tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-299479332024-03-07T23:11:38.885+00:00Bolts of Silkbeautiful poetry with something to say (closed to submissions) Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.comBlogger638125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-90176047745567777742014-05-06T20:13:00.002+00:002014-05-06T20:13:54.473+00:00Swifts by Andy Barrittskating <br />
warm aether<br />
the swifts return<br />
no longer fouled <br />
by trailing nets <br />
of rain, black scythes <br />
harvest the blue <br />
meniscus that teeters<br />
like a dinner plate<br />
between crossed eyes<br />
right on the nose<br />
stuff, these feats<br />
of gyroscopic skill<br />
so hard to see <br />
as other than joy <br />
when they shrill wild <br />
thrilling in roll and shoal<br />
seething in knots<br />
suddenly falling<br />
in sequence <br />
like a dropped chain<br />
as a hobby’s silhouette <br />
sharks over, too quick<br />
to rake the shallows <br />
from which they spiral <br />
into smaller gyres<br />
rising <br />
and rising <br />
to rest <br />
in falling.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://andysbarritt.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Andy Barritt</a>, East Midlands, UK Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-81731534210624316442014-04-13T18:09:00.001+00:002014-04-13T19:08:17.300+00:00Elemancy by Chris Crittendenobliterated by a vigor<br />
of rain, the stubborn dust<br />
of cities upon cities,<br />
of gone animals and creatures,<br />
whirled astonished<br />
in a sibilant dance,<br />
ripples of hallelujah<br />
borne on its percussion.<br />
and we could celebrate,<br />
free of mummified fears,<br />
from tentacles of desert<br />
that swirled on the wind<br />
down into our rasped throats,<br />
believing once more<br />
that the gods were not stagnant,<br />
that the glisten of new rivers<br />
carried an essential trust,<br />
immune to auspices of privilege,<br />
and the meanness of gates.<br />
it seemed the land itself<br />
had become a shiny bird<br />
with unstoppable feathers,<br />
branched into many and<br />
exuberant wings, every<br />
molecule alert, befriended,<br />
in a great unison of flying.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://owlwholaughs.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Chris Crittenden</a>, Maine, USA Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-78959220066724743902014-04-06T18:59:00.001+00:002014-04-06T19:00:34.282+00:00Someplace for Queens by Cynthia Sidrane<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you sit long enough</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the granite boulder</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At the edge of town,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gazing into desert spaces</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Between compass cactus</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And owl's clover,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Baileya and brittle bush,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You might notice a few bees pausing</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Over yellow creosote blossoms.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps you'll see them flit away</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All at once, or each in its own time,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Etching a path only they can follow</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the low blue sky to a hive</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hidden in a lone mesquite</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Where their queen sits on her throne</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Combed with amber honey.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://canyonstones.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Cynthia Sidrane</a>,</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Arizona,
USA</span> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></span>Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-15313300869135486042014-03-30T17:15:00.001+00:002014-03-30T19:19:45.894+00:00In a Sculptor's Garden by David Chorlton<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I walked into a bee swarm</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">whose buzzing made</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">a globe of sound</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">that moved through trees</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">and settled</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">in a mass against the sloping edge</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">where roof meets sky.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> .</span></span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Among figures cast in time,</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">reclining, standing in</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">a dancer’s pose, or leaning</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">down to touch the ground,</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I listened</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> .</span></span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">to birdsong, wind, and whispering</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">grass while cottonwoods</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">greened by the creek</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> .</span></span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">and the thousand bodies</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">joined a thousand more</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">as a cluster formed</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">and hung</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">at sunlight’s end.</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.davidchorlton.mysite.com/" target="_blank">David Chorlton</a>, Phoenix, Arizona </span></span></div>
Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-2765562275033585132014-03-02T15:40:00.000+00:002014-03-30T17:15:27.411+00:00Goose Feathers by Gary Every<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">The telephone rings late at
night</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">and the beautiful woman I
wish to be in love with</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">greets me with hello</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">making my heart go pitter
patter.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">Her words are punctuated by
percussive raindrops</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">going pitter patter on the
rooftop.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">as she tells me excitedly she
can hear a flock of geese</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">flying overhead.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">The storm clouds are too
thick</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">to allow the flock of
migrating birds to be seen</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">but she holds the phone out
the window</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">so I can hear them honking.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">What is a flock of geese
doing </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">in the middle of the desert?</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">What if the clouds part and
reveal nothing,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">but the honking continues</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">is there such a thing as
geese ghosts?</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">The beautiful girl says good
night</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">and wishes me pleasant dreams</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">as the rain slowly stops</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">and a gentle snow begins to
fall</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">plummeting far too soft for
either a pitter or a patter,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">snow descending and covering
the earth</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">in a magical blanket </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">with giant flakes as big as
goose feathers.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.garyevery.com/" target="_blank">Gary Every</a>, Arizona, USA </span></span></span></div>
Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-30133565646014686292014-03-16T19:25:00.000+00:002014-03-30T17:08:48.373+00:00Early Dawn by Mary Belardi Erickson<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">wing-clouds
rush-in, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">descend
to ivy-covered bricks.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">These
wren choirs out-bright sunrise,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">are
a courtyard's Hosanna. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here
I awake--again and again-- </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">to
recount word-rows</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">in
transcending measure. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
mimic slow waltz in smooth</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">motion,
then ordinary quick-step--</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">my
street song--</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">heel-and-toe
to work.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://marybelardierickson.com/" target="_blank">Mary Belardi Erickson</a>, Minnesota, USA</span></span>Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-85050534808357120202014-03-23T18:05:00.000+00:002014-03-30T17:08:35.343+00:00Along the Creek by Duncan Fraser <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sun shining down from a pale blue autumn sky,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">white wisps of cloud move slowly in the breeze,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">grass dry and bleached by drought and summer heat.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The tree-lined creek is nearly dry,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">green puddles punctuate its muddy bed,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">no rain in sight, they’ll soon be gone.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Small birds are hard to find,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">a rufous whistler, three grey fans, a wren,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">brown thornbill busy in the leaves.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then through the trees above the paddock,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">a harrier with upswept wings sails low</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">and then is gone, too soon to name.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">A common brown the only butterfly to see,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">no dragonflies or damsels catch the eye,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">their season’s drawing to a close.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wait, movement on a trunk across the creek,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">a common shutwing perches for a time,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">the dragonfly of autumn has emerged.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The big zoom lens is meant for birds,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">but hold it steady, focus, shoot,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">the shutwing flies, its image though remains.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://bencruachan.org/blog/" target="_blank">Duncan Fraser</a>, Australia</span></span>Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-66378295670076670482014-03-09T18:47:00.001+00:002014-03-09T18:48:20.543+00:00Snail Slime by Lois Read <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Philosophers, knightly armour shining<br />
ride off in search<br />
of the Holy Grail<br />
brimming with answers<br />
to profound questions.<br />
<br />
Poets modestly tiptoe<br />
noticing things<br />
a sparkle of dew, a butterfly wing's<br />
shadow, cast as it flies<br />
in the late afternoon.<br />
<br />
Philosopher-Poets wonder<br />
if the answers perhaps <br />
lie in the path, in the woods, in the night<br />
in the trail of a snail<br />
escaping the light.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lois Read, Connecticut, USA </span></span>Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-69030713833560801032014-02-23T18:50:00.000+00:002014-02-23T18:50:27.789+00:00haiku by Kenneth B Thompson<span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Morning silence</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">jet trails</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">fence the sky</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="http://seventeenfarms.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Kenneth B Tho</a><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://seventeenfarms.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">mpson</a>, New Jersey, USA</span> </span></div>
</span></span></span>Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-61516023009966388532014-01-19T19:45:00.002+00:002014-01-19T19:45:41.714+00:00The View from Behind by Sr Anne Higgins <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
Tapestries look</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
like battlefields</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
from the back.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
Threads like soldiers</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
in hand to hand combat -</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
who is most resilient?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
Arms locked,elbows out,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
clenched fists of knot</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
scattered</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
like small skirmishes</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
across the expanse.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
Who is most flexible?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
Stitches quarrel</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
in overbearing voice,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
rush to trenches,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
maintain positions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
Colors invade</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
each others' territory,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
singing violent</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
victories</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
of light.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
All clamor, all struggle,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
it faces the wall of faith</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
while the weaver
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
and the watcher</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
work from the front.<br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://annesbirdpoems.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Sr Anne Higgins</a>, Maryland, USA </div>
Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-79599219404137370072014-01-12T19:10:00.001+00:002014-01-12T19:10:52.430+00:00Reflected Light by Penny Smith<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 127.6pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US">Remember how this winter day gave light<br />to country fields where frost and snowflakes lay?<br />It held at bay the terrors of the night.<br /><br />When phantoms lurk and prowl our inner sight<br />and blackest thoughts intrude and bar our way,<br />remember how this winter day gave light.<br /><br />Its hoarfrost beauty kept the landscape bright,<br />intending evening darkness to delay...<br />It held at bay the terrors of the night.<br /><br />To those who'd choose to flee to calm their fright<br />there's scant advice to give, except to say<br />"Remember how this winter day gave light."<br /><br />Then their unease must give way to delight;<br />although the sun had seemed to hide away, <br />it held at bay the terrors of the night.<br /><br />And should your future self meet such a plight,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 127.6pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US">in each reflective moment, do, I pray,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 127.6pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US">remember how this winter day gave light;<br /><i>it held at bay the terrors of the night.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 127.6pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 127.6pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 127.6pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://havantaclue.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Penny Smith</a>, Havant, UK</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-58770822624607627992014-01-05T19:59:00.001+00:002014-01-05T20:08:05.931+00:00Daily Diary by Michael Keshigian<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">All day, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">every day,</span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">through the
night </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">while you
sleep,</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">dust floats
upon airy parchment</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">to silently
describe the moment</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">and soon </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">another page
is complete.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Early, when
it’s quiet,</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">the faint
sound </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">you think you
hear</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">is a streak
of sunlight </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">that sings </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">the chilly
dawn breeze </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">into a
story. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Even snowfall
covers </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">a page of
barren countryside </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">with white
ink, </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">transforming
blank to verse,</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">rain erases
most mistakes.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On a bright
day </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">you may catch
hand shadows </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">swirling fair
weather fonts </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">into words </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">in front of
the sun, </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">creating a
gust </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">that inspires
leaves and twigs </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">to
choreograph the landscape.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When the
inkwell runs dry,</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">the rattling
pen resounds </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">a thunderous
clap</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">and the dark
hand pulls </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">upon the
spigot moon.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.michaelkeshigian.com/Home_Page.html" target="_blank">Michael Keshigian</a>, USA </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> .</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.michaelkeshigian.com/Home_Page.html" target="_blank">Michael Keshigian</a>, USA</span></div>
</span>Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-25198340961551414632013-12-15T16:16:00.000+00:002013-12-15T16:16:17.042+00:00Ponderance by Chris Crittendencomes that late exhale of day<br />
which marks the sun’s ritual loss.<br />
<br />
effusions tint the Earth fiery<br />
even as she shuns the sky dome’s
paling.<br />
<br />
trees reach from intent shadow,<br />
audacious as wicker calyxes,<br />
<br />
entrancing the scleral moon.<br />
<br />
in conjugal aeries, wind-combed
clouds<br />
march in rolling dresses,<br />
<br />
or equally drawn-out suits.<br />
<br />
if, now, a winter rabbit <br />
ghosted from a pod of shorn birch,<br />
<br />
with fur so wise it married<br />
a humble snowdrift,<br />
<br />
who would see?<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://owlwholaughs.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Chris Crittenden</a>, Maine, USA Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-25325936537354604462013-11-28T15:31:00.001+00:002013-11-28T15:32:05.570+00:00Replanting the Great Caldonian Forest by Simon Kewin <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span><br />
<div>
In those days, Scots Pines lawned the Highlands<br />
The Mesolithic Marten
that ran through the branches<br />
Could see both seas and never leave the
touching leaves<br />
Of giant cathedralling trees, shepherding their
green,<br />
Endless, restless hush, that rustled with death and life<br />
<span style="color: white;">> </span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
With only island peaks visible above the flood<br />
The Cairngorm
Archipelago, the Cuillin Ridge Atoll<br />
Until, in that first great clearance of
the land,<br />
By axe and ovine tooth, numberless trees fell one by one<br />
Strewn
like jackstraws, the devil playing at dominoes<br />
<span style="color: white;">> </span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Not that the mountains noticed the denudation<br />
To them all living things
are just fluff and dust<br />
Titanic, elemental, their minds on bigger
matters,<br />
They grind each other's gradients, clash with the clouds,<br />
Try to
overtower the moon and pierce the sun<br />
<span style="color: white;">> </span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
But sitting here on Sgurr an Airgid<br />
It seems a shame all those trees are
gone<br />
And time that something was done<br />
So I finish my apple and hurl the
core,<br />
Packed with its seeds, onto some fertile ground<br />
And think to
myself<br />
That at least it's begun.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.simonkewin.co.uk/" target="_blank">Simon Kewin</a>, UK </div>
Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-13574111828809032042013-11-22T11:24:00.000+00:002013-11-24T15:51:17.247+00:00Brotecito / Little Seedling by Amelia Modrak<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Brotecito</b></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Crece, mi brotecito, crece,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Antes de que cambie el clima,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Antes de que lo hayamos
alterado</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">De una forma irreversible.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Conviértete en fronde joven,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Y luego en bosques frondosos,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Inunda la Tierra de verde</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Y absorbe todo el carbón;</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ese carbón tóxico que
respiro,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Esa nube caliente, hija del
egoísmo,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ese veneno invisible</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Que asesina nuestro destino.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Crece, mi brotecito, crece,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Antes de que cambie el clima,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Antes de que lo hayamos
alterado</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">De una forma irreversible.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">*** </span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Little seedling</b></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Grow, my little seedling,
grow,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Before the climate changes,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Before we have altered it </span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">In an irreversible way.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Become young foliage,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">And then luxuriant woods,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cover The Earth with green </span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">and absorb all of the carbon;</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">That toxic carbon I breathe,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">That hot cloud, daughter of
egotism,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">That invisible poison</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">which assassinates our fate. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Grow, my little seedling,
grow,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Before the climate changes,</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Before we have altered it </span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">In an irreversible way.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ameliamodrak.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Amelia Modrak</a>, Edinburgh, UK</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" lang="es-ES" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-40734750370679073362013-11-17T19:02:00.001+00:002013-11-17T19:02:28.294+00:00Japan Washes Ashore in Oregon by Catherine McGuire<div class="MsoNormal">
I.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two years later, debris scuttles onto the shingle:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
fishing boats, brass bowl, a temple gate,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
scrap wood, a window frame, shop sign –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
there's no closure to some wounds.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Buried in black and beige sand drifts:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
someone's smashed mirror, holding</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
fractured clouds, broken sky.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
II.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unseen, uninvited, radiation floats</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
then burrows. The
vast currents</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that trawl the sea</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
leave long, invisible streamers. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The truth leaks more slowly</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
than cesium, plutonium, tritium.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Data, well buried. Don't connect </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
neighbor's cancer,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the slowly dying trees, those shriveled,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cerebrus-headed sunflowers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don't think about hungry ghosts</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
devouring flesh and leaf</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
in the night.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.cathymcguire.com/" target="_blank">Catherine McGuire</a>, OR, USA </div>
Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-5375017076441826812013-11-06T19:02:00.001+00:002013-11-06T19:03:25.570+00:00Letting Go of the Conceit by Holly Day<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Imparting tiny grains of colored sand with intricate thoughts</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">One giant flower covering the ground. It was so beautiful</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I wanted take it home with me.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">After it was done, he smeared great swaths of color against itself
until</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">It was nothing but white sand.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">It should have changed my life. I should have taken it away with me</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Let his day disappear in the pursuit of beauty, but just the beauty of
the moment.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I fully intended to go home and erase everything I had ever written</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">With the artist’s apparent satisfaction at the act of creation</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Should be enough for me, too. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Holly Day, Minnesota, USA </span></span></div>
Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-83329648468798771002013-10-06T16:31:00.000+00:002013-10-06T16:31:37.366+00:00The Black Button by Richard King Perkins II<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It could become</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">part of a teddy bear or snowman</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">but it’s held the portion of my coat</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">nearest my heart together for three years</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">and there’s no reason</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">for major alterations at this time.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the still darkness of morning,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I stand in front of her</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">as she sews the button back in place.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She grimaces when she sees</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">that the thread she thought</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">was black is instead brown.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She worries that the contrasting</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">blossom of thread will spoil</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">the polished elegance of my coat.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I kiss the top of her head</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">and remind her it’s not</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">the color of the string that matters,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">it’s only the attachment that counts.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: white;">. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: white;">.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Richard King Perkins II, IL, USA </span></span></div>
Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-19520722286428982412013-09-29T17:13:00.001+00:002013-09-29T17:13:57.762+00:00haiku by J D Nelsonthe computer hums —<br />the black moth on the ceiling<br />has been there for hours<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.madverse.com/" target="_blank">J D Nelson</a>, Colorado, USA Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-43613237088118955362013-09-22T18:13:00.000+00:002013-09-22T18:13:18.670+00:00The Corner by Holly Daythe beetle in the<br />
web clicks soft<br />
in time to the spinning of its<br />
body in the long arms of the spider<br />
that has made its home in<br />
the dark corner of<br />
my office. it clicks<br />
so regular I turn off my computer, my<br />
desk clock to make sure it's<br />
really him<br />
<br />
the clicks speed up<br />
when the spider<br />
reaches out<br />
with one long, pale<br />
leg to spin<br />
the trapped insect<br />
another turn, they slow down<br />
fade to near<br />
silence whenever<br />
the spider<br />
pulls away<br />
<br />
<br />
Holly Day, Minnesota, USACrafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-52752295882335173192013-09-15T17:38:00.000+00:002013-09-15T19:51:22.281+00:00Ladybird, Ladybird by Alison Lock<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I</span> stop the sh sh across my page</span></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">to watch a squirrel nuzzle the ground</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">all auburn fuzz, nose down</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">re- checking the co-ordinates</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">on a mental map for a nut called X</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">the shrubs wear their prettiest bonnets</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">of permed seed heads, legs</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">black stockinged from stalking</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">the late summer rains</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">the lawn has had its last trim of the year</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">concentric, whorled</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">shaved into an Italianate maze.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">A four spotted ladybird comes to my sill</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">I lend her my pen for a bridge</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">I am curious</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">now there are six spots</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">two on the edge of her shell</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">as if about to fall off, and they do</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">with a shiver, she splits</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">into a pair of dash away wings</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">taking her back to her home.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;">I carry on with the sh sh across my page.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.alisonlock.com/" target="_blank">Ali</a><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.alisonlock.com/" target="_blank">son Lock</a>, UK</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<i><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">This poem is from Alison's collection </span></span></span></span></span>'<b>A Slither of Air',</b> published by <a href="http://www.indigodreams.co.uk/" target="_blank">Indigo Dreams Publishing</a></i>Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-40715256706095058722013-09-08T18:40:00.001+00:002013-09-08T18:40:45.297+00:00Samara by Joseph Harker<div>
</div>
<div>
Where did we</div>
<div>
learn about gravity?</div>
<div>
The playground--</div>
<div>
but not from</div>
<div>
Newton's apocryphal apple</div>
<div>
plummeting to earth.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Our source was</div>
<div>
September maple</div>
<div>
gone slow gold,</div>
<div>
the sunlight</div>
<div>
preening the paper wings of</div>
<div>
its whirligig seeds.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And since then,</div>
<div>
the verb <i>to fall</i> is</div>
<div>
less fearsome.</div>
<div>
We learned it</div>
<div>
as slow rotation; we don't</div>
believe in impact.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://namingconstellations.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Joseph Harker</a>, USA Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-85974422145021027742013-09-01T18:06:00.002+00:002013-09-01T18:11:08.093+00:00Space Station Blues by Les Merton<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">in an interplanetary space station</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">with bustling pedestrian zones</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">he sits on his own in a buzz bar </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">drinking a glass of cloud nine nectar</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">it is an orange sky day</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">with smile impregnated air </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">he doesn’t respond </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">to the feel good waves</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">he’s thinks he is the loneliest man </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">in the universe and he’s feeling down</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">wondering will he ever hear</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">a language he can understand again</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://poetrycornwall.freeservers.com/photo6.html" target="_blank">Les Merton</a>, Cornwall, UK</span></span>Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-22077034622635769932013-08-25T13:46:00.001+00:002013-08-25T13:47:12.409+00:00Cassini Vision by Lark BeltranThis blue-dot world,<br />
far outshone by the surreal ringspan<br />
of big-brother Saturn,<br />
is of so little consequence, any might say,<br />
who was not of Earth.<br />
<br />
Countless such dots<br />
evolve then thrive,<br />
their cultures and cataclysms<br />
utterly remote<br />
to a kaleidoscope of far-flung peers.<br />
<br />
To be or not to be:<br />
a synchronicity<br />
of force and Deity?<br />
<br />
The void is neutral:<br />
no up and down<br />
no left and right<br />
or right and wrong ...<br />
no sound!<br />
<br />
Seeing our world so like a jewel<br />
in minuscule under Saturn´s rings -<br />
it rings of magic.<br />
<br />
<br />
Lark Beltran, Lima, Peru Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29947933.post-26394735426554981452013-08-18T18:04:00.001+00:002013-08-18T18:04:05.861+00:00Superdense by Josephine ShawIn quantum theory the inconceivably small<br />
can give rise to the unimaginably large.<br />
And that means that somewhere there exists<br />
<div>
a diamond the size of a planet</div>
<div>
<br />
made from a cold, corroded star.<br />
And also that the more precisely you know<br />
where something is, the less you know<br />
about where it’s going. <br />
<br />
Or how fast. We reach for little hopes, <br />
craneflies skating on the skin of life. <br />
Hoping, each sunset, that where we are says </div>
nothing about the dark matter of our own journey.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://deeperintheforest.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Josephine Shaw</a>, London, UK Crafty Green Poethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.com1