art music poetry

First Steps | A Poem of Beginnings

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First Steps

First Steps

….and our first steps
where will they take us
each day is a birth
and we wobble and rise
where shall we walk?
To peace?
To war?
To an apocalypse
of our own making
from our guide book
some old fool in a cave
left for us
to wave into the air
the air of our end?
Take the first step,
Walk then, to the field and pick the flowers
pick the flowers and marvel
at their stolen moment
lay them on the graves of the
losers of the wars,
those who lie beneath the fields
of our strength
of our resolve
of our belief.

…painting and poem by Jackson

Do the Flowers Bloom in Heaven | Poem

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Hello are you better
Are you there
Were going to have to do better
we’re going to have to do better

do the flowers bloom in heaven
does the wind blow the branches of the trees
and send the leaves falling
does the corn ripen,

then turn brown in the fall

does my love wait for me there

do the butterflies visit the flower
do the birds fly the skies, build nests
do people fall in love there
he pauses
out of chaos comes order
out of order, chaos
and with no Observer
there is nothing

JD DeHart Reviews Cartoon Molecules Collected Poems

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JD DeHart – Reading and Literature Resources

A Few Words about Cartoon Molecules by Robin Ouzman Hislop
Review by JD DeHart

A central question I had in reading this book was, where will the words appear next? Not only does the author use a variety of poetic techniques, demonstrating that he is an experienced poet who knows his stuff, but the words themselves appear where he wants them.

Robin Ouzman Hislop displays a sense of agency with his words, sometimes spreading them out, sometimes writing them in a prose-like way. “one more for the road” is a prime example of this world and word play, but it far from the only one.

Moreover, this poet shows the reader that he knows literature and the world. These poems are brimming with references (not to mention Hislop’s creativity). The writing is honest and rings true, while being rhythmic and poetic at the same time.

I have been somewhat with Hislop because of his editing over the past years, and I am most grateful that he gave me the chance to read his work.

Visit this link to purchase the book at Amazon Amazon.com Cartoon Molecules Robin Ouzman Hislop for more info on the author see Aquillrelle.com – Authors Page – Robin Ouzman Hislop

 

Passenger Creek Poem by David Michael Jackson

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Sugar Camp Hollow
by David Jackson

We were raised in Sugar Camp Hollow
on Passenger Creek
where them reb soldiers camped it is
said
and the confederate gold is buried there
or so the story goes

and I knew you there
and you and I both knew
to leave those grounds
where the small creek meets Passenger.
We both knew to leave
those grounds
before dark.
You and I
shared the secrets of Sugar Camp Hollow,
them rebs,
that gold.

The neighbor Simpson
told the tale,
his skinny fingers
waving, pointing to that
spot where the springs
flow to create that
small
creek
that place
where dreams are
formed.

A poem for you
tonight
Sugar Camp Hollow,
Passenger Creek,
them rebs,
that gold,

and I pause beside this spring
of remembrance;

this moment is
a thin stream of water
flowing
from a tiny spring
somewhere
***

Charlottesville Protest Death by Car Poem

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charlottesville protests death

When is enough
actually enough
a rock on a pedestal
from a not so forgotten war
that seems to never end
now it’s a Challenger into a crowd
a Vanilla ISIS not a hate crime
and they awoke from a sleep
and they could no longer
put another name
on their hate.
It is a hard look into the mirror,
it is a battered face we see.
This discourse
this fight has been going on
since kings ruled,
gloriously going on,
sometimes in the streets,
in our words.
This discourse must go on
It is the red in our flag
it is the blue of our skies
and the white belongs to all
so
pick up the flag
shake the dust off of the word freedom
and let’s talk.

charlottesville protest editorial by Matt Masters