Unplanned Pilgrimage by Mary Ellen Talley

Unplanned Pilgrimage by Mary Ellen Talley 1 When the parking lot attendant says the Cliffs of Moher are hiding and a visit might be a pea soup waste of euros, we stop nearby to view St. Brigid’s Holy Well where Virgin Mary statues in front of falling water are laden with petitions, rosary necklaces, andContinue reading “Unplanned Pilgrimage by Mary Ellen Talley”

Under the Influence by Andrena Zawinski

Under the Influence (A poetic after the cellist on Place des Vosges) by Andrena Zawinski Here. Take this photograph. It is Paris. There. There is a woman turning sheets of paged music. Look. She’s getting ready, her legs hugging the cello bottom, fingers poised at the polished sleek of its neck. Listen. A wheeze andContinue reading “Under the Influence by Andrena Zawinski”

Crescit Eundo by Gary Glauber

Crescit Eundo by Gary Glauber New Mexico caressed me under thin covers, lured me with temperate clime and spicy cuisine, with tales of mystical angel visits and prettily crafted wares. Enchantment was the first kiss. I embraced her carefully, red sun on field of yellow, aware of what some consider sacred and fickle behavior, backContinue reading “Crescit Eundo by Gary Glauber”

Walking Along the Music City Walk of Fame by Linda Imbler

Walking Along the Music City Walk of Fame Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A. by Linda Imbler The pale shy away from the sun, but this garden of stone is worthy of a venture out under Mr. Sol. Here lay the names, a judicious fare of music greats: Songwriters, singers, guitarists. There’s no questionable bigotry laid here. AllContinue reading “Walking Along the Music City Walk of Fame by Linda Imbler”

Clochán an Aifir by Robert Lima

Clochán an Aifir by Robert Lima Up north, abiding by the Irish-Scottish Sea of Moyle on long-stretched land that’s curved along a cove, the tides pay homage to huge basaltic stones on land that form a roadway from the cliffs into the sea, their multi-side hexagons and other varied shapes, having a dark sheen, brilliantContinue reading “Clochán an Aifir by Robert Lima”

Hozho by Robert Coats

Hozho by Robert Coats “The Navaho word hozho, translated into English as ‘beauty,’ also means harmony, wholeness, goodness.” —J. Ruth Gendler Notes on the Need for Beauty Hiking in the Grand Canyon down Permian dunes of the Coconino Sandstone, red rubble of the Supai Group. It’s a good place for restoring one to hozho, andContinue reading “Hozho by Robert Coats”

News Flash by Joan McNerney

News Flash by Joan McNerney Mickey Mouse was arrested 9/4/14 in Times Square. He was posing with a tourist and asked for money.* How dare Forty-Second Street be defiled by such an unsavory character! Donald Duck was not available for comment. Minnie Mouse escaped capture by hiding behind a large sanitation vehicle. She was visiblyContinue reading “News Flash by Joan McNerney”

El Porto, Twilight by Jonathan Yungkans

El Porto, Twilight by Jonathan Yungkans 1. Where the Pacific blends into a Spanish-Portuguese marketing conceit, it mirrors my own lack of logic, a hemorrhage tarnishing quiet. The wind smells of gore. The sea dusks. It stumbles cross currents, bleeding out and collapsing. The unseen moon heaves it up. Call me Lazarus for all theContinue reading “El Porto, Twilight by Jonathan Yungkans”

Olive Oil by Rafaella Del Bourgo

Olive Oil (for my Sephardic grandmother) by Rafaella Del Bourgo I remember eyes like sapphires, dark moles in the folds of her neck, her bosom, skillfully imprisoned in linen. Olive oil must be deep green and pungent to evoke other memories, sautéed fava beans, roasted chicken, rice blushing with tomato and raisins plump with steam.Continue reading “Olive Oil by Rafaella Del Bourgo”

Gondola Ride by Margaret Duda

Gondola Ride by Margaret Duda The pointed black prow glides over reflective waterways, as the gondolier pilots us past lanterns in the dark lagoons. Your arm encircles my shoulders, your body leans into mine, and the oarsman sings of stars in the Venetian night. Inside towering medieval buildings rising on either side, light escapes fromContinue reading “Gondola Ride by Margaret Duda”