TIME OUT
Edward Baranosky
Melisa Fauceglia
The
day was now departing ; the dark air
Released the living beings of the earth
From work and weariness; and I
myself
Alone prepared to undergo the battle
Inferno; Canto II, 1-4 Dante
Sooner or later, we all have to face it,
One eye on the declining light,
And a suddenly conscious loss
Of unconscious senses, care
Gradually muting extension and influence.
Cautiously we weighed every dare;
We didn't run from the wind,
But before it, pushing the way toward release,
Into the depths of the earth or the sea; the fair
Day was now departing; the dark air
As an arrow, follows the links of my marks.
A student of human consciousness,
I study my hands, the vessels form forth.
The cloaked figure points toward stage right
Where shadowed curtains and subtle bodies pull up,
Up. Leaches heal the black widow's bite;
Collapsing demons hit the ground,
Harder than a frozen lake,
As they slam through light doors of birth
Releasing the living beings of earth.
Lightning strikes through the rain.
Salted mud flows out of primordial ice,
Inhales before breath; bleeds before blood.
Having tasted air, every infant elf
Cries for food, disturbing
The peace of sleeping giants.
Into the breech
Our real dream begins
The timed stroke of metronome Delft
From work and weariness; and I
myself
Scour the dunes of this empty planet.
My mystery walker prevails camouflaged
By twisting smoke from shrinking wax towers;
Leadership does not know men without combat.
Thy naked sword is a compass that pulls
Toward the traces of worthy rivals.
Memory is fixed, any book can be a bible.
My sheath is empty, cold steel
Leaning on the last open saddle,
Alone, prepared to undergo the battle.
SUGGESTED ENDLESS FRAGMENTS
John M. Bennett
found in Ivan Arguelles' “Suggested and Endless Fragments”
ra
in s
kin p
luck s
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ime wh
ich e
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tilled
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ger
voi
ces
RAIN
John M. Bennett
Stacey Allam
She put her face in the rain
careful
to place her nose
in the spot
where it wouldn't touch her eye
when flattened with a spatula
G NAWS SUN
John M. Bennett
Jim Leftwich
g naw s lab you clunking
ame thy st strobe alche my
m ade an hopping b urner
jade cougar spared tongues
c lungs par id sugar p age
sp urn ed s hop ping me dean
ah my stroked camera !
sun king lab yrinth thaws
A LILAC BREEZE
Michael L. Evans
Connie Donleycott
broccoli buds
that small lavender splotch
takes wing
sprouts of moss
on the stone hedgehog
plum blossoms
shadow the temple wall. . .
children's whispers
new birdbath -
placing a bell
on the cat's collar
a lilac breeze
wood chimes . . . and tree frogs!
moonlit ball field
a boy plays catch
with a boomerang
CHOCOLATE FINGERPRINTS
Betty Kaplan
Max Verhart
kindergarten —
her first valentine
the smell of paste
chocolate fingerprints
all over the room
playing hide-n-go-seek
poor little Johnny left
under a desk
dominoes —
he lets his father
win this one
saved in the piano bench
"yellow polka-dot bikini"
before he opens
the pink envelope —
scent of roses
February
9-10, 2004
#11 in the Max & Betty Rengay Marathon
MARRY ME ALICE
Betty Kaplan
Max Verhart
no snow on the ground
but white powder puff mountains
floating by
the hot air balloon
slowly loses height
a yellow kite
sails away, a little boy
drops the string
dazzling free fall —
then one short pull and
the chute opens
the plane tows a banner
Marry Me Alice
flapping wings —
the stork is heading
for the cottage
january 6-7, 2004
JEWEL-BEETLE
Larry Kimmel
Ron Moss
blizzard warning
the dog coming home
looks like a sheep
tea-tree blossoms
a jewel-beetle in the rain
catching chubs
with earthworms on bent pins
shade of the
oak
early frost
in heavy footprints
a crushed snail
the cat hides behind
dusty ragweed, almost
fork lightning
a stick-insect vibrates
into view
PICK-UP-STICKS
Karina Klesko
Cindy Tebo
rolling hills heightened
in twilight's glow
the baying of dogs —
within her eyes a tempest
hunts the night
if pain
could be slept away
I would join the 3-toed sloth
high in the treetops
dreaming of other sloths
a cradle swings
to an old lullaby —
round and round
the mobile's blue planes
move slower and slower
in the odds and ends
of make believe
the clay knight
off to battle
with a penny for its shield
throwaway children
living in cardboard cities
until the rain. . . .
they pick-up-sticks
to build a fire of hope
hoarding sweet rolls
under his pillow
the dementia patient
tells the nurse
he's a wealthy man
scissors, paper, rock
we try to decide;
is there a "u" in color?
those white-haired men
preparing our meds
on the floor
of a teenager's room
a Jimi Hendrix CD
how close do you have to be
to kiss the sky?
one more
for the long wet road
the Cutty Sark sails on
leaving behind an unborn sun
and a note in a bottle
Easter breakfast
without Mom
my sister orders
Eggs Benedict
for the first and last time
out from the basement
those little dust bunnies
growing fangs
too big for peter rabbit
the torn jacket
hung on a fence post
'TALK DIRTY'
Marlene Mountain
Suhni Bell
1m talk dirty to me
the last spring morning with its last drizzle
2s
hush money exchanged in the confessional
3m
outlook for red falls on pink shoulders of a spider plant
4s
hospice worker ribbons for every occasion
5m
a breeze floats in floats back into the oblivion of tomorrow
6s
across the darkest dream a flutter of zen
7s
sweetgrass woven into her baskets into her prayer songs
8m
everyone's god on everyone's side everyone's lost
9s
war supplies i wonder who orders body bags for children
10m
shut in with a good case of humidity
11s
sunrise desert palette twisting its way thru juniper & shale
12m
50 percent chance for separated brains gone
13s
wishing well the koi swim away from both sides of the coin
14m
'hunting for bambi' ie naked women by 'wimps'
15s
in the blues of dusk a wild thought barely escape us
16m
just perfect a fresh garlic alone
17s
unemployed every stray cat in the neighborhood named & fed
18m
muggy day a box turtle in the squishy part
19m
rain flaps through the window into poems of a thunderstorm
20s
sidewalk chalk we hop over dried blood
21m an
old priest murdered in prison if only hell weren't a figment
22s
summer's end the heat still clings
23m
male oil of yet another male country that's what they crave
24s
adopted my heart is full of not knowing
25m
even this second her thumbprint heavy on the minutes left of me
26s
i hate indecision wait no i don't
27m
eyes now on pampas as heads undo themselves toward winter
28s
debating the debate before & after the debate
29m
doctor visit & fast food all the patriarchy i can stand for one day
30s
the date twice my age becomes an issue
31s
new year's raking up loose change to turn over new leaves
32m
before the happy ending i teared at the sad part
33s
raped she looks the other way for reasons to blame the victim
34m
how much of the world digs dug-in dubya
35s
suiseki uncovers an old word for an old rock collection
36m
bed-ridden beneath the snow the iris patch
notes
12m iranian twins ladan and laleh bijani
14m las vegas paint-ball safari tho considered a pr hoax by
some is
nonetheless in the culture's consciousness
21m child molester john geoghan
28s california governor recall debate
35s the japanese art of collecting & displaying naturally
formed rocks
june
20, 2003 - january 29, 2004
THE PRISONER’S BLACKBIRD
Dick Pettit (Denmark)
Francis Attard (Malta)
the moon's turned
its rough edge over overnight
inside a crater
measuring time
the prisoner's
blackbird walks like a gaoler on
a patch of lawn
knowing well which
side bread is buttered on
a regular guest
goes straight to the kitchen to wash
the dishes
twilight in the
garden the cat's first litter
a couple come out
arm in gentle arm and fall silent
carob tree pods
do as wind chimes
out on errands
a boy runs his stick along the railings
spinning top
scarlet and crimson mixing
a seer
concentrates all else excluded
from the still centre
under a spring
umbrella blue, its border indigo
the manufacturer
walks the promenade without a friend
stars the sky's
fire-folk moon's smouldering
loveliness
she takes two
hours for hair, dress and make-up
feeling better
wig off, he
mumbles in the wings of the
stage
not a squeak!
we shan't know how they take it until
the Synod
padded patchwork a
smirk back on scarecrow's face
a music critic notes the many
notes not in his score
supercalifragilistic
expialidocious
a socio-
ixi- palific- irregisal- speculid
in the parlour
mirror who is talking back?
the substitute
re-arranges himself after the impersonation
returned to props
glove spoonbill stitched and sober
the boss has
spoken and that's the end of it.
Any comments?
boardroom's
polished glass - beyond the skylight,
a language
miles away
the town lights clear without a glow
fireworks on the
agenda the man in the moon watches
the girls giggle
at an attic window over Mummy and her friend
in the magician's
hand a pack of cards, one dog-eared
an odd question the speaker s warmth reveals
human feeling
unreproved fancy,
mottled painter s varied brushstrokes
two figures
gesticulate into an animated landscape
Punch & Judy
bump heads Side by side.
drinkers partying
under the cherry trees are near to bliss
a solo on the tuba
brass sheen and tone
LANDSCAPE
Patricia Prime
Catherine Mair
the desk lamp's glow
on notebook, house plants, poems,
the ageing woman
writing of present tense sex
desires only peace
the landforms
of her body create
a low horizon
there isn't an invitation
she turns away
change in the weather
storms follow
early spring
seeing herself in the mirror
she is reminded of her mother
on the wall
a painting
of the Sounds
her belly folds
like the hills
MORNING SONG
Patricia Prime
Catherine Mair
tui
wake the morning
with their song
fly into the air with a cry
why doesn't my heart take wing?
wisteria
soaring sparrows
rainbowed waterfalls -
who is left in China
crowing in the rain
bathing at night
verbena & rosemary
in the water
a good night's sleep
forgetting everything
another morning -
flooded fields
a child's sandal
hangs on a barbed fence:
a toy panda coated with mud
AOTEAROA
Patricia Prime
Ron Moss
grey morning
the sound of rugby boots
on concrete
sunday roast lamb
the smell of mint jelly
in mum’s hair
under the dust
on the old photograph
faded football shirt
pipi gathering
last night’s moon
still on my shoulder
settler cemetery
we count the number of graves
with the same name
lewis pass
the abandoned cobb house
disappears into rain
franz joseph glacier
children sledging
on a plastic sack
heavy cloud
the gliding albatross
shears the air
rotorua
the smell of geysers
before we arrive
pie cart
the flash of its neon
in the puddle
smoko . . .
the kiwi-fruit pickers
share their stories
heavy dew
a giant flax plant
drips light
PLACE WHERE NAMES ARE LOST
Yuri Runov
Karina Klesko
CindyTebo
the old maple wood
gives the red-carpet treatment
to me and my dog
dry leaves underfoot... they sound
like long-awaited applause
the liveliness of baby toads —
couples in the park sidestep
a sudden gust of wind
brandy and tears blend
into shades of gold
opening the jewel box
there's
a pair of mom's earrings
light
and sparkling
with
the moon's curve
but
I can't wear them
a slim silver C
the moon's way of saying 'Bye'
to desolate streets
and who needs its ghostly light
to disturb their weary sleep?
crashing waves
against the breakers
captured in a conch shell
both
my past and future... the same
rushing of the sea
spinning the globe
again
and again
I
live in a place
where
the names are lost
and
the land becomes water
now seen through gray mist —
snowy peaks of memory,
their brilliance long lost
those dirty paths of autumn
never take us far from home
planting tulip bulbs
outside the prison fence
each day nearer to the bloom
I smile feeling the sun's warmth
upon my face
to define
the
manifest destiny
two
students square off
the
last one standing
wins
a chocolate bar
THE FRAGRANCE OF SUNLIGHT
Maria Steyn (South Africa)
Marjorie Buettner (USA)
spring meadow
the fragrance of sunlight
in my hands
honeybees' dance
pointing the way
two beachcombers
follow the high tide mark
this early morning
a girl drawing
outside the lines
full moon
sewn into the center
of the crazy quilt
zig-zag flight of geese
homeward bound
we pick out our graves
the sudden cessation
of color
as the music stops
her hair brushes his arm
this newness of you
when our bodies
meet
whispered secrets
while dawn seeps into night
that look again
as if you were seeing us
without you
collecting feathers
for a dreamcatcher
how moonlight
casts a silver shadow
on the web
a double rainbow
after the storm
high arc
of the arrow
before it hits
farewell letter written
with his old fountain pen
one by one
petals of the camellia
open
at the tea ceremony
soft folds of her kimono
SPRING RAIN
zhanna p. rader
karina klesko
spring rain -
the beech tree's black branches
through tender green
open umbrella
a little boy and a frog
misty breeze —
the daffodils bow
to the lily shoots
for days, a slow drip
from clogged roof gutters —
moss covered stones
puddles here and there
a luna moth on the brick wall
wet newsprint
stains the front stoop —
the robin snags a worm
A LEAF FLOATS TO EARTH
john white UK
karina klesko USA
distant music
greets me through the west wind
echoing applause
the whimsy of zephyros
a face borne into the rocks
battles of Sumatra
augmenting discomfort —
nature's breath
palm fronds fan
the orchid's blossom —
eco-friendly allies
avoiding countless boughs
a leaf floats to earth
hang-gliding —
chants of a thousand insects
kasetsukai-tsushin*
*
the valley of winds
PUTTING ON THE DOG
Max Verhart
Betty Kaplan
umbrella stand —
the master's walking cane
full of teeth marks
good morning!
he holds the leash in his
mouth
an elderly lady
being pulled down the street —
now who's walking who?
a run in the park -
can't keep him away
from his new love
all along the long lane
not a tree left unsniffed
big
cardboard box
with room for them all —
nursing the tiny ones
February 14th 2004
