2009 - Issue I
Poems - 2009 - Issue I
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C. H. Allen Clark
Cheap Wine, You and I
Cheap Wine, You and I
Still sat drinking, thinking
Of when you and I were young
And we drove the setting sun down
Till it arose again with two thousand miles
Between us
C. H. Allen Clark
The poet reports that: I am from Morton, Mississippi.
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Shannon Carroll Jackson
Life's Shattered Glass
Shannon Carroll Jackson c-2009
Pieces everywhere
Some ugly, some beautiful
Points and angles in every direction
Organized chaos
Some pieces exposed mercilessly
But most are hidden
Some parts are very splintered
A discontinued full circle
Pieces are old and
Some are fresh and new
Always room for more
A heap of experiences
Always looking, searching for a new piece to add
Or the old to be rediscovered
None perfect, yet beautiful just the same
God's kaleidoscope
An endless pile of meaningless havoc
But to me a masterpiece of pieces
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No Holds Bard Charles Frederickson
SOLITUDE
Reclusive loner private property condemned
New World going homecoming gone
Dissonant off-Key Largo humdrum symphony
Baby Grand ivories tickled pink
Parents less is more strangers
Raised by somebody else's mother
Only sister's father fetching bones
Barking up wrong upright piano
Empty doghouse flowerless crabapple tree
Bitter fruit rotten seedy core
Saucy puree Mason jar preserved
Sterilized lids screwed on tight
Gobbling overstuffed turkey stitches burst
Drumsticks versus breasts wishbone slingshot
Leftover cranberries sage window dressing
Crumbly graham cracker pumpkin piecrust
Relatively unruffled feathers feeble wings
Not speaking unless spoken to
Kissin' cousins don't dare tell-all
Present absence giving agnostic thanks
Parting glance solitude taking leave
Fake sincerity masking forced smiles
Asphalt driveway turned into dead-end
Stepping on cracks squishy droppings
No Holds Bard Charles Frederickson
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Mirage
Layers of false illusion lie,
Clouds of pale daimons tie.
Under us, red walls glow,
Tears, cold knives, flow.
Choice now, now will return.
Hope and love shall learn.
Jerome Brooke
Ages Past
Planes of Mirage, clouds of mist, lie deep,
Freed by light.
Ages past, lost to all eyes, dwell below,
Waiting for life.
Lovers in the spring, death in winter,
Await their freedom.
Empires of Iron, Kings noble and wise
Sleep lightly.
Jerome Brooke
Clouds and Mist
Dark waves rise, race to the shore,
Black nights of the soul.
At sea, pale clouds, and mist, hide memory,
Moments of joy, and sorrow.
Layers of Mirage, and Fate, reach down,
Free of light.
Ages past, lost to her eyes, dwell below,
Waiting for life.
Jerome Brooke
Jerome Brooke was born in Evansville, Indiana in 1949.
He now lives in the Kingdom of Siam. He is married to
a woman of the kingdom. He is the father of two children.
He has written Mirage : Dance of the Sun and many other books.
They are available from Amazon Books.
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"THE TALLEST TWINS" By Irene Brodsky, Author of Poetry Unplugged (Outskirts Press)
I remember the tallest twins
110 stories high!
so strong and proud
with thousands of eyes that could see
all 5 boroughs of New York City.
They were my best friends
We met every day for brunch
But one day I could not come.
It was September 11...my birthday
and I had other plans.
They said they would call me later
to wish me Happy Birthday!
Of course, they never did.
But have no fear my dear friends
Please don't cry! We'll meet again someday! I promise!
We'll have that birthday cake
and sing a merry song or two
in our new World Trade Center up in Heaven!
Together, forever
Just me, and the two of you!