This is an example of an acrostic poem. The first letter of each line spells "Alice Pleasance Liddell," said to be the inspiration for ALICE IN WONDERLAND. See:
All poems are copyrighted by their respective authors.
WHEN (II)
by Marie Delgado Travis
It's not the How
that matters.
Just know that Death
was far too strong,
its kiss too deep.
Your child, lover, parent
Would have stayed.
But it was not the How...
It was When.
MARIE DELGADO TRAVIS is an award-winning author. She writes poetry and prose in English and Spanish. As Long Story Short's new Poetry Editor, she welcomes submissions at poetexx@aol.com . Visit her web site at www.mariedelgadotravis.com
BEING THERE
by Floriana Hall
Watching fireworks is exciting
On any patriotic occasion
But nothing is as much fun
As being there.
Visiting places in your imagination
Or in geography books, or any situation
Suffices, but nothing is as thrilling
As being there.
Talking to your loved ones
By email or telephone is comforting
But nothing is as nurturing
As being there.
Feeling homesick is devastating
In the pit of your stomach
Pictures are nice, but not as pleasant
As being there.
Reminiscing is like a dream
Life fleeting by as if on a screen
Past tribulations and triumphs not the same
As being there.
Be with me today, the only day that counts
As being here.
FLORIANA HALL, Distinguished Alumna of Cuyahoga Falls High School, OH, attended Akron University. She and Robert, her husband of 59 years, have five children, nine grandchildren, one great-granddaughter. Floriana is author/editor of ten nonfiction inspirational books: SMALL CHANGE; THE ADVENTURES OF FLOSSIE, ROBBIE, AND JUNEY DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION (2006); THE SANDS OF RHYME, DADDY WAS A BAD BOY; OUT OF THE ORDINARY SHORT STORIES; HEARTS ON THE MEND (2006), and FRANCIS, NOT THE SAINT (2008).
Founder and Coordinator of The Poet’s Nook.Floriana is Editor of THROUGH OUR EYES: Poems of Beautiful Northeast Ohio, POET’S NOOK POTPOURRI, and TOUCHING THE HEARTS OF GENERATIONS. The winner of many poetry contests, she has been published in US, UK, France and India. She teaches poetry at the LSS WritingSchool.com. Website: www.alongstoryshort.net/FlorianaHall.html
GLORIA WATTS, a retired Further Education College lecturer, lives in a small Market Town in Northamptonshire, England. She spends her time writing flash fiction and short stories; several of her short stories and poems have been published online. The above poem is an example of a tanka, 5 lines of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables, untitled. Contact Gloria.
TOUGH
by Patricia Wellingham-Jones
Tough as maiden aunts that tried men out
then threw them away
tougher than old shoe leather
in all its trite refusals
toughest of the band of street thugs
that hang around stealing purses
you invaded my heart with your no nonsense ways
and I, tough guy that I am, fell hard
PATRICIA WELLINGHAM-JONES has written DON'T TURN AWAY: Poems About Breast Cancer and END-CYCLE: Poems about caregiving, among others. She is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee and h er work is published in numerous anthologies, journals and Internet magazines. A cancer survivor, she has a longtime interest in 'healing writing' and the benefits people gain from writing and reading their work together. Her website is www.wellinghamjones.com .
LONELINESS
by William Blenderman
I walk a solitary way apart
From friends who were once near and dear to me,
For God demands an individual heart,
And only lonely souls are wholly free;
For loneliness is a part of God's great plan.
The bright appeal of earthly things to dim,
And turn the wayward yearning heart of man
From vain desires, to Heaven and to Him.
The above poem was written by my classmate, Bill Blenderman, when we were juniors in high school. It first appeared in The Pilot Literary Supplement, Cardinal Spellman HS, 1966, and I never forgot it. Bill is now a successful businessman, living in Delaware. Reprinted with his kind permission.
SMACK-DAB
by Semia Harbawi
He smacks and she dabs
Smack-dab-a-dub
Round and round goes the merry-go-round
He smacks
Neat, dry, accurate smacks
She dabs at her puffy eyelids
With moisturized tissues and miniature ice packs
Smack-dub-a-dab
On and on goes the drab routine
And they get into a rut
He smacks, a gardener tending
to blossoming black and lavender-blue patches
on her jaws and cheeks
he snatches
evil flowers of his making
placed there for the taking
he smacks, the noise!
she dabs in the poise
A weary minuet
So few variations on the duet
Smack-dab-a-dub
SEMIA HARBAWI is Assistant Professor at the English Department of the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, University of Tunis ,Tunisia, where she teaches English and postcolonial literature. Her short stories and articles appeared in The Hamilton Stone Review, The Loch Raven Review, The Istanbul Literature Review, The Blood Orange Review, The Taj Mahal Review, Moondance, Miranda Literary Magazine, The Arabesques Review, Connecticut Review, The Journal of West Indian Literature, and Wasafiri.
VISIONS OF NUANCE
by Chris F. Minshew
Through the window of eternal life
We try to see beyond the distance
Which our eyes, tainted with notions of immortality, will allow.
The wicked verdict of each pounding second
Inevitably contradicts the visions of grandeur
We once knew so well.
The truth will only be discovered
If the eyes admit their taintedness
And the ears realize their deafness
to the seconds' proclamation.
Chris F.Minshew was born in rural Mississippi, His life has been peppered with a variety of experiences such as earning an MBA by age 22, acting as a photo-double in John Grisham’s “A Time to Kill,” playing bass guitar with numerous bands both live & in studios, working as an executive at a top 100 golf club, managing a college football team, working as a bounty hunter, experiencing the incomparable 2005 hurricane season as a flood insurance trainer, spending a summer working at Walt Disney World, and serving as a pallbearer seven times throughout the years. Chris has learned from his as well as others’ successes and downfalls. His book POETIC CHRONICLES OF A MADMAN attempts to reflect this. Contact Chris.
BATTERED BEHIND DARK GLASSES
by Michael Lee Johnson
An otherwise beautiful lady
with eyes matted and closed
is not exactly sleeping.
The trouble goes deeper,
the doctor has a laser
light drill penetrating her eyes
that have turned thunderstorm
black with smudges of red and pink.
She tells herself this will never
happen again, there will be no
rebirth with him.
In idle hours she self-nurses
a cave of hurts. The lights are off;
her eyes are bruised and burning.
In the morning, still in bed she looks in a mirror;
her face thickened with puff & irony-she weeps splinter sounds.
Above her head on the lamp desk the alarm clock keep ticking,
across the room, around the corner, the refrigerator keeps humming.
The man who had his way is dark in her,
like distant echoes embedded in a memory or shadow.
Michael Lee Johnson is a poet and freelance writer in Itasca, Illinois. He is author of THE LOST AMERICAN: From Exile to Freedom, http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/. He has also published two chapbooks of poetry. He has been published in USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, Turkey, Fuji, Nigeria, Algeria, Africa, India, United Kingdom, Republic of Sierra Leone, Nepal, Thailand, Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia. He is also publisher and editor of four poetry, flash fiction sites--all presently open for submission. See the author's web site for info: http://poetryman.mysite.com/
CONNECTING FLIGHTS
by Lucille Gang Shulklapper
Somebody once told me
I’d be a mourning dove
in another life
nesting in a flower pot
perching on reverse toes
three forward, one back
still-winged on my egg.
My grandson Cole is nine
scraggly hair thatched
under his baseball cap
one sock blue-tipped
one sock gray-tipped
moldy sneakers left
in the living room.
Nick-named “Moves”
Cole salsas on the tennis court
pitches left-handed heat
mimics sounds and steps
flies across the gulf
to visit me.
This morning we hear
a mourning dove call
coo-OOH, Ooo-Ooo-Ooo-ah
birthing bones and feathers.
Unsettled by Cole’s
miming of her voice
she flies away
on whistling wings
of our birdsong.
A poetry workshop leader, LUCILLE GANG SHULKLAPPER also writes fiction. Her work has been anthologized and appears in numerous publications, as well as in three poetry chapbooks. A chapbook, IN THE TUNNEL, is forthcoming from March Street Press. Contact Lucille.
never goodnight
i say
to my love
my life
not goodnight
but a touch
a wave
the face of innocence
pure and sweet
it becomes us
it stays in our clothes
our hands
our hearts
the sights
sounds
everything moves
sings
a whisper
soft kiss
into the night
dark streets
the rain
taste your lips
your body
from the trees
flashing lights
the smell of wet pavement
my hand
in yours
i walk
with you inside
longing
longing
it becomes us
cm
Charles Mariano ("cm") is a contributor to CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE LATINO SOUL. He was born and raised in the Central Valley town of Merced, California and currently lives in Sacramento, California. In his own words, "Reclusive, elusive, and otherwise quiet. I live a cave-like existence. There are no lights here, only words." Contact Charles.
POEM OF THE MONTH
SONG OF THE ROAD
by Margaret Fieland
One fine morning you crept down the staircase,
left the cold kitchen, the shouts and the blows,
into the sunshine, on down to the train track,
you took to the rails, a knight of the road.
Gentleman Jeff, that's what they all call you,
forty-five years since you wandered from home,
forty-five years you have criss-crossed the country,
a spattered old sack holds all that you own.
Your bed each night, a bench in the depot,
troll in the trash for a bite of a dog,
pander for pennies in Grand Central Station,
try not to notice when folks hold their nose.
Don't ever ride the train up to Boston,
watch as it clatters on down the old track.
wish on the moon that hangs over the station,
mind that you said you would never come back.
Born and raised in New York City, Margaret Fieland has been around art and music all her life. She is the mother of three grown sons, an accomplished flute and piccolo player and the daughter of a painter. Her poems, articles and children's stories have appeared in, among others, Main Channel Voices, Echolocation, and Stories for Children Magazine. You may visit her website, www.margaretfieland.com.
