Poet’s Corner: Poetry Writer’s Block
By Hannah Beecher
When I pause to write a word
Pen in hand and success assured
My mind goes blank, my memory blurred
I envision myself with tales to tell
Filling large tomes with lots to sell
Alas, those tales...
Poet’s Corner: Veterans Day
By Brigitte Lent
Looking out over one of those vast
Burial fields of fallen soldiers, I wonder
How many graves of warriors are there
all over the world? How many dreams
for lives cut short by this ancient
scourge...
Poet’s Corner
The Day's Best Thought
By Jeffrey Agnoli
When I don't go out to meet the source
of all dreams,
then, fortunately, it comes to me,
its secret tide line reaching inland deep,
up to my door, where in a mist,...
Poet’s Corner: First Bird
By Genevieve H. Abbot
Where did he go?
He was feeding on the ground yesterday.
Then the night registered 10 degrees
and he's gone.
The harbinger of spring arrived,
happy with what he pecked from the earth.
But too early.
Now, he's...
Poet’s Corner: Manicure
By Alida J. O'Loughlin
The hands extended as in an offering
The nails in supplication
To be touched, to earn approval
From the Master Colorist
Who thinks in terms of reds and purples
Of oranges and blues
Blues for the...
Poet’s Corner: 28 People in a Closet*
By Valerie Sonnenthal
adrenalin surges
squeezing into darkness
sweat trickles
along bulging veins
fingers reach for mine
whispering calm wanting
like a thick fog to settle
every soul from panic
stricken faces drained
of color we hold ourselves
in pitch black praying
some stiff rigid with...
Poet’s Corner: A Hail of Lead
A Hail of Lead
(After Sandy Hook)
By Barbara Peckham
Blood can be bleached
From the weeping floors.
Broken glass replaced
In the gaping doors.
But today in a school
Where children played
Innocence was lost —
Mourning came to stay!
At a school near...
Poet’s Corner: The Day’s Best Thought
By Jeffrey Agnoli
When I don't go out to meet the source
of all dreams,
then, fortunately, it comes to me,
its secret tide line reaching inland deep,
up to my door, where in a mist, I half sleep.
Standing...
Gauguin in the Lava
Inside a lava pool sits a girl
in a blue dress
playing with water that jumps
in her lap
Closer to the sea her mother
in a blue patterned dress
And further her father in blue patterned trunks
He is looking...
Poem: Chappy Ferry
By Nan Byrne
The little boat goes back and forth
A steadfast engine against the tide
Shuttling industry from dock to dock
In darkness and in light
The Captain’s granite shape in mist
Upon the open deck stands fast
As...
Cold Gift
By Annette Sandrock
friendly eyes
empathize
evaluate
separate
terminate
clean the slate
time is slowing
it's too late
stressful step
crawling's best
fever-laden
sickly maiden
eat to heal
dwindling food
morsels tasteless
not in the mood
hardly enough
productive cough
sweat from thought
drugs are bought
heavy chest
painful swallow
need to rest
wait for tomorrow
chores undone
troubled ears
texting's...
Poem: Autumn on the Vineyard
Airbeds asleep ’til summer ’17.
Sandy floors swept. Outdoor showers sigh in relief.
Harried drivers disappear. Car horns cease their sting.
Hibiscus and cosmos sport late blooms but
Autumn daisies and sedum reign supreme.
A patter of acorns heralds...
Leaving the Cottage
By Margaret Emerson
Out the window
time slows gracefully
slanted autumn light
waltzes across the yard
Fewer bird species gather
at the feeder or wall
seeded by David
every sunrise
before biking
to coffee
blueberry muffin
USA Today
Days shorter
less to do
visitors thinning
clothes thickening
In spite of the...
The Emergence of Fall
By the Supportive Daycare Program
Summer and its nice warm days leave —
Cool, crisp days of fall arrive
Deep blue skies of October,
Crispness
Apples, falling leaves
Halloween is coming.
Dad says, "Let's get a pumpkin!"
Apple cider — the smell...
Poet’s Corner
in a wood / where nobody goes
By Jill Jupen
in a wood / where nobody goes*
You will come
to it
(to borrow
a phrase).
You can do something
forever.
I did it once.
I mean,
that happens.
The Archbishop
of Anarchy.
The poet
and what he has...
Emulating the Bodhisattva
By Lee H. McCormack
To have nothing, or desire it to be, or to be in a place
where nothing is, is the game of blind old monks.
How some friends and family come
to a similar...
O Lantern of Jack
By Linda Freedman
The pumpkins are now waiting to be picked
Big and orange and very round and thick
Thinking of Linus in his pumpkin patch
Carving and scooping and lighting the match
With its glow and scary grin
Waiting...
Poet’s Corner
The Derby
Fickle flock fled far
Beaches beckon bare
Locals liberate
Balmy breezes blare
Boats becalm before
Solar silence sates
Fated fish fend free
Anxious angler awaits
Harbor hut hues hope
Seashore surf sublime
Rods refreshly real
Down to derby time!
— Rachel Alpert
Rachel Alpert is a...