I have three poems included in this summer’s edition of Eclectica: “A Word Bathing in Moonlight,” “Scarecrow Dreams,” and “Missing Loved Ones,” the first draft of which came to being during the 2016 August 30-30 challenge. Many thanks to poetry editor Jen Finstrom, for taking these pieces.
“Mayflies” is included in my chapbook, From Every Moment a Second, forthcoming from Finishing Line Press. FLP is taking prepublication orders here. It was also the inspiration for the artwork gracing the cover. I am in debt to Stephanie L. Harper for providing such a vivid and appropriate piece of art for the book.
Please note: prepublication sales determine the print run, which means this stage is crucial in terms of how many copies will be printed and the number of copies I’ll receive as payment. So if you feel inclined to help, and are able, please purchase your copy before August 11. Thank you!
The first review!
Flowers
How they share our
desires, shape
our days.
Passion to hope,
fingertips to
lips. Some bud
easily, others
struggle. A little
water, light, a kind
voice. Sometimes so
little achieves
so much. Yesterday’s
sunflower droops on
the sill. Today’s promise
arrives with rain.
“Flowers” last appeared on the blog in September 2015.
Curtain
Adept at withdrawal, it retreats.
How appropriate, we think,
that its body curls
with the wind’s
tug, offering
only the
slightest
resistance. Then
it returns,
bringing to mind
the habitual offender
whose discomfiture
lies in choice,
the fear
of enclosure
removed. The
forward glance.
And back again,
whispering its
edict: concede, reclaim.
Give and take. We are as one.
“Curtain” first appeared on the blog in July 2015.
To the Light Entering the Shack One December Evening
No prayers exit here, nothing
limits you. I never knew
before.
The pear tree’s ghost shudders.
Water pools in the depression of its absence.
For years I have wandered from shadow to
source, longing. Now, at rest,
you come to me and fear
evaporates. I would like to count
the smallest distraction.
I would like to disturb.
You are the name
I whisper
to clouds.
Will you leave if I open the door?
A carnival germinates in my body.
You are not death, but its closest friend.
Darkness parts, folds around you.
I close my eyes and observe.
* * *
“To the Light Entering the Shack One December Evening” first appeared in Shantih in December 2016, and is included in my chapbook, From Every Moment a Second, available for pre-publication order through Finishing Line Press.
My poem “Buddha’s Not Talking” is live at Blue Bonnet Review.
With gratitude to editor Cristina Del Canto for taking this piece.
“To the Lovely Green Beetles Who Carried My Notes into the Afternoon” first appeared in riverSedge Volume 29, Issue 1, released in October 2016. It is also included in my chapbook, From Every Moment a Second, now available for pre-publication order from Finishing Line Press.
Please note: prepublication sales determine the print run, which means this stage is crucial in terms of how many copies will be printed and the number of copies I’ll receive as payment. So if you feel inclined to help this poet in his commercial endeavor (which does seem a tad strange), and are able, please purchase your copy during this period, which runs through August 11. The book’s tentative release date is October 6.
My poem, “Memorial Day, 2015” has been published at Picaroon Poetry. Many thanks to editor Kate Garrett, for taking this piece, and a shout out to Paul Vaughan and Tobi Alfier, whose poems also appear in this issue.
O at the Edges 