Poetry – Year V – Number 40 – September 2020

A Column of Smoke ghosted west to the seaand I missed my off ramp like most of the otherswho prayed to the fire gods oh please, not me,and I saw from a distance the mean residueof burnt chaparral...

Noticing Women I am not the woman in the front row staring with adoring eyes at the poet,her husband, on the stage behind the podium, reading from his collection. Nor am I the woman standing behind...

Killing it, Cooking It Friday night the second month of high school—but we weren't thinking about school.It stole hours that we used to spend skating.All summer, every day, all day we were rolling.Curfew didn't lift...

Decay of Democracy The political charadein divided Americabecomes tenser dailyas issues, agendas, ambitionsrasp the public well-beingtrying to survivean irresponsible President,who tells the people‘there are good peopleon each side’when nazis and radicalsfight each otherfor extremist views,instead...

A trap I have mixed feelings about what happened that day --following her out of curiosity,staying in her place for no reason except… Pity. Is it the right word? A table, a chair, a bed, a single...

TRAVEL ADVISORY Some days the world is a luscious peach.Others, a cold boiled potato. The differencebetween knowing what to do and doing itis four dollars. How you get there is your business.If praying your way,...

A stained glass imaginingFrom the third floor the treetops are filigree fine,emergent tendrils nod frantic nervousnessin the ethereal breath of a gossamer breeze.Lace leaves play like piano fingerscaught by ripples from whipish curlicue. The street...

Goal posted There was nothing saiduntil my brothers saw it happen.They told Mum, who, shaking in rage,told the head nun about the bullying.More than bullied,small boys were grabbed, arms held,and with their legs spreadThey were...

A Night Alone It is a rain pinging, downspout gurgling, wind gusting, pines shushing, leaves swishing night. It is a game after game of solitaire losing night. It is a facing eternity, an aging awareness,...

Dark Moon, Loneliness and Hope       By Gary William Ramsey The Dark Moon disappearswhile I sit here, gazing at the star filled sky.Its absence allows quiet times.During these peaceful times,I think of the mysteries of the...