Originally published in Bards Across the Pond. Peering downward from the sky…A painted picture of lush green trees Sprouting up from the groundLike clumps of broccoli.A green garden surrounding a still body of water Pools of diamonds sparkling on the surface Courtesy of the sun’s radiant rays.Wooden structures jutting out from the shore Invading upon … Continue reading August Summer Competition Poetry Winner: “Summer at the lake” by Rita McDermott
Dances With Raised Arms
By Brenda Mox The angel at the doorway moves in the wonder of worlds beyond time. Representative of some mystic glowing world of unreality, her voice rings vibrations into the soul like a trumpet, echoing in dark places of being.She shines moonlight on the darkness hovering on the edge of one’s consciousness.From the radiance of … Continue reading Dances With Raised Arms
switching laundry at 12:09am
By Dominic Moore Faces shout my nameentering the place I played center stagebut now I perform in the audience.Rainy drive homeand a silent kiss on the cheekare my accompanying thoughts at curtain call.The walk upstairs grows longer, eventuallyreaching to the damp clothesthat have sat too long in the wash.Fistfuls of fabric enter the dryermy last … Continue reading switching laundry at 12:09am
For My Mother
By Okereke Emmanuel Chibuike A woman with fire—not just in her eyes,but in her bones,in every breath she burns for the ones she loves.My mother.My mother, my pride.My lighthouse when the tides got high.She stayed for me—when the world turned cold,when it whispered lies and slammed its doors,she stood,unshaken.No applause, no trophies,just cracked hands and … Continue reading For My Mother
Five Summer Haiku
By Jim Bates Northern Lights glowingSoft waves shimmering like dreamsWaiting to come true.Morning rain fallingSoggy wet flower headsBend in silent thanks.Early morning lightFlowers nodding in the dawnSerene peaceful calm.Aunt and Uncle's cabinOn a lake overflowingWith good memories.Thankful for flowersTheir color so enrichingTheir beauty such joy. Jim lives in a small-town twenty miles west of Minneapolis, … Continue reading Five Summer Haiku
Where the doves come to cry
By Oceanika Pandey They said, “We fight to end the fight,” To make the dawn outshine the night, They sent the ones with steady hands, To bleed upon foreign lands; But have you forgotten that they are too the children of mothers who never knew that peace is but a mere facade, Built on graves … Continue reading Where the doves come to cry
Reading at the Parlor
By Ken Gosse They decided the Reaper was truly a keeper,his poetry earning their membership’s yearning,a group which would meet once their days were completeyet before their last showing, while tears were still flowing.The prep nearly finished, with hopes undiminishedthat they’d read again to a group with a yenfor their poetry’s call which would clearly … Continue reading Reading at the Parlor
Nomenclature
By Richard Weaver Blue mountains rising, century after centuryawakening to fall again. To rise anew, yearning for a hand like rain waking from sleep, after dreaming in green water blackening beneath cypresses. A drowned moon afloat in its troubles. And hills of brazen angels. Blue mountains reigning. His first published poem appeared in Poetry Magazine … Continue reading Nomenclature
The Shape of Love
By Hossein Hakim Love is the longing to simply be near,To feel their presence when they're not here.A whisper missed, a silent room—Yet in your heart, their flowers bloom.Love is the pull of a gentle embrace,The ache in your arms for a familiar face.A brush of fingers, a warming skin,A quiet fire that glows within.Love … Continue reading The Shape of Love
Mulţumesc
By Kaleb M Dufel Morning comesSleep finally did.She wakes me with thevoice of the old worldthe voice that carried with her a dream-a dream i’ve woken up from.We eat breakfast togetherI can’t bear to eat with the others.She tells me about her homeI welcome her to mine.Later, I dance along an ivory street dotted with … Continue reading Mulţumesc
Academy of the Heart And Mind 