncertainty of it, 
that you will [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1301&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/10/10/relevance/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Calling</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/29/calling/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/29/calling/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:15:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[calling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poem]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/?p=1295</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Everyone has one -
the churched, the unchurched,
the atheists too -
because it&#8217;s a spiritual decision to be an atheist.
We&#8217;re not talking about vocation,
or career, or making a living.
It&#8217;s about your life&#8217;s work -
your life as purpose
your life as revolution.
[copyright 2009] Darren King
Posted in poems, poetry, spirituality, thoughts, writing life Tagged: calling, life, poem, poetry, spirituality, thoughts [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1295&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/29/calling/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Where We Start</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/26/where-we-start/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/26/where-we-start/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:50:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[assays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/?p=1289</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s a source of fascination for me.  To build a life.  What is it really?  What is it that we do, I mean.  To make a life.  What does that mean?  I thought about this the other day sitting alone in an airport, people watching and then yesterday at [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1289&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/26/where-we-start/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Small Fasts</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/18/small-fasts/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/18/small-fasts/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:04:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[autumn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[harvest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michigan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/?p=1274</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Autumn is a time in Michigan
the humidity drops, the air turns crisp,
the cornfields on the way to town have been cleared
and so it is this writer&#8217;s bliss that life slows down.
Dark comes early and moves us inside.
There is more time for harvesting words.
I take small fasts from work and
other tasks and arrange them in lines.
[copyright [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1274&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/18/small-fasts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>14</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Revolutions</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/12/revolutions/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/12/revolutions/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:16:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life as art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prayer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[revolutions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transformation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transformational thinking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/?p=1266</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Not all are violent.
The good ones, the really good ones,
are quiet, unassuming and take place 
when no one is listening, while no one is watching.
A man sits, he mediates, he prays -
and the world is changed.
A young girl hears her teacher&#8217;s words,
sets her life on a new trajectory -
and the world is changed.
A mother prepares [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1266&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/12/revolutions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>15</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hey Teacher, Leave Those Kids Alone!</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/07/hey-teacher-leave-those-kids-alone/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/07/hey-teacher-leave-those-kids-alone/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:14:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Another Brick in the Wall Part ll]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fringe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GOP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[left-wing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pink Floyd]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[political thought]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[President Obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[progressives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public schools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[right-wing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[school]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[students]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/?p=1245</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Scary.  The farce that has become the rhectoric from the right-wing- fringe-now-turned-mainstream-GOP-voices &#8211; inspired by a coming speech from our President addressed to the nation&#8217;s students as they begin school and said speech to contain the controversial messages; work hard, set goals, take responsibility.  As a result of all the noise, my wife and I received the [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1245&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/07/hey-teacher-leave-those-kids-alone/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>9</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Letter to Her Children: President Obama&#8217;s Address to the Nation&#8217;s Students</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/05/a-letter-to-her-children-president-obamas-address-to-the-nations-students/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/05/a-letter-to-her-children-president-obamas-address-to-the-nations-students/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:16:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Democracy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fringe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lesson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[letter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[letters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[letters to children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[President Obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public schools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[respect]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[right-wing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sarcasm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[satire]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[schools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[students]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teachers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/?p=1240</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today&#8217;s post features a wonderful letter written to her children, by friend and brilliant writer, Rebecca King at her blog &#8217;Adventures of a Nervous Girl&#8217;. 
http://adventuresofanervousgirl.typepad.com/nervous_girl/2009/09/a-letter-to-my-children.html

Posted in essays, family, nonfiction, politics, thoughts, writing, writing life Tagged: children, Democracy, essays, family, fringe, lesson, letter, letters, letters to children, nation, politics, President Obama, public schools, respect, right-wing, sarcasm, satire, schools, students, teachers [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1240&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/09/05/a-letter-to-her-children-president-obamas-address-to-the-nations-students/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sheep Not of This Fold</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/31/sheep-not-of-this-fold/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/31/sheep-not-of-this-fold/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:06:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=1196</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sometimes I wonder if at the end of the day
it all comes down to love, nothing more -
love was enough to correct the sins of this world
and yet set the world on its head too
as telling from well-written, pragmatic doctrine
acknowledge the concept, ignore the application -
                  my brother&#8217;s keeper, love my neighbor
cloak personal responsibility with compassionate [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1196&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/31/sheep-not-of-this-fold/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Big Enough</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/26/big-enough/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/26/big-enough/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 26 Jul 2009 17:15:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=1207</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Jesus, to get His way, might say,
     I know why you do, what you do.
     I know your heart.  You know My name.
     If I&#8217;m a deterrent &#8211; don&#8217;t tell who it is who sent you.
     If my [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1207&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/26/big-enough/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Big Sur (or, working from my wife&#8217;s studio)</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/08/big-sur-or-working-from-my-wifes-studio/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/08/big-sur-or-working-from-my-wifes-studio/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:07:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Big Sur]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corporate life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indigo Jones Studio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vision]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[work]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=1166</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This painting by another artist
in my wife&#8217;s studio,
the painting she found years ago
at a garage sale
in our old neighborhood where we
lived after we were first married,
I wonder if the artist knows,
if she ever speculates
that I&#8217;ve walked the brush strokes
of her foamy shores
and have sat for hours in the cove
she fashioned patiently,
just for me.
And for weeks [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1166&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/08/big-sur-or-working-from-my-wifes-studio/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Today, Here, Now &#8211; Listen</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/07/today-here-now-listen/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/07/today-here-now-listen/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:54:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thanksgiving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=1159</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today, Here, Now &#8211; Listen
I wanted to write something positive.
Tell you about the weather -
how blue the Michigan sky has been,
how green the grass in our yard,
the slightest cool breeze during our evenings.
I wanted to tell you I have healthy children,
a loving and supportive wife who&#8217;s also a friend,
a home and plenty of food -
like [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1159&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/07/today-here-now-listen/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>theMotherhood.com &#8211; live chat</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/05/themotherhood-com-live-chat/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/05/themotherhood-com-live-chat/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 03:01:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=1144</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[theMotherhood &#8211; Live Chat on Health Care Reform
On Monday, July 6th at 1PM EST, theMotherhood hosted an informational live chat on Health Care Reform.  In case you missed it, you can read the chat at theMotherhood.com website.
theMotherhood.com is an excellent site. A resource, a place to discuss the challenges of child rearing, the workplace, [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1144&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/07/05/themotherhood-com-live-chat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sunday</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/06/15/sunday/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/06/15/sunday/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:59:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thanksgiving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[second acts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[summer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sunday]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=1140</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sunday
Today is a day of turning pages,
turning corners.
We watch our boys carry
a bucket of baseballs, mitts,
a couple of bats and a cooler
with waters up the path from our house
through the woods and up to the meadow
where some kindly neighbor mows
a baseball diamond.
They&#8217;ll throw down the
polyeurethane squares I found
after I cleaned out a stockroom
at work, use [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1140&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/06/15/sunday/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Carrying On</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/05/26/carrying-on/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/05/26/carrying-on/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2009 16:30:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thanksgiving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crisis]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=1129</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Carrying On
By Darren King
[copyright 2009]
During difficult times
we are sometimes told to move on -
to move on and get on with our lives.
But moving on is synonymous with denial.
Moving on is an attempt to escape
the full effect of events
that unfold in our lives.
I don&#8217;t know how to move on -
I only know how to carry on.
Please [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1129&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/05/26/carrying-on/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>16</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>After Your Crash</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/04/26/after-your-crash/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/04/26/after-your-crash/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:50:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birthdays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christmas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fathers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=1122</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The poem below is the second of a two-part post with the poem ICU 2423 which reflected on my father-in-law&#8217;s near fatal car accident two and half years ago.  I wrote today&#8217;s poem, &#8216;After Your Crash&#8217; after my father-in-law was released from the hospital and in time to have Christmas with him recovering and [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1122&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/04/26/after-your-crash/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Room 2423</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/04/23/1101/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/04/23/1101/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:13:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birthdays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[father-son relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hope]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jesus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[remembrance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=1101</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I wrote the following poem in November of 2006 as my father-in-law lie in an Intensive Care Unit after on November 7th he and my mother-in-law were hit in their car by an oncoming vehicle. My father-in-law took the brunt of the impact as the other vehicle ripped off his side of their car. My [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1101&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/04/23/1101/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Thanks</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/03/15/still-here/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/03/15/still-here/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:00:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[posting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sabbaticals]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=1072</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Thank you to all who in the past have shown an interest in my writing, who have left supportive and constructive comments.  Currently, I am off-line; the negotiations of business taking precedent over the negotations of sentences and syllables.  In the gaps, I read your blogs and see the dedication to your craft. [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1072&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/03/15/still-here/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>14</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>New Poetry (new to me anyway)</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/03/15/new-poetry-new-to-me-anyway/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/03/15/new-poetry-new-to-me-anyway/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2009 05:00:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[found blogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new work]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=1082</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I love finding new work, new great poems.  New to me anyway.  Perhaps they&#8217;ve been sitting in a notepad or on someone&#8217;s C-drive.  Thankfully, they&#8217;ve been published for all to enjoy.  Check out Cindy Hanson and Embrasures on my blog-roll.  Zebra Sounds is on there too but when I added [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1082&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2009/03/15/new-poetry-new-to-me-anyway/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Trinity</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/31/trinity/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/31/trinity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:38:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trinity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=1051</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Trinity
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
The first thing I notice
is the water leaving
having just kissed the rock
as if to say 
don&#8217;t worry I&#8217;ll be back
the sand will stay
keep you company
until I return seconds later
But even when I leave
part of me will stay
surround you like a blanket
you will know I am here
just as I will take with [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1051&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/31/trinity/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Believe: an essay</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/24/believe-an-essay/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/24/believe-an-essay/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Dec 2008 04:25:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[assays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[belief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[believe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christmas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[faith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Santa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Polar Express]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=1022</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Believe: an essay
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
Watching &#8220;The Polar Express&#8221; with our children the other night, I noticed something I hadn&#8217;t in previous years.  Perhaps it took a few viewings for me to see the film&#8217;s depth beyond the astonishing animation.  Or maybe, I&#8217;m just slow to notice these things.  But I [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1022&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/24/believe-an-essay/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Rock Star</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/14/rockstar/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/14/rockstar/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:04:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jesus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[theology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=1002</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Rock Star
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
If Jesus were music
he&#8217;d be a rock band -
not Bach or Debussy
with their soft violins
their tranquil images
sheep safely grazing
and clair de lune -
he&#8217;d be thundering drums
and a chorus of electric guitars
powered by a wall of
Marshall amplifiers.
Because he didn&#8217;t mean
for the sound of his words
to pass casually by our ears
like white-noise
like [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=1002&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/14/rockstar/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>14</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spreading the Word</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/11/spreading-the-word/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/11/spreading-the-word/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:59:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[High School English Literature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reading]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reading poetry]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=954</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Spreading the Word
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
Besides the obvious reasons
my wife wonders about
my keeping poetry anthologies
on the tikki-looking stand
next to the toilet
in our powder room.
You&#8217;re so odd
she says to me -
like I&#8217;ve gone all evangelical
and left a Bible out
with little pieces of paper
strategically placed
into dog-eared pages
marked by yellow high-lighter.
But even if I did
I wouldn&#8217;t steer [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=954&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/11/spreading-the-word/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Happy Holidays</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/06/happy-holidays/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/06/happy-holidays/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 07 Dec 2008 00:02:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American living]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[belief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[diversity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[faith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Happy Holidays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jesus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kindness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Merry Christmas]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=891</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A good friend of mine &#8211;  a wonderful writer, activist, poet, humanitarian, philosopher, commentator to progressive politics, outspoken champion of human rights, fan of art, music and film, husband and father, theologian and pastor who fifteen years ago presided over my marriage to Deborah Larson &#8211; wrote a wonderful essay I wanted to share [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=891&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/06/happy-holidays/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>In Memoriam</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/01/for-lhs/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/01/for-lhs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:32:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[memoirs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michigan/ The Third Coast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mothers and sons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=943</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In Memoriam
For Lori Hall Steele, who passed away 11/19/08
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
I&#8217;m so sorry things
did not work out
for you in the end
as you planned
as we all plan
when we are young -
44 is young.
Like so many others
I knew you only
through your accomplishments
which were many,
more than most.
I knew you through
your essays
introspective pieces
of your life revealed
each one [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=943&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/12/01/for-lhs/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Fat Old Sun</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/26/fat-old-sun/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/26/fat-old-sun/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Nov 2008 06:00:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Gilmour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fat Old Sun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lake Michigan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marriage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Remember that night]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[songs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[summer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sunsets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thanksgiving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=767</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[And if you sit, don&#8217;t make a sound
Pick your feet up off the ground
And if you hear as the warm night falls
The silver sound from a time so strange
Sing to me, sing to me&#8230;
       &#8211; from &#8220;Fat Old Sun&#8221;, written by David Gilmour
Fat Old Sun
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
Don&#8217;t [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=767&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/26/fat-old-sun/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>James</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/15/james/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/15/james/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:55:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[friends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[funerals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[loss of a loved one]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[remembrance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=722</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[James
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
Here in this room are pictures of you
and the people who love you -
you with your family and friends,
you and your rock band,
your team mates,
you and a beautiful girl.
I stand across from your father,
his tired eyes red and swollen,
everything I think to say
sounding so lame as when I said it
to myself [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=722&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/15/james/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Carol</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/09/carol/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/09/carol/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2008 14:58:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[memoirs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[angels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[loss of a loved one]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenthood]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=701</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Carol
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
I didn&#8217;t want you
to have to be that person -
who walks to the edge
of the abyss
and looking down into
its murky depths
walks in
undaunted
if but to hang on
to someone you love
as if going in yourself
you could bring him back.
I didn&#8217;t want you
to have to be that person
you who are too good
too kind
and now [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=701&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/09/carol/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>In Somebody Else&#8217;s Shoes (or, why I lean left)</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/04/somebody-elses-shoes-or-why-i-lean-left/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/04/somebody-elses-shoes-or-why-i-lean-left/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:16:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[choices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[work]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=698</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In Somebody Else&#8217;s Shoes (or, why I lean left)
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
It&#8217;s not so much
that I don&#8217;t recognize
these are good paying jobs
for an unremarkable town like this -
with no apparent downtown
and the discount chainstores
unloaded just off the interstate exit.
And I recognize people must own
the choices they make.
She&#8217;s all too young though, too comfortable
in factory [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=698&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/04/somebody-elses-shoes-or-why-i-lean-left/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Beautiful Day</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/02/beautiful-day/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/02/beautiful-day/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Nov 2008 01:34:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[giving thanks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gratitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michigan/ The Third Coast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[November]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thanksgiving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U2]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=655</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Beautiful Day
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
I&#8217;m feeling the need
today to give thanks.
Maybe it was the
upbeat U2
loud from the CD
in our car and our
boys talking sports
as they do
in the backseat,
contrasted to empty fields
west of town,
the harvest long past
and the blanket of grey
that fell today over Michigan
as it does each November.
Or maybe it was the way
the sun [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=655&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/11/02/beautiful-day/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Orion Outside My Door</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/29/orion-outside-my-door/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/29/orion-outside-my-door/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:30:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Constellations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[home]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Orion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=602</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Orion Outside My Door
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
Walking out my front door
the other morning
I felt the sting of cold air -
it&#8217;s come early this year,
and noticing it was also dark
looked up out of habit
as I do each October
for Orion&#8217;s return -
his intimidating stance,
his drawn sword,
ready to strike,
but does not strike,
his infamous
belt of three stars.
Here I [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=602&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/29/orion-outside-my-door/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Space Between</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/28/the-space-between/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/28/the-space-between/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:40:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[philosophy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reflections]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=126</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Space Between
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
This is the place
where things are
neither black or white.
Not so much grey really
but silver -
metallic reflects hope
like pixie dust,
there is still room
for magic and miracles,
for possibilities.
This is the place
of holy ground,
where we seek
no answers and
welcome the question.
This is the place
where we dwell
into the mystery -
between the secular
and the august,
between [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=126&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/28/the-space-between/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>15th Anniversary (or, why we still hold hands)</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/23/15th-anniversary-or-why-we-still-hold-hands/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/23/15th-anniversary-or-why-we-still-hold-hands/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:40:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anniversary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marriage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reflection]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[time]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=566</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[15th Anniversary (or, why we still hold hands)
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
Because we know how dangerous
this world can be,
how fragile.
Because we know the power
of words -
how they can hurt,
destroy,
undo,
how they can heal,
mend,
all that we have done
to garrison this union.
Lord knows
I can piss you off
like nobody&#8217;s business.
But here we are,
fifteen years later,
after dating
nine and a half [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=566&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/23/15th-anniversary-or-why-we-still-hold-hands/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Requiem</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/21/requiem/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/21/requiem/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:25:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[assays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[memoirs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[father-son relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fathers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[George Stephanopolous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Johnny Cash]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Old Country Music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[remembrance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sanford and Son]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[This Week]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=487</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;And there&#8217;s nothin&#8217; short of dying, that&#8217;s half as lonesome as the sound, of a sleeping, city sidewalk, and Sunday morning, comin&#8217; down.&#8221; &#8211; Johnny Cash
Requiem
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
So Saturday night we had a campfire as I said we would.  The air turned cool.  The fire wasn&#8217;t as good as I had [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=487&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/21/requiem/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/painting-and-fire-005.jpg?w=263" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">our fire in October, Darren King [copyright 2008]</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Veteran in a New Field</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/17/the-veteran-in-a-new-field/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/17/the-veteran-in-a-new-field/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:36:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winslow Homer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=405</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Veteran in a New Field
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
I’m not sure exactly
how these things happen.
I started out on this path
waking early for years -
a burst of creative expression
in written word,
a whole body of work produced.
But then there is the other work too -
that puts the food on the table,
that pays the bills.
This work takes [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=405&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/17/the-veteran-in-a-new-field/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>great poem alert</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/15/great-poem-alert/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/15/great-poem-alert/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:41:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[opening]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seeds]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=397</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This is a trick I learned from Poet Verse (besides the others I&#8217;ve learned)&#8230;tipping others to really good work by a post&#8230;so&#8230;
I read a great poem today at:  ellipsesfields.wordpress.com entitled, &#8220;how we must open&#8221;&#8230;
Best,
Darren King
Posted in poems, thoughts, writing Tagged: opening, poem, poetry, seeds      <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=397&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/15/great-poem-alert/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Billy, Chad and Tikki Tikki Tembo</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/12/billy-chad-and-tikki-tikki-tembo/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/12/billy-chad-and-tikki-tikki-tembo/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:19:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chinese Folklore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chinese Literature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[First Grade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[moving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[relocating]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[remembrance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=321</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Billy, Chad and Tikki Tikki Tembo
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
When my son’s friend peddled his bicycle out of
our neighborhood for what would be his last time
and his life forever separated from our&#8217;s,
first by distance and eventually by time,
I thought of you, Billy, and your last day in our First Grade class.
Life provides a list of [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=321&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/12/billy-chad-and-tikki-tikki-tembo/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Coming Home</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/11/coming-home/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/11/coming-home/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:01:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Durham]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[North Carolina]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traveling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[work]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=279</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Coming Home
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
Traveling for business is odd.  At least when you do it as frequently as I do.  It&#8217;s necessary.  But it&#8217;s odd.  The drama that comes with airports and shuttles.  Rental cars and hotels.  Sometimes I feel like Steve Martin in &#8220;Planes, Trains and Automobiles&#8221;. [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=279&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/11/coming-home/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Antidote to the Rejection Letter</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/09/antidote-to-the-rejection-letter/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/09/antidote-to-the-rejection-letter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:57:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rejection letters]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=245</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Antidote to the Rejection Letter
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
The dream is always the same -
she is sitting next to me,
confident, beautiful,
gracefully turning
the pages of my poems,
telling me her favorites -
I love the imagery in this stanza,
that word, it&#8217;s so effective,
I must share it, she says.
With perfect enunciation
she reads aloud my work,
my words.
My poems sound so [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=245&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/09/antidote-to-the-rejection-letter/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Testament to Freedom</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/08/a-testament-to-freedom-by-darren-king/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/08/a-testament-to-freedom-by-darren-king/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:29:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[army]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[army life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[father-son relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mending]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=118</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A Testament to Freedom by Darren King [copyright 2008]
For Pfc. Joseph Sturgis, Jamestown NY
I sat next to him on a flight
from Atlanta to Detroit
and closed my book somewhere
over the Tennessee Valley -
he wasn&#8217;t ever going to stop talking.
He was going home
on a seventeen-day leave of absence
after basic training,
then onto a twelve-month
stint in Korea.
He was going [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=118&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/08/a-testament-to-freedom-by-darren-king/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Author&#8217;s note to Testament to Freedom</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/08/authors-note-to-testament-to-freedom-by-darren-king/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/08/authors-note-to-testament-to-freedom-by-darren-king/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:29:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[army]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[army life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[remembrance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=262</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The events in the poem above took place prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks.  I do not know what became of Private Sturgis following our shared flight.  But the humility Joe displayed that day, coupled with his sense of urgency to return home to correct with his father the things from the [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=262&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/08/authors-note-to-testament-to-freedom-by-darren-king/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Private Investigations</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/07/private-investigations/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/07/private-investigations/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:45:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[assays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dire Straits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mapping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mark Knopfler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[process]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing process]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=188</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s a mystery to me, the game commences,
for the usual fee, plus expenses.
Confidential information, it&#8217;s in a diary.
This is my investigation; it&#8217;s not a public inquiry. &#8211; Mark Knopfler
Private Investigations
By Darren King [copyright 2008]
Private investigations.  They&#8217;re at the heart of a writer&#8217;s work.  Unsoliticited thoughts made public.  And the process is a [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=188&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/07/private-investigations/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hope:  An Essay</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/05/hope-an-essay/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/05/hope-an-essay/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:49:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nonfiction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[America]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[assays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hope]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[political thought]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=155</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[True to form, we stayed late at our friends last night.  Or early.  Depending upon your perspective.  I think we set a new record.  We pulled into our driveway at 2AM.  Our children are so comfortable at our friends house, they eventually fall asleep while watching a ball game or [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=155&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/05/hope-an-essay/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>greetings from a (mostly) good kingdom</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/04/greetings-from-a-mostly-good-kingdom/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/04/greetings-from-a-mostly-good-kingdom/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Oct 2008 22:15:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[assays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[essays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=149</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My wife Deborah and I have mostly been talking today.  About &#8220;mostly&#8221;.  Mostly, it seems, has become our end-goal in life.  Not perfect.  Not the best.  Mostly.  We strive to be mostly good people.  We try to be mostly good parents.  I could never wear a shirt [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=149&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/04/greetings-from-a-mostly-good-kingdom/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>REESE&#8217;S FAMILY</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/04/reeses-family/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/04/reeses-family/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:53:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[belonging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[people]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=107</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Darren King [copyright 2008]
REESE&#8217;S FAMILY
It&#8217;s what you wrote
there in our driveway
the weekend after
you turned five -
uppercase letters
in pink sidewalk chalk
perfectly centered across
a score in the pavement.
You drew a large
pink heart
above your words
then stood back
and smiled -
the way one smiles in pride
for his lineage, his name -
this is my home,
these are the people I love,
these [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=107&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/04/reeses-family/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>First Born</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/03/first-born/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/03/first-born/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:43:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parenthood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=115</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Darren King [copyright 2008]
Your formal name
is derived from Old English.
But ever since you were born
we preferred its Irish form
meaning spirited;
which more suit
your personality as an infant,
especially as a toddler
and definitely as the
undaunted young man of ten
I drove to hockey on
winter Saturday mornings.
You are your mother
and your father both
when at their very best.
You have inherited
their [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=115&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/03/first-born/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Honey I get it.  I really do.</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/02/honey-i-get-it-i-really-do/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/02/honey-i-get-it-i-really-do/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:10:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=100</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Darren King [copyright 2008]
 
There&#8217;s the first life you live -
the one where you help
your little boy clean himself
after with limited success
he&#8217;s used his big-boy potty seat
and then you wipe up the
cat puke in the foyer
you swiffered the night before
after Letterman.
It&#8217;s the life where
piles of laundry rule your space
but you&#8217;ve grown to ignore
them as a [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=100&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/10/02/honey-i-get-it-i-really-do/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>14</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>berrying</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/09/28/berrying/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/09/28/berrying/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:53:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[death]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[remembrance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=73</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Darren King [copyright 2008]
&#8220;Do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.  Leave them for the poor and the alien.&#8221; &#8211; Leviticus 19:9
&#8220;When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back and get it.  Leave it for [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=73&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/09/28/berrying/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>some choices, some luck, mostly grace</title>
		<link>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/09/28/some-choices-some-luck-mostly-grace/</link>
		<comments>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/09/28/some-choices-some-luck-mostly-grace/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:35:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darren King</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[people]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.wordpress.com/?p=48</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Darren King [copyright 2008]
I like grocery shopping with my wife.
We don&#8217;t do it often.  Mostly
when the children are with my in-laws.
Sometimes we catch a movie,
or we end up in a bookstore,
or a coffeehouse,
or the university town near our home.
And sometimes we go grocery shopping.
My wife pushes the cart and makes the choices.
I saunter [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mapsfromagoodkingdom.com&blog=4735720&post=48&subd=mapsfromagoodkingdom&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://mapsfromagoodkingdom.com/2008/09/28/some-choices-some-luck-mostly-grace/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
	
		<media:content url="" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">dk</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
	</channel>
</rss>