Sarah Ricard

Not A Parent, Time, But Apparent Time 

We must love by halves when it comes to you, Time.
If we are embracing optimistic thoughts for the future,
we must renounce, however temporarily,
whatever's been wasted in the past, so as to concentrate
on a mad, happy dash
 to the light at the end of the tunnel.
"Since the beginning of time..." people say.
Who was there to celebrate your birth, Time?
I think you must have been born and then
had the universe's first existential crisis.
Do you fly when we're having fun just to taunt us?
And make it drag when we're not content
just to be sadistic?
Is Time still Time when it stands still?
As the centuries pass by,
do you smile upon some faces, and love them?
Are they the ones whose wounds you heal?
But no.
We are the ones in action.
You do nothing except get the last laugh, in the end.
...Don't you?

{Sarah Ricard, s.ricard@outlook.com}

Fred Leavitt

To Diane

I.
My violin shrieks
and rends the air with lament
but look who wields the bow
don't blame the instrument

I write ill matched couplet, tinkly rhyme
but others, with words full-known to me
breathed life to Kubla Khan and Leda's swan
and the fair lake isle of Innisfree

I I.
My spirit was dormant, uninspired
listlessly played by those I knew
aimless drippings on a cluttered canvas
and then came you

Newfound emotions surged within me
for Gods can be made from fools
I knew beauty, passion, tender love
It's the worker, not the tools. 

{Fred Leavitt, fredlvtt@gmail.com}

Llyn Clague

Cookout 

Evening settles on the lake
like snowfall on the prairie.
Wind drops, the gray of the water
subtly softens.  Calm expands.

Beside a column of white smoke
above a sparking charcoal grill,
like air bubbles from the lake floor
bursts of laughter rise, and vanish.

Friends, fire, food, light
slap of wavelets on the shore,
intimate as fingertips.  Hunger
and joy, under a dark, silent sky. 


Loon At Dawn 

Cries of a loon at dawn,
motionless gray lake,
sky of pink and blue.

Echoes bounding in the mind,
flaring embers of memory,
dimensions of a great quiet. 

{Llyn Clague, llynclague@aol.com}

Katrina Bauer

Shine 

The stars shine so bright
in the pupil of your eye;
foretelling your fate
on that night.
To shine as a star might.
Amazing and lovely
to all those who see.
You’re gonna shine
that bright someday,
you’ll see. 


The Moment 

He opened his heart
and I saw the light.
I opened my heart
and knew it was right.

I did not fight
his eyes that drew me in.
I did not scare
at the truth within.

I saw the love
that was within
and I was head over heels
with him.

{Katrina Bauer, bauer.km3@gmail.com}

Erren Geraud Kelly

Stars

Stars hover over me like the memory of you, they 
Hold me captive, like a word  from your lips 
A vision that will never leave  me 
Nor  does it dim in  its intensity;  in the 
Night, stars explode like a smile 
On your face, like a picture of you 
Now stored away, but your face lingers 
Brilliant as a tune playing in the background,
Rich as the planets in orbit
A planet from far away is 
Dwarfed by a huge moon, like your memory  
Bearing down on me, a benevolent  goddess 
Even as I watch the stars align and 
Reveal you, you are a wonder of the age; 
Revel in your light, as you rain your love  on me 
Yielding blessings from a fertile heart 


Aurora Borealis (northern lights) 

sometimes, you are visible,
a spirit dancing in the night. I’m sirius
perhaps, you are a solar wind;
I surrender to your magnetic force
as you leave
a trail of stars behind;
they form a pattern in the sky,
revealing your shape. To
know your beauty,
is to see the colors in the night
like the spirits, you change colors
frequently, from pink, to green, to red.  
they evolve into a geomagnetic storm;
i’m blinded by your science 
holmes or sam spade have tried to
analyze your glow,
the electrical storm, you leave behind
yields a cinematic sky, even the most
trained eye of a stargazer cannot decipher.
even if agatha christie,
could solve the mystery of you,
she would be
reeling like me,
in the colors of electrons, 

{Erren Geraud Kelly, errenkelly76@yahoo.com}

Colton Castle

Garden 

Knit my soul to yours
Oh fairest friend of mine
We'll steal away
To a quiet place
And I'll never leave your side

Call me to your garden
Rapture of my mind
The birds will soar and sing
A new song every morn
Call me to your garden
The wedding hour has come
The people all are dressed in white
And your face shines like the sun 


Bird 

Make me a bird
I want to soar and sing
And never speak another word
The clouds will be my home
And every soaring note
That dances from my throat
Will be a love song for you

{Colton Castle, coltoncastle@gmail.com}

Lisa Mcivor

Circles 

I first knew safety curled inside my mother,
slept where I belonged
below the rhythm of her heart.
There were no perils to dependency,
our boundaries of frail bone,
mythical as the separation of our skin.
Now we find ourselves from the startle of our sleep,
the gauze thin weariness of age,
its slippered foot upon the stair, 
the hesitance of hands
translucent as a moth’s wing,
papered knuckles swollen smooth,
their eager pathway of veins.
We are children
lost within the parchment of our fingertips,
the years stretched ponderous between us
to this fierce and final understanding
of feathered breath,
the blue of fragile limbs and letting go.
These are the lines of early evening
curved to surrender,
cheekbones against her pillow willing sleep, 
the bravery of certain mornings,
a slackness of chin and the heaviness of words,
bedclothes shared with sorrow
and the softness of her hair.
So everything falls to this;
the little loss, the brittle light,
still I would tell you it is love, even these
spare, unbeautiful remains.
The shadow in the doorway remembers her.
My mother watches its slow journey across her floor
like the edging of an ocean or a cup’s silver rim.
She has told me that it sparkles, 
that as it moves closer it has called her by name.
She  spends her days listening
now to the ebbing dark eased along  her wall,
and waits for the light to reach her blanket,
to feel its gentle touch
warm against her knees.
to the periphery of her blanket
and it calls her by name.

{Lisa Mcivor, mcivor.lisa@yahoo.com}

Allison Whittenberg

Water’s Wine

The balance of bliss is pain
The balance of pain is enlightenment
The balance of enlightenment is more enlightment
The balance of more enlightenment is transcendence
The balance of transcendence is alienation
The balance of alienation is bliss

{Allison Whittenberg, amw37@drexel.edu}

Henry Goldkamp

 

Desert, blue sky

 

A half-full phenomenon—
endless russets of dirt
horizoned& drinking
the generous, bottomless blue.
Only strangeness blooms here.
This doleful infinity
never meant any harm.
It is only wight in your eyes;
the mop-up
of the cropless
& the cloudless.

 

{Henry Goldkamp, henry@freshpoetrystl.org}

Celestial K.

Lotus Pose 

My body crossed in Lotus Pose,
my heart feeling limber and light,
palms resting up in a waiting charade,
ready for sweet changes to come to me;
like the savory scent of coffee gives each
waking person in the darkness of the mornings
without daylight shining yet.

If I stay still in Lotus pose --
neglect the blazing television news
that likes to cut into my soul like
all those heart-wrenching murders they like to
show, ignore the pain of all people
because there’s nothing I can do about it –
I might just feel hope for the world. 


The Power Within 

Disappointment can be overcome—
A shining star warming the numb,
Intriguing the soul,
Stimulating the mind’s rapid words
Of hope and desperate peace
Within the self’s abyss,
Without into the universe:
All spaces of God;
For into the future,
Where nonexistent time is silent,
Nothing can keep still
The million signs of change
As we alter and stir the silvery
Lining of the horizon and see
A new beginning for us again.

{Celestial K., Celestialk1@gmail.com}

JD DeHart

 

The Lyrics

the earth may have been created

to the jam session of the stars,

the creator may have his own

luminous playlist

which leads me to wonder

do we approach the sounds

of his strings and percussion,

his naming of planets and blast

of powder rock,

when we write a new song,

line up some words like children

on their stumbling way to the fountain,

do we approach the moment

of inception when we sit and strum?

 

{JD DeHart, jddehart80@yahoo.com}

John K. Graham

Let There Be Dance

Find yourself

in tango’s close-embrace,

   a milonguera

lost in intricate movement,

guided by the bandoneon’s

sad strains.

Never been to Buenos Aires?

Not important.

Wherever you are,

infuse your life

…with life.

Let there be dance.

Belly Dancer                                                              

She entered to applause

   and piercing whistles

to the rapid drum beats

of the darbuka and dübelek

flowing black hair, olive skin

   enigmatic smile

hips swaying sinuously

finger cymbals clinking

   chink, chink-a chink,

   chink-a chink.

Ottoman bangles gleamed

   and clanked

   on her outstretched arms

belly and legs moving synchronously

   to the çiftetelli cadence

a swirl of intoxicating motion

   reviving memories of old Pera.

Shoulders rolling

head thrown back

rivulets of sweat matted her hair

   belly shimmying

ud and saz urging her on

in a rapturous dance

   of supple movement.

She swept past me

a blur of veiled movements

dark cavernous eyes

   mocking me

thighs and stomach undulating

the zurna wailing

finger cymbals clinking

   chink, chink-a chink

   chink-a chink.

As suddenly as she arrived

   she exited

rose petals strewn before her

a hint of anise and lemon water

   in the air

Roxelana’s daughter

a caïque gliding on the Bosphorous

   in the Levantine night. 

{John K. Graham, jgraham50@satx.rr.com}

Kemar Cummings

Prometheus 

His mind is lost like floating cliffs of ice

While beneath his pen yawns a sheer abyss.

The crunch of ages makes his sacrifice

Of bleeding voices into flesh a bliss. 

Since writing seems padlocked in a hell of chains,

His fingers lock themselves into frozen links.

His eyes follow the black tip-toe of ink-stains

Down the page's edge, down the hand that slinks

Across the nights. Ellipses await the script

Inviting space to write its lyric humanity,

Although his mind is naked, starkly bare, stripped

By gods who sleep the sky's immortality.

These spirits prey, like vultures, on his tongue

(Circling sanity round his head) to acquire

The taste of his bony ambrosial song.

He spiced the wine of mortal words with fire.

{Kemar Cummings, kempoet@icloud.com}

Stefanie P. Buckner

Many More Mornings 

Snow today, a Saturday morning
wearing winter.  It started off

slight & sparse.  My eyes
strained to see a small flake

here, another one way over
there.  Somehow I knew—

hoped really—that
if I looked hard and close—

insisted—sought—through cold,
otherwise empty air, I would find. 
Sure enough, two flakes became

four, & four became, both
slow & sudden, more: so numerous
that now the bare cherry blossom
tree is outlined with white, the vacant

roads full & still, doubts,
dry brown, forgotten.
I don’t know how many more mornings we have
left of snow this season.  I don’t know
how many more mornings we will watch
white fall from sky like love from this
bay window. But we have this many more

morning to survey, & savor, & save.

{Stefanie P. Buckner, sbuckner14@gmail.com}

Robert L. Martin

Dancer on a Cloud 

Step by step as
Light as a feather
Suspended by air
The highway to outer space

Gesturing in the beauty
Of the dawn
And the glory of
Mother nature
As she kisses the
Dew on the morning lily

She holds it to her breast
Her palpitating heart
Her rejuvenated spirit
Her feet free of bondage
Free to dance and
Roam among the skies

{Robert L. Martin, Narbig65@yahoo.com}

Roger G. Singer

Storm Winds 

A heavy wind forced telephone wires to sing.

High topped milk weeds bowed leeward 

from the storm, spreading their bounty into random space.

Lifting sand tapped the front porch.  Shutters twitched

like cats sprayed with water.

An empty bucket tipped, rolling against a picket fence.

A weather vane turned hard into the fury.  Thunder

slapped the sides of valleys and buildings.

Overhead, lightening advanced like armies attacking.

Rain began.  Washing dust from poles and fences.

Shining the old and polishing the green on leaves.

{Roger G. Singer, cabanaph424@verizon.net}

Llyn Clague

Dead of Winter 

An old oak, black
against an eider sky 
A thousand stark twigs
stab the sodden cloud
Skeletal bones of wood
await the far tomorrow
The sun’s drenching tide
and fresh amber marrow

Against Despair 

I awake
with an ache in my heart

I seek
to break out in poetry

to escape
the sorrow at my core

to create
the joy so hard to embrace 
awake

    
{Llyn Clague, llynclague@aol.com, www.llynclague.com}

Donna Donzella

Violet's Sunshine 

She walks in the meadow and feels the warmth of the sunshine! 

It makes her feel so wonderful! 

Only God could make such a beautiful day... 

She smiles and thinks wonderful thoughts... 

I might just walk to the pond and take a dip... 

With dainty little steps she heads toward the pond... 

She feels as if she is living a dream... 

The view near the pond was breathtaking... 

She just stared and smiled... 

She realized she did not have a towel so she just sat by the edge... 

Violet lifted her dress and put her feet in the warm water... 

This is too good to be true! 

Violet loved it so much the time just seemed to slip away... 

The sun was beginning to set so she knew she had to head home... 

What an awesome ending to an awesome day!

{Donna Donzella, Raindrop11@aol.com}

Teresa Bissegger

City Under the Sea 

Cerulean waters the home to living cities,

rock reefs - adobes they may be -

decorated with coral, sponge and anemones.

Kelp waving like colorful flags in the wind of the tides.

Fish of many nations, in arrays of splendid color,

come and go, to and from,

their houses and about their business.

Sea creatures move about the streets

of the underwater city.

An alluring site for sure to see.

{Teresa Bissegger, teresa@antiquesparadise.com}

Anna Contessa

Love Left

I thought I finally made it.
I thought this was the last time we would be apart.
But then I was wrong, again, and my heart was torn apart.
I hardly ever second guess and maybe that's my problem.
I think I know the way it will be.

And then I get hit with reality.

The truth is that I am the one who is always wrong.
People devise schemes for me to walk the straight and narrow.
But I am me and I never see any results.
I see things that people tell me are in my head.

If you want me to think that I will and I can.

But I won't be the same person and I won't be who I am.
Today I learned that I am willing to suffer pain for something I don't understand.
I am willing to do it, because I know it's better than the alternative.
This is not a suicide letter, it's a confession from my heart, my soul wants to die and I am still alive.

How do I survive when I don't want to live?

The reason is that it's too hard and I don't have the strength.
I don't believe what people say despite some rare cases.
And I don't have the thing that I thought I had.
I thought I was in love, but instead I was deluded.

The thing is that he's always there for me, but never in the way I want him to be.

By the way there is a man I can't relate to anymore.
He may be disappointed that I am not the one.
Instead he can find his way. 
And I'll be there when he's done. 

{Anna Contessa, annacontessa418@yahoo.com}

Amanda Tumminaro

I’ll Meet You Up the Road 

I’m thumbing for a ride to make

the future come a little faster -
and I’ll bet you are too.
You could read my thoughts
with your eyes shut and take
my gothika and turn it into beauty.

Show me you’re someone I’ve never met before.
Listen to me beyond the words you hear.
I shall learn from your offbeat, orange advice,
that kind that is rare, and you shall learn from me.
Slow me none - I shall only slow if you have slowed,
but please drift with me when I have gone from the foot traffic. 

{Amanda Tumminaro}

George Gott

Melody

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

I learned

to plow.

I learned

to plant

the corn.

I learned to pray

each night.

There would be

food

for my body.

There would be

food

for my soul.

And especially

for the soul

that is my neighbor.

Living

and living again

in peace

and in harmony.

{George Gott}

Erren Geraud Kelly

and still she rises

maybe god needed a better poet to hear

at least the thunder will have some competition

yet carolina will miss its daughter's tales of home

and the world will have one less trumpet for justice

as the angels welcome another teacher

now, we must carry the baton she held proudly

greet even your enemies as friends; she would've

enjoyed the jazz a young girl's smile makes; she'd

love to see all souls of all hues, carrying 

on the fight to keep humanity in bloom

until we rise like balloons, just like her

{erren geraud kelly/ may 28, 2014}

Erren Geraud Kelly

love you like you dance...

if i could love you like you dance

i would twirl you around like a ballerina

watch you move your 

long legs in a jazz

style

you can move me like a can can girl at

the moulin 

rouge

or, when you get on top

break me off

in a hip hop, b-boy style

i want to see you move by 

yourself

as the music adds to your

colors

your long legs are a weapon

of mass seduction

you can do a tango with my 

heart

or, we could dance cheek to cheek

as beethoven becomes

your accomplice in

seduction

i want to love you like

you dance

watch you move, twirl

and bend yourself

until you lose yourself in 

me

{erren geraud kelly/ 2-13-14}