WORDS
This is where you will find my unpublished poems and fiction, reviews of works by other authors, and guest posts.
An Apple A Day
The tasty apples that gave rise to the phrase “as American as apple pie” aren’t native to North America. The seeds journeyed over from Europe like illegal aliens. The spices, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, sneaked in from Asia via the European spice trade. After years...
The Sea Gull Blogs – Mendocino A Half Century Ago
Sea Gull Restaurant Stories© 2026 David Herstle Jones The Sea Gull Restaurant was a popular hangout in Mendocino during the 1970s and 80s. Lots of things happened there, good and bad. Think in the Morning has posted memories of several of these happenings in our...
Wood Stove
“Every man looks at his wood-pile with a kind of affection. I love to have mine before my window, and the more chips the better to remind me of my pleasing work. I had an old axe which nobody claimed, with which by spells in winter days, on the sunny side of the...
Great Horned Owl
At three o’clock in the morning a great horned owl hooted outside my bedroom window. Moonlight laughed in the forest. The rain had stopped and the weather had cleared up and I had to get up to pee but I didn’t want to leave my warm bed. I felt like that owl who had...
Why I Cancelled Social Media
I’ve had a number of friends say they miss me on social media. But, when I ask if they’ve read my blog, my novel or my book,of short stories, the answer is often “it’s on my list.” I can’t help but think of the essay Literature and Life by Mario Vargas Llosa.It...
A Novel For Our Times
“Si tuviera que salvar del fuego una sola de las novelas que he escrito, salvaría esta.”(“If I had to save from the fire just one of the novels I have written, I would save this one.”) — Mario Vargas Llosa referring to Conversación en La Catedral. In his novel,...
The Ordinary Business Of Life
In my 1890 edition of Alfred Marshall’s Principles of Economics, the great economist defines economics as “a study of man’s actions in the ordinary business of life.” Too often we only see the highlights: the pivotal conversations, the dramatic turns, the “act...
The Crossing
During this dark time of ICE raids, I decided to repost this poem/story I posted back in 2016. It's based on a true story told to me by a friend I met in Oaxaca Mexico. [FYI: Read about my newly published book of short stories HERE] The Crossingfor my friend, Renato...
Short Fiction: High Tech Burnout – A Story For Our Times
The cities were the first to go when the robots took over.“For the reason Willie Sutton robbed banks,” chatted Gee Bee Tee.You can run but you can’t hide, said someone.“A few of us in the backwaters carry on like killifish in vernal pools where our CBRN (Chemical,...
Five Children’s Stories
Children's Stories: Click on the picture to read the story. Bebop and Beezie Visit the Land of Manynuts The Day Of Choose Your Own Color Horace Cucumber Rumplescowlson Oscar The Worm To The Rescue
Poems
Think in the Morning Poems Poem by Think in the Morning: A BeePoem by Think in the Morning: Analytic GeometryPoem by Think in the Morning: Basket CasePoem by Think in the Morning: Between the DaysPoem by Think in the Morning: Blake’s SongsPoem by Think in the...
The Frolic Cafe – an update
I'm working on a new book - The Frolic Cafe. I started this project some time ago but abandoned the idea for lack of time. I am now well into the writing/editing phase. Below are several collages you may recognize. These were the featured art for the first draft of...











