Stanzaic Stylings

HAWAIIAN MARKET PLACE Green onions, fried rice, soy sauce, star fruit – I nibble on smells as I roam the marketplace. One stall offers natural medicines from the rain forest – lavender and indigo. I sniff myself a cure or two. Someone unzips a banana. Another cuts into passionfruit skin. Seeds ride sweet yellow juice into the salty warm. And everywhere there’s pineapples, ripe and sun-burst on opening. Later there’ll be fireworks. But, for now, I’m checking out a lilikoi, its bright yellow skin, tart pulp. It tastes of Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the big Island. It makes me feel sea-air brushed, water lapped, and miles from any neighbor. John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in the Tau, Studio One and Columbia Review with work upcoming in Naugatuck River Review, Examined Life Journal and Midwest Quarterly.  

Nightshade Oblivion Sundown falls in shades of purple its shadows dancing across the wall the sound of silence speaks in muted whispers flickering like a candle in the wind… Lost in the confines of my mind in between the hollow spaces of yesterday and  tomorrow moments where unspoken dreams wallow… Our spirits once fused in a blaze of glory its raging fire burned, white hot rapture now cold embers buried in the snow for nothing seems to lasts forever... Wounded hearts bleed like crushed grapes time in a bottle, boxed vintage wine your essence lingers on my tastebuds indelibly branded deep within my soul…. But bent and broken wings will mend as defiant moon repents its mortal sins and angry zephyr howls its proclamations stirring up the nightshade of this empty room… where I shall wait for you. Colleen Keller Breuning © 2017 BIOGRAPHY: Colleen Keller Breuning is a poet and photographer who was born and raised in Mar...

Photo by Joanne Olivieri Trees of Heaven Those are tough trees growing in slums. With no need of rich soil or pruning, they rise in abandoned lots. These are trees that survive rubbish, rodents noxious chemicals. Not  easily cut down,  they stand against gaunt tenements. Climbing skyward, delicate palm leaves flourish flowering pods. Trees of Heaven give children glimpses of bright emerald each morning. Stars play peek-a-boo between their branches through long nights. Who has said a taste of paradise is only for the rich? BIO:  Joan McNerney’s poetry has been included in numerous literary magazines such as Seven Circle Press, Dinner with the Muse, Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow Haze, Blueline, and Halcyon Days.  Three Bright Hills Press Anthologies, several Poppy Road Review Journals, and numerous Kind of A Hurricane Press Publications have accepted her work.  Her latest title is Having Lunch...

Dimming the Lights  Cowboy boots  Flannel shirts  Blue jeans  Country music  Singing along  To their favorite songs  Having a good time  Until the sound of evil  interrupted the night  Confusion and fear Reflected in their faces  People on the floor  Protecting their precious lives Tears and prayers in silence  Angel feathers spreading  Across the pavement  Shattering the dreams of So many young innocent souls  Only love and compassion  can chase darkness  back into the abyss  Only love, peace and hope Can restore this broken humanity. Bio : Blanca Alicia Garza is a Poet from Las Vegas, Nevada. She is a nature and animal lover, and enjoys spending time writing. Her poems are published in the Poetry Anthologies, "Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow Haze", and "Dandelions in a Vase of Roses" now available at Amazon.com. Blanca's work can be f...

Cleveland Haiku #458 View from the bridge--- movie theater's neon lights down in the valley Cleveland Haiku #461 A busy street--- a squirrel plays chicken, wins this time Cleveland Haiku #462 Wealthy suburb--- the park's path goes underneath the road Cleveland Haiku #467 Modern pastoral--- cattle unmoved by the highway noise Cleveland Haiku #468 Memorial Day--- the RV army on the move Bio:   "Michael Ceraolo is a retired firefighter/paramedic and active poet who has had one full-length book (Euclid Creek, from Deep Cleveland Press) and a few chapbooks published (among the chapbooks is Cleveland Haiku, from Green Panda Press). He has a second full-length book, Euclid Creek Book Two, forthcoming from unbound content press, and is continually working on new and existing poetry projects."

Stirring Memories Drinking tears running  Down my cheeks  Drowning haunting thoughts  In my cup of coffee  Bittersweet memories  Going round and round  In my restless mind  Putting salt in My still open wounds Stirring your lies  Covered in sugar  Picking the crumbs of  Unrequited love. ( Initially published on The Poet Community ) Bio: Blanca Alicia Garza is a Poet from Las Vegas, Nevada. She is a nature and animal lover, and enjoys spending time writing. Her poems are published in the Poetry Anthologies, "Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow Haze", and "Dandelions in a Vase of Roses" now available at Amazon.com. Blanca's work can be found in  The Poet Community, Whispers, The Winamop Journal, Indiana Voice Journal, Tuck Magazine, Raven's Cage Ezine, Scarlet Leaf Review as well as Birdsong Anthology 2016, Vol 1.

Loneliness You leave or I It is all the same We are both alone Fighting loneliness To make it leave too Caressing it to make it bloom Into something that it is not Closing our eyes and dreaming That it has filled our voids with yellow wildflowers Wildflowers are never blue Any other colour is fine too Amidst the riot of colours Loneliness Walks the ramp Amidst fellow walkers It seems to be at ease Part of the troupe Swaying on the music Waving at the showstopper It halts in its track You and I  Have quite a task To find a new ramp And some other loneliness Dreaming wildflowers  Not blue Is a tough ask ©. Gauri Dixit BIO; A software professional from Pune (India), Gauri started writing poems couple of years ago. She writes in few Facebook poetry groups. Her poems have been featured in multiple Indian and international anthologies. She has also contributed to a number of e-zines including Learning ...