Morning Nightānow available!
Morning Night is Dr. Larry Wardās first published collection of poemsāexplorations of race, nature, and spirit woven with messages of hope, justice, and belonging.
Sprinkled between the poems and pages are original paintings from Dr. Ward, offering a deeper glimpse into his creative process.
Available now on Amazon and coming soon to independent retailers like Bookshop.org.
š Join the October 30 book launch event
Meditation on Ancestors
Relax into the working ground of your ancestors.
Look within with a clear mind.
Watch as memories, thoughts, fears, disappointments,
anger, and wonder flow by.
Breathe ā¦
Receive a spacious heart and let what is most vivid
melt away into holy emptiness.
Hold onto nothing, yet embrace everything, as you fall into the river of goodness hidden in your bones, flowing toward the ocean of strength, forgiveness and grace.
story
behind
the
title
Morning Night comes from the quiet hours between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., when the world rests between darkness and light, and where Larryās poetry arose most freely. It was a time of great insight and non-dualism that helped to awaken his creativity and his practice of catching a poem in the moment.
The name also carries memories from Plum Village, where Larry would often meet Thich Nhat Hanh on the monastery's pathways and fields, in the middle of the night, as they were both unable to sleep. As they met, Thay would shared with Larry, āWhen Iām awake at this time, I write books.ā
āMorning Night is a luminous offering from the heart of a devoted practitioner, poet, and global elder. These poems speak plainly to the wounds of this worldāviolence, racism, lossāand still shimmer with the moonlight of a heart that remains untouched, free, and full of love. His words bear the imprint of a lifetime walking the path with humility and insight. Larry offers not just poetry, but refuge.
These are poems to sit with in silence, to return to in struggle, and to lean into when we need to remember what is still possible. This is the dharma sung through a poetās heartātender, unflinching, and full of the strength of stillness. We need this voice now. We need this book now.ā
āKaira Jewel Lingo, spiritual teacher, author of We Were Made for These Times, co-author of Healing Our Way Home
āMorning Night is evidence of a seasoned teacher looking deeply, documenting insights from lessons learned and illuminations to ponder forward. Each heartfelt inquiry a reflection on personal, social, and spiritual relationship in this present moment, serving as a mirror to help us as readers contemplate our connection with life indefinitely. This is a wonderful poetry collection.ā
āBrett Cook, interdisciplinary artist
āA selfless teacher for over 30 years, Dr. Larry Ward offers his brilliance through the lens of a life in the Dharma on the plight of the world, sharing nuggets of insight on how we can save it and ourselves.ā
āSister Peace, Buddhist nun in the Plum Village tradition
āThere is a wisdom that lives beyond the confines of rational thoughtāone that can only be expressed in poems and songs. Larry Ward offers that kind of wisdom. These poems are for our timesā
āKazu Haga, author of Fierce Vulnerability and Healing Resistance
Books by Dr. Larry Ward
āIām talking about embracing your experience, embracing it wisely, embracing it in a way that it doesn't cause you or anyone else harm. Learning how to practice with our humanness is what I see as the key to how we move forward.ā
ā Dr. Larry Ward