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 […]
Ten Years After by Graham Rowlands
Ten years after every beautiful cliche wearing jeans & kaftans & long hair & cheesecloth— after every beautiful cliche has gone or may as well have for all it means now L.B.J.’s gone & Che’s gone & Ho’s gone & Mao’s gone to their biographers in the sky without diamonds or L.S.D. Ten years after […]
Telescopes In The Square by Graham Rowlands
On Australia Day too. Good to see you. Like to sit on the grass? Good view. Up. Put your eye to the mouth of the flagon. Yes, eye. Go on. That’s all you have to do. Let me see. Here’s the green. I like green. Good for banks, building co-ops, insurance companies. That dark patch, […]
South Africa by Ronald G. Auguste
(For Nelson Mandela) Indeed! It is a new and shining land! So do not waste the New Day passing blame! From utter desolation, something grand Is rising … to obliterate the shame! The sun has set upon the sorry fields, And golden stars are twinkling in the skies. A new sun, rising on the New […]
Shattered Dreams. Broken Promises. by Russell James
Shattered Dreams. Broken Promises. by Russell James Shattered Dreams. Broken Promises. Unachieved Goals sadden souls. Feeling lost with no where to go feeling alone filled with sorrow. Went down the wrong path. Now I’m feeling the wrath of absolute failure man oh man this is such a Disaster. Will I be able to pick myself […]
Savour Your Life by Ronald G. Auguste
(For Sedacy Walden, my Grandson) Savor your life, and try to live it well! Each day should be a milestone on the path Devoted to pure Truth, where Angels dwell, And Love and Kindness keep one’s mind from wrath. Cherish each moment of each passing day. Your life should be a charm, where joy holds […]
Rosslyn To The Prime Minister by Graham Rowlands
Whatever I do now I’ll have your consensus against me— quite right to say you snow in the tropics only at the highest altitude of your own risk if you want an alternative Australia. But you & your consensus don’t do you, sport? Sports? Father? It’s only your economy, after all— refining, processing, high-tech. We’re […]
Writing to Onegin by Ruth Padel
Writing to Onegin by Ruth Padel (After Pushkin) Look at the bare wood hand-waxed floor and long White dressing-gown, the good child’s writing-desk And passionate cold feet Summoning music of the night; tumbrils, gongs And gamelans; with one neat pen, one candle Puttering its life out hour by hour. Is “Tell Him I love him” […]
Icicles round a Tree in Dumfriesshire by Ruth Padel
Icicles round a Tree in Dumfriesshire by Ruth Padel We’re talking different kinds of vulnerability here. These icicles aren’t going to last for ever Suspended in the ultra violet rays of a Dumfries sun. But here they hang, a frozen whirligig of lightning, And the famous American sculptor Who scrambles the world with his tripod […]
Conqueror by Russell Hughes Ragsdale
Conqueror by Russell Hughes Ragsdale I was a gulp of high air; a bird breathing in, a black dot on blue paper, a privileged recipient of finite sacrament of souls of flying saints. That all happened the moment you taught me splendid roundness as defined by the touch of your lips. The other mysteries fell, […]
Conversation 4: On Place by Rosmarie Waldrop
Conversation 4: On Place by Rosmarie Waldrop I sit in my own shadow, she says, the way my mother gave birth to it. In artificial light, blinds drawn against the darkness of power. I think of you as if you were that shadow, a natural enclosure, a world, not a slight, so I can wander […]
To A Young Lady. On Her Recovery From A Fever by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Why need I say, Louisa dear! How glad I am to see you here, A lovely convalescent; Risen from the bed of pain and fear, And feverish heat incessant. The sunny showers, the dappled sky, The little birds that warble high, Their vernal loves commencing, Will better welcome you than I With their sweet influencing. […]
Written In Early Youth. The Time,–An Autumnal Evening by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
O thou wild fancy, check thy wing! No more Those thin white flakes, those purple clouds explore! Nor there with happy spirits speed thy light Bathed in rich amber-glowing floods of light; Nor in yon gleam, where slow descends the day, With western peasants hail the morning ray! Ah! rather bid the perished pleasures move, […]
Fire, Famine, And Slaughter : A War Eclogue by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Scene a desolate Tract in la Vendee. Famine is discovered lying on the ground; to her enter Fire and Slaughter. Fam. Sister! sisters! who sent you here? Slau. [to Fire.] I will whisper it in her ear. Fire. No! no! no! Spirits hear what spirits tell: ‘Twill make a holiday in Hell. No! no! […]
Fancy In Nubibus, Or The Poet In The Clouds by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
O! it is pleasant with a heart at ease, Just after sunset, or by moonlight skies, To make the shifting clouds be what you please, Or let the easily persuaded eyes Own each quaint likeness issuing from the mould Of a friend’s fancy; or with head bent low And cheek aslant see rivers flow of […]
Epitaph On An Infant. by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Its balmy lips the infant blest Relaxing from its mother’s breast, How sweet it heaves the happy sigh Of innocent satiety! And such my infant’s latest sigh! Oh tell, rude stone! the passer by, That here the pretty babe doth lie, Death sang to sleep with Lullaby. ————— The End And that’s the End of […]
What would I do without this world by Samuel Beckett
what would I do without this world faceless incurious where to be lasts but an instant where every instant spills in the void the ignorance of having been without this wave where in the end body and shadow together are engulfed what would I do without this silence where the murmurs die the pantings the […]
Cascando by Samuel Beckett
1 why not merely the despaired of occasion of wordshed is it not better abort than be barren the hours after you are gone are so leaden they will always start dragging too soon the grapples clawing blindly the bed of want bringing up the bones the old loves sockets filled once with eyes like […]