POETRY Spring 2008
Buddha in the Rain
by Norma Sadler
You have to learn to soak up the day.
A jaded western way of thinking Tries to find its way East where A quiet Buddha Sits with his legs bent Looking up at the sky.
He stretches his arms out, And the rain touches his fingers. His fingers tremble at the touch.
He raises his hand to his mouth, Presses water against parched lips Feasting on the drops. Blessings from the sky.
There is no thunder or lightning. Just a gentle rain that brings up The flavor of the earth and The smell of wet stone To his upturned nose.
The rain soothes his weary shoulders, Trickles down the folds of his robe, Slides over his crossed legs, Soaks the moss-covered ground below.
His hands reach for the sky again.
Catch the rain, go ahead. It's out there, waiting for you.
Bio: Norma's work has been published in Japanophile, NCTE Journal, Pembroke Magazine, St. Andrews Review, The Cold Drill, Tamafyhr Mountain Poetry, Moondance and others. Her book Multicultural Connections was published by Scarecrow Press, a division of Rowan and Littlefield.
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Bird Feeder
by Michael Lee Johnson
Baby, born just a sparrow- first flight from balcony to tree limb. A chip of corn falls from the feeder to the ground.
Bio:
Michael Lee Johnson has published 145 poems in 2007 to date. He is the author of: The Lost American:From Exile toFreedom:http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=0-595-46091-7.The book is also listed at Amazon.com, & Barnes & Noble. Book review:http://www.compulsivereader.com/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1777 Visit his website at: http://poetryman.mysite.com/. He is now thepublisher, editor of Poetic Legacy,http://www.poetriclegacy.mysite.com/ ; and Birds By My Window: WillowTree Poems at, http://birdsbywindow.blogspot.com/. Both publications are now open for submissions. Mp3 Audio files available on request for any of the poems.
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Tilt
by Deborah Chaney
When did the earth tilt to separate expression from meaning?
Drifts of breath’s sounds in a language alien.
This distance chills my spirit, slows the heartbeat
Of my willingness to walk through the icy exhaust.
Indifference cloaks spontaneity of camaraderie,
The branches of closeness hang heavy with words
Unspoken, hoarded as if to starve me of warmth.
The sun peeks yet its light is muted by boredom.
I will not surrender the foundation of our past.
No, the discovery of what rests in your mind
Slumbering on a bed of disputed decision
Shall awake with the lucid clarity of my heart.
Give me a moment to glimpse there among
The spires of meaning - these sounds
Silenced without thought to result.
Stunting the growth of wonders, of merit.
Ah, a smile. The gateway to allowance.
The warmth of mercy with compassion
Shining against this friendship to glisten.
A forest of moments cannot be harvested.
We will walk among them in forgiveness.
Bio:Deborah Chaney has been writing since reading her first book at the age of six. Most of her work is in a consistent state of 'in progress'. She lives in Corvallis, Oregon with her husband and two dogs. The Green Silk Journal published her short story, "A Visit in September" and a poem. She has written a column for the local newspaper and is currently writing two novels of fiction.
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by Penelope Taylor
Let us go
together
kissing
as we go
together
let us
leave
kissing
into the life,
not the memories,
not the future,
but now
together as we are,
always
kissing.
Bio: Penelope Taylor's poetry has appeared in Literary Tonic,California Quarterly, The Tipton Poetry Journal and various other journals and zines. Poetry is her secret life. Born in England and raised in the U.S., she now lives at the bottom of the world following her dreams with her partner, Doc Louie who provides the good medicine of laughter in large and daily doses. |
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