View Issue vol. 7, no. 9
ISSN 2369-6516 (Print)
ISSN 2369-6524 (Online)
You can also read the poems by scrolling down or clicking the titles.
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Harry Garrison – Déjà Vu All Over Again!
Jari-Matti Helppi – Oh Elenore
Jim Hoyle – We’re Here Because…
Scott Lynch – an oddity for me
Harry Wayne Mah – when Mommy leaves the kitchen
Mary Ellen Sullivan – Finding Grace in Aisle Five
Elzy Taramangalam – Paging Cohen
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I am thankful for my feelings
and for the thoughts
that drive them
there’s a Montana landscape
of coals in the fireplace
blue flames ride the back
of the highest ridge
forging sharp pinnacles
that collapse into brilliant orange
light and pulsing yellow heat
the room is full of cold moonlight
it is a new morning
and time for bed
half-past midnight
one a.m.
I hear from within
the sorcerer’s words
‘sleep in the arms of the dragon’
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an oddity for me
Poem by Scott Lynch
raised in an icy culture of winning
since I was but four
contributes to the novelty
here at the end of passion
for love of the game
is a strange and lonely place
I see with new eyes
a picture of man
naked and forlorn
at losing and at loss
inarticulate
raging
tongue-tied
I see humor
not pain
I smile
but inwardly
maintaining
my game face
as a sign
of respect and
humanity
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I will never be
Leonard Cohen
With his words
Like milk and honey
Joys and lamentations
On his page
I wonder
Does this pen
Sense my envy
Does his pen
Know its privilege
Casting words like nets
To snare my
Captive heart
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Paging Cohen
Poem by Elzy Taramangalam
Having no fit Haiku
Or epic to honour
We humbly offer
The man of voice
The bard of our times
Few twirling lines
To dance and disappear
Just from our midst
Not from the mind
Cantor, on road to eternity
Land of light and Alleluia.
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Shifting
Poem by Georgia Atkin
I thought
that maybe I was done drifting,
I thought the ground beneath my feet
had finished shifting,
some kind of solidity found,
but now
I find myself
on the roiling, bewildering sea once more,
so very far
from any shore
and with only a half-drawn map
and a ceiling full of stars
to guide me.
Where am I going?
And what will I see?
I tremble at the thought of what might be
but here I go,
scanning the horizon in search of the sun
and it seems that life, perpetually,
has only just begun.
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Winter Woes
Poem by Glen Amirault
My friends have all gone south
Where gentle breezes blow.
While they bask on sun-drenched beaches
I’ll be to my arse in snow!
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when Mommy leaves the kitchen
Poem by Harry Wayne Mah
when Mommy leaves the kitchen
and daddy’s left in charge
beware because daddy learned to cook
on a barge
the food will taste like tires
with a hint of greasy sand
you’d better eat Mommy’s yummy food
while you can
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Déjà Vu All Over Again!
Poem By Harry Garrison
I once had déjà vu
about déjà vu.
I got the feeling that
I had had déjà vu
before in the same place.
I was in the library,
and I got the sensation,
for a moment,
that the bookshelves
went on forever,
in both directions,
in a circle,
and in a line.
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Crumbling
Poem by Dyrell Nelligan
Im stuck.
My mind knows not
which way to go.
Im here
but my heart appears
to be absent.
Im without
myself searching for you
the holder of me.
Im love
lost, challenged
by your departure.
Im struggling
to focus
on my own needs.
Im stuck here
without love struggling.
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A Boy of Twelve
Poem by Lori Boivin
A boy of twelve
…In a small fishing dory
……Alone
………Cold
The small fishing wharf
…Signifying home
……Mother
………Warmth
Cousin cries, “she’s gone,
…You’re living with us!”
……Married
………Moved
A boy of twelve
…In a small fishing dory
……Alone
………Cold
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Oh Elenore
Poem by Jari-Matti Helppi
Oh Elenore,
thy bosom doth heave
to corset’s restraint,
yet I,
with fidgety fingers and wonderous eyes
doth equally restrain desire
to give what only a gentleman can;
to show all men are not what thinkest thou;
that crave, that lust, that worst
of man’s disgust,
that sees your corset
as appetite,
as a test of knots;
as a male made prison to your heave;
that unfortunate display of naked breath.
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Finding Grace in Aisle Five
Poem by Mary Ellen Sullivan
It was a day when the clouds
hung so low and sodden
that I began to doubt
a sun existed.
Thinking that maybe if I made granola
I would feel better.
In the grocery store
I kept circling the aisles
trying to find wheat germ
and feeling dizzy and desperate.
An elder man, rather dishevelled,
comes into my space,
saying something light
that I can’t remember now.
Then says, You know,
you have a wonderful smile.
Beams, and walks away.
When I go outside
I don’t have any wheat germ
but a sliver of light in the sky
makes it all OK.
Everything will be OK.
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We’re Here Because We’re Here Because…
Poem by Jim Hoyle
Here I am, on the Earth.
But how did I get here ?
I didn’t try to come.
No-one sent me.
But it’s good to be here,
even if there is no reason for it.
And there doesn’t seem to be a cause;
……….it just happened.
Maybe I’ll have to leave one day;
……….but where will I go ?
I’ll probably just sink into the earth
……….and become part of the soil.
Of course! That’s where I came from
……….–………. the soil itself.
Earth to life,
……….life to ashes,
………………..ashes to dust.
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Sun in Winter
Poem by David Du
The Sun opens its eyes
Glances at the tree
Its blurred vision like
A near-sighted man
Although in winter it is considered
As a leading actor, a serious fellow
Actually it careens over and around the sky,
The ground, the streets,
And even the city.
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Rivers II
Poem by Victor Andrews
We’re just islands emerging
From 60% of
Fluids
Stepping Stones
Somewhere in
A stream
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Iconic blue heron stands on the beach
Motionless but for wind-ruffled feathers.
A short distance off, another lands.
They gaze at each other
The dance begins.
Heads held high
Huge wings half open,
Like a slow motion replay
They sashay towards each other
On long stick legs.
They close the distance
One long step at a time.
They stop inches apart
Click their long bills together
Like swords.
A pause, the ritual is complete.
They fly off together
To consummate their union.
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Christmas
Poem by David Mac Eachern
A season of true reason, gracious happiness
arriving so all can sense such blessedness
This time for giving does have reward
grace has power sending holy spirit forward
Families together adding glory to the soul
true meaning of life be the goal
Nothing overcomes each gift love will bring
joy remains within the hearts that sing
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Party rocks
Poem by Ryan Taylor
consumed with themselves
in their own heads
just as we are
people forget the great men
all accomplishments
and short-short-comings
too worried of our own
too worried to think about
how often you actually think about
these people
or even their names
you realize
no matter the matters
life’s moving past you
the earth’s full of new people
every hundred years
and it’s liberating
from the end result
floating on a piece of rock
in what seems
infinite indirection
in all directions
your short-comings forgotten
your accomplishments stolen
you love impassively
camping and going to the movies
hanging out with friends
at the exhibition
park
pub or luc-a-palooza party
and no one gives a shit
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Smile, lights up, everywhere.
Smile, can make things better.
Smile, can move, mountains.
Smile, can be seen, from ear-
to ear. Smile, ’cause it helps,
us all, get by.
Open Heart Forgery 
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