May You Be Like An Evergreen by Ronald G. Auguste
(For Byron Auguste, my Son) You are the elder from my seed. Well nurtured, may you bloom and grow, Above the bramble and the weed – And may you bend when strong winds blow. May all your branches know the sun, And may your leaves be always bright, Yet always green, with veins that run […]
Marks Of Disrespect by Graham Rowlands
It’s a tragedy for the Empire, almost said Mrs Thatcher. Mrs Gandhi was a woman of great courage, Mrs Thatcher almost didn’t say, thinking how she was a woman of great courage too—although now she’d transfer even her Northern Irish bodyguards. Could she be deeply shocked yet again— looking & sounding so unshocked, unshockable you […]
Magic Markers by Rose Mary Boehm
The memory trainpasses stationsthat have long since closed for service.Eyes in windows – hollow black sockets –follow the dreamer. Nameless things with wingsare leaving the eaves,rising up high into mindspace,settling softly on flotsamostensibly discarded eons agoto lighten the journey. Wondrous transformation:sackcloth and ashesbecome precious lacewith the help of magic markers. Poetry In Englishwww.poetry.monster
Mad Pirate Marmaduke by Ross D Tyler
I am Captain Marmaduke! My Ship’s the ‘Slippery Eel’ I haven’t got a peg leg, ‘Cos my crew made me a wheel. I’m not so good at Plunderin’ I’ve scars all o’ me face, But there aint another pirate, Who can beat me in a race! Unlike other Pirates, I do not have a parrot. […]
Lunch by Ross D Tyler
I sat on the wall during lunch today, And gazed upon a sea of green. Rich, organic, bathed in sunlight. Breathing, singing. Emboldened I study the grass. I begin to wonder. I bite into my sandwich Disappearing into spears of green, I carelessly forget. But oh, what I have provided. I do not think the […]
Life Of a Broke Person by Russell James
Life Of a Broke Person by Russell James Being broke is such a pain. Its making me go crazy and go insane. Can’t afford a coffee can’t afford to eat out. I’m lucky if I have 50 cents in my bank account. Have credit cards and student loans I can’t pay so much debt I […]
Kiss by Ruth Padel
Kiss by Ruth Padel He’s gone. She can’t believe it, can’t go on. She’s going to give up painting. So she paints Her final canvas, total-turn-off Black. One long Obsidian goodbye. A charcoal-burner’s Smirnoff, The mirror of Loch Ness Reflecting the monster back to its own eye. But something’s wrong. Those mad Black-body particles don’t […]
Jewels Should Sparkle Daily by Ronald G. Auguste
(For Juliet Auguste, my Granddaughter) Jewels should sparkle daily in your eyes, Until sweet sleep induces them to rest. Let hopes and dreams, on wings throughout your skies, Incite your soul to soar among the best. Each thought you bear should pass an Angel’s test! Thoughts can, if noble, enrich all your life – Vouch […]
I See Your Beauty by Ronald G. Auguste
(For Sophia Walden, my Daughter) Stars don’t glow just in Hollywood, Or places where the air is rare. Poets see some as others should – Heaven’s bright jewels shining here. I see your beauty, soft and clear. Angels appear in varied form – Especially the ones on Earth! Their eager allure, light and warm, Infuse […]
Herodotus in Egypt Remeber Delos by Ruth Padel
Herodotus in Egypt Remeber Delos by Ruth Padel The ground verdigris, fluffy with young mosquitoes. Waters as sacred as these, as fatted with reeds. Bronze palm planted to Sun. Lizards, Nile alligators, hindquarters rolling on granite sphinx-chippings. Air salted with confident brown larks, Travelling, you remember (mind upturning these foreign priests, finding the causes) that […]
Flamenco Flamingo by Ross D Tyler
In the tiny Village of Boggidy Boo, Resting on a hill, Is a rather unique and curious Zoo, Where the monkeys cannot sit still. It was once a rather interesting place, With people coming from far. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face, Was a Flamingo who played guitar. Flamenco Flamingo was the star […]
Falling Action by Ruth Madievsky
Tonight my name is the pearl onion I place in your mouth, the sound a pelvis makes when it opens like a window. Tonight the fly beating its head against the ceiling light is drunk from the wine we opened and forgot about. You turn me over like a poker card, you turn me over […]
Daryl, My Son by Ronald G. Auguste
(In Memoriam: 8/29/72 – 4/23/83) Daryl, my son, was born a ray of light! Although his flash upon this Earth was brief, Resulting in much darkness, and much grief, You know, he left so much that seems so bright! Love is one gem he left us on this earth – Fragrant like flowers in the […]
Conversation With My Heart by Russ Pergram
I tell my heart to be silent …I admonish it every day. I tell it she’s tired of hearing it …tired of what it has to say. It’s whispers I mute when passionate …are kept under strict control. Lest she hears not love’s voice …lest it caress not her soul. ‘Tis not your fault my […]
Conversation 23: On Cause by Rosmarie Waldrop
Conversation 23: On Cause by Rosmarie Waldrop I step into my mother’s room, she says, and though a woman’s body is a calendar of births and injunctions to death, time disappears. Only dead enough to bury could prove sound to silence or the anxiety I know by heart and lung. In my mother’s room. The […]
Concrete Backyard by Ryssel Guzman
Sun awakes me through my window. I open up my blinds to see,A crack of sunlight squeezing in trying to find its place between buildings and concrete.Residue left over from last night’s crack reunion.Instead of grass and flowers, I see used needles and empty beer bottles.Garbage piled up, the ghetto doesn’t believe in recycling.Smells like what […]
Camelot & The Greek Widow by Graham Rowlands
I love you, Jack, she said & I believed she believed it. Why shouldn’t I? The Cold War was always on the hot plate Jack, wasn’t it? You were our noble warrior reading your Ian Fleming. We’d seen the sites in Cuba— waiting on missiles & on your spies & we’d seen the peasant’s boot […]
Breath by Ryssel Guzman
BreathIn time you’ll get what you need.If you believe.You can be whatever you want to be.Let your breath give you energy.Breath Don’t let it beat you Life can be unfair sometimesQuite cruel and discouragingBut don’t wait for it to get you downBeat ThinkYour mind can be a mess sometimesDon’t let it convince you that you’re crazyYou […]
Bobsled by Ruth Madievsky
I want my name to amount to more than a bone passed between two dogs. I don’t want catheters or shrink wrap or any more ceremonies of fists. I want each rib in my body to hold the shadow of a lion. I don’t want strychnine. I don’t want to be the peel on the […]
Blue Glass by Ross D Tyler
It arches up slowly, As if in slow motion. The World suspended, In a trance. Hues of Turquoise, green and blue, Dashed against the sky, In silky wonder. You watch it move. React. In a moment everything can be won, or lost. But you’re flying! Floating on a carpet of glass. You wish the moment […]
Bertie the Goldfish by Ross D Tyler
Bertie was a Goldfish, But not your average pet. For unlike other Goldfish, He hated getting wet. When all the other fishies, Were swimming, having fun, Bert would slap on factor 12, And chill out in the sun. He’s hiked across a mountain, And Bungee jumped in France, He’s best friends with the neighbours cat, […]
Bagua by Rose Mry Boehm
Bagua. Peru. 2009. The government of Peru and its implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (zoning 72% of the Peruvian Amazon for development and exploration) between Peru and the US led to violent repression of peaceful protests at Bagua. Bodies float in rivers. Women are sacrificing their lives for the Amazon jungles they […]
A turn of events by Ross D Tyler
What exactly is a crisis? Are they really all that bad? For some it’s like the world has ended, A loss of things they had. Others may say ‘a change is good’, ‘Opportunities are without bounds.’ These people couldn’t be happier, With the new life they have found. But what of those who differ? Whose […]
A Schoolyard Shame by Ryan Isaacson
A Schoolyard Shame by Ryan Isaacson Teenage boys, a savage pack. Jay yelled out, a sudden smack. A clod of dirt had hit his back, Disintegrated with a thwack. A coward’s plan, surprise attack. They hit him in the back. Another clod, this made of mud, Struck his chest with deadened thud. Then all at […]
600 Kilos of Muscle and Bone by Rose Mary Boehm
Six hundred kilos of muscle and bone shake the ground. The huge head moves left, right, up, down. Spittle runs from the muzzle and a sound like the hissing of a steam train shoots towards the lone human figure. The torero flings back his head, putting the peacock to shame with his dance stance. – […]
Words Of Advice by Ronald G. Auguste
(For Nelson Auguste, my Grandson) Nurture the finest traits to gild your time. Extol the strengths and virtues of all things. Let poets sing their songs, in prose or rhyme. Serenely sip the joys the sweet sort brings. Of all the habits which you might acquire, None should impair that deity in your mind. Ascribe […]
Who is the Bogeyman? by Ross D Tyler
“The Bogeyman will get you!” That’s what Nana said. “Brush your teeth and say your prayers, And don’t get out of bed!” But Grannies scary warnings, Of this unknown, frightful fiend, Is something I’ve often thought about, What did Granny mean? Who is this horrible Bogeyman? This creature of the gloom. The one who must […]
Wherever You Go, There You Are by Ryssel Guzman
Where ever you go, there you are. You can lie to yourself but you can’t run away Suppression, mental repression,Leads to depression.Lying to yourself daily,Self deluded.No wonder you’re so wasted.Numbed by your own convictions.Coward you let them feed you,So you don’t have to think for yourself.Oh it’s so much easier that way.What happens when it’s you […]
We Miss You So Much by Ronald G. Auguste
(In Memoriam, for Daryl, after Twenty Years) We miss you so much, Son, in all these years, Enduring in our hearts a constant woe. Most thoughts of you still lead our souls to tears. Increasingly, though slowly, as years go, Sorrows engage our feelings … blow by blow. So much remains of dreams we used […]
Trial by Ruth Padel
Trial by Ruth Padel I was with Special Force, blue-X-ing raids to OK surfing on the Colonel’s birthday. Operation Ariel: we sprayed Jimi Hendrix loud from helis to frighten the slopes before ‘palming. A turkey shoot. * The Nang fogged up. The men you need are moral and kill like angels. Passionless. No judgement. Judgement […]
To A Wife, On Mother’s Day by Ronald G. Auguste
(For Anita, my Wife) Especial thoughts, my Darling, come to you, Served from my heart, with Love that overflows. Pause for a moment from the things you do – Observe that Love spread high, in rows on rows. I prize this day … and prize you as you are – No measure can suffice to […]
Tiger Drinking at Forest Pool by Ruth Padel
Tiger Drinking at Forest Pool by Ruth Padel Water, moonlight, danger, dream. Bronze urn, angled on a tree root: one Slash of light, then gone. A red moon Seen through clouds, or almost seen. Treasure found but lost, flirting between The worlds of lost and found. An unjust law Repealed, a wish come true, a […]
Threads of Gold by Ronald G. Auguste
(For Etienne Walden, my Granddaughter) Educe the sweet and kinder truths in life, That you may taste of joys the Angels know. Infuse your being with beauty, lest man’s strife Efface the blooms in gardens where you go. Never display your beauty just for show. Never ignore another’s grief or pain. Effuse compassion on life’s […]
Thoughts by Ronald G. Auguste
(For Daryl Auguste, my Grandson) Dare you aspire to reach the eagle’s height, And soar beyond the common, out of sight? Reason and intuition say: “You can!” Yet you must learn to bear the ills of man, Lest all their minds’ diseases make you weak. Govern your actions wisely as you seek Under life’s unrelenting […]
The useless counsellor by Ross D Tyler
He sits down. He is ready. He’s got his ‘counsellors hat on’. But the client seems unhappy, Finding chewing gum she sat on. ‘Sorry about the awful mess’ He says, ‘I haven’t got a bin.’ ‘Would you like a glass of wine, or perhaps a tot of Gin?’ ‘No thanks’ the client quietly declined, ‘Alcohol’s […]
The tragic tale of Bobby Magee by Ross D Tyler
Picture a dark and terrible night, In a Treehouse my friends sat by candlelight, Shadows and whispers, eyes gazing at me, First to be dared was Bobby Magee. Bobby was Irish and terribly thin, His father was hairy and liked to drink Gin, To be in our Club was Bob’s number one plan, But first […]
The Scarecrow by Ross D Tyler
The mud is thick, the clouds are grey, Alone I stand here, in dismay. For months I will wait, without any friends, Standing on duty, ”til harvest ends. But wait. What’s that I see in the soil? There are tiny plants beginning to coil Upwards and outwards, reaching up to the sun, Their journey has […]
The (REAL) Tale of the Tortoise and the Hare by Ross D Tyler
Today I’m going to talk about, The Tortoise and the Hare, One was slow and one was quick, They really made a pair! I’m sure you all know the proverb, And perhaps you know the end? But the version you know simply isn’t the truth, You have been deceived my friend! Was the Hare quite […]
The missing pen by Ross D Tyler
I’ve done it again! I’ve lost me pen! I don’t know how, I don’t know when? Perhaps He’ll show, Perhaps He’s gone, Perhaps he’s back where he belongs? “Where does he belong?” I hear you cry, “A Magical pencil case in the sky?” Well he won’t come back, I know this now, He’s hiding away […]
The Appointment by Ruth Padel
The Appointment by Ruth Padel Flamingo silk. New ruff, the ivory ghost of a halter. Chestnut curls, * commas behind the ear. “Taller, by half a head, than my Lord Walsingham.” * His Devon-cream brogue, malt eyes. New cloak mussed in her mud. * The Queen leans forward, a rosy envelope of civet. A cleavage […]