View Issue vol. 9, no. 10
ISSN 2369-6516 (Print)
ISSN 2369-6524 (Online)
Click the author’s name to view a short biography (if supplied) and all poems by that author.
Bethany Rose Artin – Consolation
Val Aston – New Season Arrival
Valerie Broadnax – Luciernagas’ Millions of Lights of Joy!
Ella Dodson – Holiday Lights in the Dark
Harry Garrison – The Alexandria Project
Michael LeClair Sr. – The Chair
Harry Wayne Mah – and their names are . . ?
Laureli Morphy – Dear Broken Child
Lorie Morris – Thinking of you!
Chinenye ‘Zabrain’ Ndulue – My Crush. My Thoughts.
Consolation
Poem by Bethany Rose Artin
The house was dark,
but in the library,
A single candle
showed my Lord DeLitt,
He looked up from his book
and glanced at me.
I asked him if he’d like
the fire lit.
He told me no,
to carry on my way,
Then called me back,
and bade me enter in
the room of books,
and told me I could stay
And read, and rest,
and pass the time within.
For weeks, then months,
I visited the books,
At night, when chores were done –
and he was there
We mostly read,
but there was talk, and looks…
And then one night
our love we did declare
He’s married now,
and speaks no more to me
But I still read books
in his library.
Multitasking
Haiku by Jim Hoyle
It’s not always clear
how to do two jobs at once.
……Expediency.
Luciernagas’ Millions of Lights of Joy!
(inspired by musician Alexandro Querevalú)
Poem by Valerie Broadnax
If it doesn’t bring you Joy
Then it is not in your Heart!
This, is not what the Divine Universal Love…
Has Intended for You!
So Stop!
& Learn the lesson of the Divine Universal Love…
wants you to learn, to grow!
And Start Over!
Until your whole being is filled with Joy!
A Baby
Learns to walk for the rest of his/her life this way!
Luciernagas!
Life’s Millions of Lights of Joy,
That we don’t notice…
Until the Darkness!!!
Let the Sun Rise within You!
and their names are . . ?
Poem by Harry Wayne Mah
Holiday Lights in the Dark
Poem by Ella Dodson
Candle lights dancing, twinkling in windows.
Bright lights glistening, sparkling around doors.
Blazing bonfires shooting sparks in the sky.
Glad songs twirling with beeswax, smoke, and pine.
Snow fluttering amid stars and dark night.
Cinnamon, sugar, and cloves perfuming.
In cozy kitchens, loved ones communing,
Making gifts and food with thoughtful hands,
Latkes, fruitcake, mithai, and ambrosia.
All weaving traditions, love and warm lights
For conquering winter’s long, cold, dark nights
Vibrancy
Poem by David Mac Eachern
Of talking wind, chilling air
Rushing wave, the rustling sea
Exploding cloud, a crying flare
Piercing nature, weather that be
Thunderous shake, voice of might
Hovering impulse, force with nerve
Clearing freshness, the reviving light
Moist fragrant scene, desire served
Sweltering spirit, heart on fire
Blanketing love, an engulfing flame
Caressed by beauty, blessed attire
The living wonderland, divinity’s reclaim
Sock it to Them
Poem by Rod Stewart
How stoic! How valiant!
Those tiny ten titans
Manning their twin platoons,
Beneath a world of weight
Upon their knuckled shoulders,
Uttering nary a complaint
Despite the gnawing jaws
Of January nipping their noses.
Resolving to march silently,
Faithfully together,
Through unspoken miles
And burning blisters.
Their only reprieve
A shroud of Grandmother’s wool,
Or perhaps a rare tepid bath,
Of nocturnal pleasure,
To melt away
Throbbing woes,
Before awakening again
To a life of servitude.
New Season Arrival
Poem by Val Aston
Slippy, slidey, shaky legs
Crispy, nippy, feels so nice
Spinny, swirly, shut my eyes
Snowy flakes of crystal ice
Bare trees, leaves forgotten
Space for frozen sculptures
Shadow pictures, black on white,
Creaking, cracking, snapping whirrs
Tippy-toeing, arms a-wave
Weaving, wheeling, side-to-side
But loving every shivery breath
Winter
The Chair
Poem by Michael LeClair Sr.
We look to the paper, flipping for news
Stories created, somebody’s muse
A cry in the dark, more trouble brewing
Another lost wallet, several more looting.
The T.V. tells us, watch where we step
Subliminally suggesting, who’s got the rep
Lock them all up, toss that damn key!
Making us safe, making us see.
Eyes peer at pavement, watching for crime
While beauty fades, marching through time
Look at them walking, heads at their feet
Animals prowling, stalking the street.
One lifts his mask, spits in the gutter
Another one kicks, all of them mutter
I catch a glimpse, they start to run
The one with the boots, maybe my son?
The radio cackles, it’s stark jagged sound
Another one stabbed, another one found
Don’t go downtown, you know it ain’t safe
Another one beaten, another one raped.
Forget the oil, filling your tank
Forget those letters, it’s only your bank
Forget the war, it’s so far away
Forget the homeless, their fault they strayed.
A new day arrives, I’ll open the box
A nice shiny flyer, selling nice shiny locks
Maybe I need one, beginning to think
Shed needs something, a new missing link.
The air so pure, a hummingbird hovers
A lilac emerges, scent clean it smothers
The sun is brilliant, defining the moment
Washing the day, golden atonement.
The media beckons, back to my chair
Day into night, visions to scare.
Thinking of you!
Poem by Lorie Morris
Thinking, of you, all the time.
Thinking, of you, from the past.
Thinking, of you, and wishing.
Thinking, of you, and telling,
you no lies. I’m just thinking, of
you!
Luminosity
Poem by Georgia Atkin
Even at night,
light
lingers
in the puddles
of rain-spattered streets,
in the glinting surface of windowpanes,
and in the gentle curves
of a word such as love.
If I can’t find the early morning sky,
I will write one myself,
scribing small stars
and composing luminosity,
until all the edges of the world
echo with brightness –
and the shadows
……………………………………flee
peddling uphill in the cool morning
mists dancing on silent lake thomas
revealing new colour at every turn
exertion warming me as I scan
the night’s leaf fall on the bike path
the earthy smell of mud
the tracks in my wake
grey and moody mcdonald sports park
without the sun
and yet the elemental joy of the season
has not escaped me
something surprising akin to rapture
rides with me
sixty summers unable to lessen
my love of the fall
Dear Broken Child
Poem by Laureli Morphy
dear broken child,
its okay not to love yourself
its okay not to be self confident
its okay not to get out of bed
its okay to skip the occasional meal
its okay to feel terrible but not know whats wrong
its okay to get irritated at the smallest things
its okay not to go out with friends
because youre too tired to move
its okay to never feel like yourself anymore
its okay to be restless and jumpy
its okay to hide out in the schools bathroom
and have panic attacks and episodes,
all because that one kid at your school
just cant seem to leave you alone
its okay to keep secrets from your parents
so they dont worry
its okay to listen to music all the time,
especially if that music is whats keeping you alive
its okay to be broken,
and feel like nothing will ever get better
its okay to not be okay
My Crush. My Thoughts.
Poem by Chinenye ‘Zabrain’ Ndulue
.
When the stars come out in the skies,
And the sunshine becomes very slight,
When I finish with my daily fight,
It’s you I think of all night.
.
When I have to sleep on my bed,
Thoughts of you rest on my chest.
In the north, east or west.
It’s you I dream of, as I rest.
.
When I have to work all day,
Or travel so far away,
When challenges come my way.
Thoughts of you make me strong again.
.
It’s you. It’s you. Only you.
It’s you that makes my heart warmer.
It’s you. It’s you. Only you.
Make me yours and I’d be yours forever.
The Artist
Poem by Brian Harding
The paint drips from my brush
Falling, forever falling
Slowly the painting becomes life
Details matter somewhat
Storm clouds that once blew
Are replaced by calm colours
Fingers slowly unwind their hold
On the long handled brush
Each Stroke, nay each pulse
Pulls the colours closer together
Was it really magic ?
Or something far deeper
Only you know for sure.
The Alexandria Project
Rectangle Poem by Harry Garrison
Friendship
Poem by The Fantastic 3
We are best friends, friends forever,
we stick together.
We play together everyday
and share all our secrets too,
Oh how lucky I am
to have best friends like you!
And when I’m sad or feeling down,
I never have to worry,
because I know my friends will always
be there for me in a hurry.
Rain or shine, regardless of the weather,
my friends are always there
to make me feel better.
My friends are precious to me
just the way they are,
distance will never matter,
whether we are near or far.
We are best friends, friends forever,
we stick together.
Open Heart Forgery 