Thoughts in Saffron

The crown of the sun king,

regal austerity sent our way bearing heat and light.

Amber perceived shine within drips of rain

reflects glory upon cowslips and corn.

Whiffs of sulphur 

set off cautionary alarms

from which we will distance ourselves.

The bouquet of nectar,

and honey’s candied scent,  

embodied as bumblebee beacons.

Precious coins earned, 

a living wage,

gentles later golden years.

Upon the yellow brick road,

yellow taxis helmed by drivers 

with flaxen topped heads,  

follow our directions

toward the brass ring

holding our best choices.

Indignation About Your Body Politic

Empires dissolve as loyalties turn,

kingdoms reduced to drab and joyless,

the vague and soulless

filling any vacant throne.

It may be a shock,

but theres a well-hidden pitfall

that always follows the same pattern,

that of the premeditated snub

after the mold breaks.

It remakes with a changed shape,

and you feel the rebuff

when you are no longer the newest,

the best, the most desired,

when there’s an utter failure 

of your kinsmen to crown you.

All your psychological mumblings lack complexity;

they only suggest revolting comparisons,

from the cheap and ordinary to what’s producing the most appeal.

You feel your lofty ambitions surpass the ordinary,

but they only provide dogmatic aggravation

to those with whom you are in contact.     

You, standing alone, now a mere foolish ornament.

I hope when we meet again

you will have found a happy way forward.

 AVAILABLE AT AMAZON

PUBLISHED BY SOMA PUBLISHING

Poet Linda Imbler’s ninth collection contains images of the best and the worst of humanity: stories of love, death, justice, betrayal, friendship, sorrow, and courage.  Here are many essential concepts succinctly related in 15 lines or less.  Although the compositions are brief and concise, as one reads the lines, the poet’s really big ideas explode off the page, leaving the reader with those relatable a-ha moments that are so satisfying to the psyche.

There is an array of poetic styles here:  elfchens, Haiku, Nonets, Triolets, Etherees, rhyming poems, and free style poems.  This is a delightful book that will be read and reread by poetry lovers and those for whom contemplation is more than a hobby.

 

Thank you very much to Editor Mark Antony Rossi for publishing my poem in the June issue of Ariel Chart.

Magical Mystery Tour

 

Dogfish-pipefish-handsome hookworm,

Minnow - minotaur-garrulous phantom,

Wolfdog -fatal catfish on a hotplate,

A cagey shot put-a dingo on stage,

Tent caterpillar in a window box,

Silverfish escargot-spiteful anteater,

A minx of a salamanderess,

An actual bookworm on site,

Baboon and silkworm atop 

A phenomenally tall windmill,

An antelope bypassing ripe cowthwort,

Carp with a candlestick, a useless tool.

All fun to imagine.

Thank you very much to Editor Sand Pilarski of Piker Press for publishing my poem today

https://www.pikerpress.com/article/11851/sweet-puppies/

Sweet Puppies

These diminutive doggies,
fatties that jiggle,
whooping like they
are in a carnival,
tripping over their dinner.
Their pleasant silliness brings tender feelings.

I’ll wager that whenever, in latter years, 
when they have learned to sit,
and be domesticated like cows,
you’ll recall that farfetched idea
that they’d stay this size forever.

AVAILABLE AT AMAZON

Book includes travel photos

This collection is a poetic memoir of a very memorable bus trip through five states with Nashville, Tennessee as the ultimate destination.  Along the way (and back again following the same route,) strangers become friends and enjoy many sights together, including rivers, bridges, and quite a few historical museums.  Nashville was the delight of the trip: four days filled with live music, touring the best musical landmarks it has to offer, including the Grand Ole’ Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Walk of Fame.  While there, the travelers learned the history of the great Music City and saw many of the locations where this history had taken place.

If you have been to Nashville and the surrounding areas, many places will be familiar to you.  If you are planning a trip to Nashville, the poetry collection will give you some ideas of what you will see and hear while there.  If you just enjoy traveling, you will read about some common traveling experiences that the author had with other travelers, written as the bus traveled from state to state, using this poet’s unique imagery to describe the wonders of this fabulous journey.

Fortress As Duet in Latter Days

Nothing to be heard,

but heartbeats and sighs

we hear,

inside,

each other’s heads,

as gentle breeze

and rhythm.

The cosmic magnificence

of our mutual mantra

chanted in tandem,

over decades.

Simple plans,

and actions assented,

remedies,

good medicine,

accrued,

long forgotten laughter,

and so few regrets.

Thoughts,

recollections,

secrets,

inside

a fortress

only we two,

during so many years, 

could engineer.