Large, graceful, King of the Beasts Oh Tau, how you inspire respect and fear (1) Do not view me with suspicion I am a champion of the natural world A supporter of your rights Mankind’s disgraceful disregard For this planet’s natural bounty Causes me much sorrow I understand your distrust Of me, and everything I…
Tag: Treasured Contributor
“The White Blanket” by Shalini Kathuria Narang
A White blanket has enveloped everything,Hills, ground, trees, roofs of building(s),Pristine white is a beauty to behold,Nature’s wonders in the chill and cold.Seeing the snow fall,Is like speaking in a drawl,Leaves me in thrall,Of nature’s bounty above all.The breathtaking milieu appeals silently,Bestowing gifts abundantly,Revealing power of stopping,Seeing, sensing and slowing.New soft snow that gradually lands,Feels…
“Impending Gust” by Michelle Ayon Navajas
sunsets are to remind youof an impending night so bluea night that’s never been betterwith you, we created together; ’bout love, through daylightthat never lasted to the night,’bout love, through sunshinethat hated, cold summer rain. when will love be, truly evernot only through the better,nor just for the still wind, butalso for the gust of…
“Sea shells: A Zuihitsu” by Nolcha Fox
strewn across the sand, a La Paz beach, so far from seasons, far from endless winter sea shells stuffed in pockets, tossed in buckets, here they sit in blue glass I bought long ago to store us walking, you and I, barefoot, browned, and daring sea shell shards to rip you from me, not to…
“I’VE BEEN” by Francisco Bravo Cabrera
The weapon of Damascus steel, created by your awesome will,fashioned in your head,has been perfumed and laid upon your bed. Willpower that shatters bones to the marrow,defies the winds and flies like an arrow.And although a few times in my lifeI’ve found myself against something like this,I’m still a ghost that your arrows will miss,though they…
“To be an Albatross” by Smitha Vishwanath
Had she slipped first and fallen unconsciousor had she fallen first and then lost consciousness?She couldn’t rememberJust like the many other things she no longer could. He’d found her sprawled on the floor,half-dressed, her torso bare,They’d been married for sixty yearsor more- it didn’t matter anymore It was the fourth timein three monthsthey’d picked her uphe and…
Two Poems that Begin with “Bu” by Nolcha Fox
BusybodyThe wind is such a gossip.She loves to sneak and snoop.Then she spreads the word aroundalong with all the leaves.Unfortunately, in all her haste,she often gets it wrong.And we are left to clean the messwith blowers, bags, and rakes.Burying the DeadI am no stranger to death.I’ve killed many a delusionwith four marriages and five divorces.I’ve…
“Supernatural” by Dawn Pisturino
When you held my handyour fingers felt limp and coldlike a corpse reaching out from its coffin.When you called me dearyour voice sounded thin and hollowdistant and indistinctlike a shadow calling out from beyond the grave.When you finally left meyou ruminated about the weatherrecord-breaking temperatureshot autumn dayslast-minute gardeningin that empty deadpan toneand I knew I…
“A Message from Our Mother” by Cindy Georgakas
Dip your hands into the rich soil and remember me, for I am your mother, who holds you. Before you existed, I was here ready to greet you and teach you to be good stewards. Sink into my earthly treasures that hold secrets and bury your family and friends in my terrain. Feel the crushed bones upon your feet…
“Summer Eden” by Dawn Pisturino
O, would the gaiety of summer last forever,I would lie content in the summer sun,Lazing away the hours in pleasant dreams,Drifting, ever drifting, into nothingness;And I would not weep for lost tomorrowsOr mourn the passing of yesterdays,For blue skies are forever,Timeless, changeless,infinite;And I would not weep for the passing of love,For love is a flighty thing,Lofty…
“Living in Hearts” by Shalini Kathuria Narang
The query was simple,Where do you live?My address as an answer was ample,But that was not all I could give.With some I share a home,With others, a deep connection.I live in their hearts and mind,In thoughts loving, sweet and kind.They live in mine,I might not with them dine.But they live in my dream(s),In my prayers…
“Lunar Cannibalism” by Walter Bargen
Tonight she has swallowed the moon.Her spine glows, a blue centipede,Each rib a leg that crawls over her body.A deep shiver carries her off.The lunar crater of the bed waitsWanting and opening. Through darkness she rolls toward him,Her skin an island smoothed by fog.She floats on the surface of stars.A world waits to be createdAwaits the…
“Rain” by Michelle Ayon Navajas
rain falls gentlylike my own poetryeach drop, a syllablea sweet verse of love each one is a melodyof songs of thoughtsof dreams of ever afterand of love comforting dead air silencelast drop of raina fading memoryof a distant promise just memoriesof many summers agothen all is stillsummer is still Copyright © 2024 Michelle Ayon Navajas….
“He Walks Away” by Robbie Cheadle
From the first dayhe took a tentative stepon uncertain chubby legsattached to adventurous feethe moved away from herembracing with enthusiasmthe mysterious outside world She watched over him tenderlyas he learned about lifediscovered the joy of friendshipand the heartbreak of lossembarked on his academic journeyexploiting his strengths andovercoming his weaknessesand during all this timemom was always enoughher…
“Alone Vs. Lonely” by Etya Vasserman Krichmar
Many people dislike being alone, but I am not one of them. I enjoy my solitude. I wake up each morning, anticipating being by myself. Upon arising, I attend to my regular morning routine. It begins with me taking a shower, getting dressed, drinking coffee, and eating breakfast. While I nourish my physical body, I…
“Clouds Parted, Raining Delight” by Cindy Georgakas
The clouds parted, raining eggs on the crisp morning dawn. Bunnies hopped delighted, coming out of hiding.Spring fever popped color. Yellows, pinks, blues, and purples evoked fragrance and the sun goddess,while white lilies danced. Baby chicks hatched, pecking their way to freedom.The others were colored and hidden while childrensquealed in delight, filling their baskets with colored…
“My Greatest Blessing” by Etya Vasserman Krichmar
“God loves you very much. He is the one who found the way to awaken your soul.” A woman I met at my mother-in-law’s apartment on my recent trip to New York told me after hearing my Bible Taboo story in the Barnes and Noble thirty-five years ago. Lost for words, humbled, I smiled in…
“A Grafted Tree, A Memoir of Adoption, Disability, Identity, and Family: A Review” by Selma Martin
The mark of a truly great book is whenever I’m done reading it, I continue to think about it. In the case of this book, A Grafted Tree: A Memoir of Adoption, Disability, Identity, and Family by Kathleen Tumminello—emotive prose, heart-achingly selfless, warm, and vivid representation of adoptive parents with huge hearts who, like any parent,…
“One Petal at a Time by Joni Caggiano: A Review” by Barbara Leonhard
The title of Joni Karen Caggiano’s powerful poetry collection, One Petal at a Time, makes me recall what I used to say as a child while plucking petals off a flower, “He loves me; he loves me not.” Ironically, we would destroy a beautiful bloom petal by petal while seeking clarification on a value of utmost…
“Empathy” by Dawn Pisturino
I feel your painand the darkness that grips youI reach out my arms to youbut you aren’t thereYou’re far away in another nightmarestruggling to hold onI throw you the lifeline buried in my heartbut the distance between us is too wideThe darkness engulfs us both—and I’m losing you. . . losing you. . .Copyright ©…
MasticadoresUsa // Editor: Barbara Leonhard // 