Michael Dow's poetry and translations have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies. He published one book of poetry, Secrets of Migration (Millstone Press 1981) and edited one collection of poetry, Voices of the Wineland (Alta Napa Press 1980). As an editor at Dharma Publishing, he edited and wrote Volume three of the Annals of the Nyingma Lineage in America (Dharma Publishing 1985). As an Area Coordinator of California Poets in the Schools, he published a collection of student writing accompanied by poet-teacher lesson plans, A Poem in Every tree, 1981. At S. F. State, Dow was twice a winner in the Academy of American Poets College Contest. In 1974, he was a gold medal winner in Triton College's All Nations Poetry Contest, judged by the late Donald Hall.

All three of his poems from the contest were published in the Congressional Record Vol. 122, March 17, 1976. Dow taught English and creative writing at San Francisco State University, Sonoma State University, and Napa Valley College. He taught a variety of courses in Tibetan Buddhist studies at the Nyingma Institute. As a member of Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche's Nyingma Centers, he served as Dean of the Tibetan Nyingma Institute and an editor for Dharma Publishing, and completed a traditional three-year, three-month retreat at Odiyan Tibetan Nyingma Retreat Center.