Stanzaic Stylings

Unrequited Love A most foolish path I chose to pursue For it leads, alas To nowhere, but you So, in snippet and rhyme I reach out in word Hoping you read me I write to be heard Still, you ignore The words so dear For their meaning Resounds All too clear Lynn Long is an aspiring writer/novelist

Casey at the Bat (Sestina) It didn't look good for the nine from Mudville as the game entered the bottom of the ninth inning; four players were scheduled to bat before the order came around to Casey If two of the four got on he would win them the game, because there was no chance he'd strike out But the first two batters were rapidly put out, and hope was dwindling here in Mudville; it looked like a quick one-two-three inning But the next two hitter who came to bat got hits, and that brought the great Casey to the plate with a chance to win the game Yes, Casey would win them the game if only he could clout one out, and there would be great happiness in Mudville over the come-from-behind win in the last inning, especially if the game-winning blow was off the bat of the soon-to-be-immortal Casey Yes, it would be idolized Casey who would now be the star of the game From the on-deck circle he stepped out, and there was ...

Surreal Name  you journey through my name through the rocky turns, lost lanes, dark alleys, deep pits  some no way outs  of each letters crossing rough ridges, broken bridges between generations, all fatigued, now crossing  through the desolation  of my surname  where strolling through  the same ruins, you find  much to your disappointment, I may be no different then you reach the end  all worn out, devasted  find me there, standing, with open arms  calling your name. Bio: Born on 1988 in a small town of Silchar, Assam, India. Daipayan Nair is a freelance writer/columnist, poet, fiction writer and essayist. His works have been published in a lot of printed anthologies and online poetry journals like The Poetry Breakfast, The Galway Review, Tuck Magazine, 1947 Literary Journal, Duane's PoeTree Blog etc. He was recently awarded The Reuel International Poetry Prize ...

Good Amateurs Eyes have remembered Themselves Time and again As an opening  Soon turning into a blot  The reason  I see a coagulated dawn  On your forehead  Two children  Quite relaxed  On your face  Out of a mature fission Returning all its pain,  Love received  Back to the maker  Blinding my adult As when a parent Doesn't want to see further Post-sleep, He is quite proud  Of his two kids  Controlling a scenery Confessing  Like amateurs. Bio: Born on 1988 in a small town of Silchar, Assam, India. Daipayan Nair is a freelance writer/columnist, poet, fiction writer and essayist. His works have been published in a lot of printed anthologies and online poetry journals like The Poetry Breakfast, The Galway Review, Tuck Magazine, 1947 Literary Journal, Duane's PoeTree Blog etc. He was recently awarded The Reuel International Poetry Prize 2016. His works...

Red Closeted Dream Cold and empty walls Silence that tears the soul  Memories moistening the eyes Promises the wind took away  An unworn red dress left forgotten in a closet  A white rose symbolizing eternal love stored in the dusty drawer of oblivion. 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.

Free Speech Canto XLII They billed themselves as The Worldwide Leader in Sports, and that meant a lot of hours when they had no live events to show had to be filled somehow,                                       mostly with reruns of some of those events or reruns of their highlights shows But they also had talk programs, where those who had made it to the summit of mediocrity gave their opinions on happenings both on and off the field (mostly on) So far, so so-so But when some of those hired to give their opinions,                                 opinions by no means secret to the hirers, gave certain opinions they were either suspended or fired for doing what they were hired for A new slogan for the Mousey company: The Worldwide Leader in Censorship...

Stills When I revive you by  from a past of being torn,  being plucked with force, being made  a lover's bouquet without choice How could I ignore the silent breeze, its own share of pollens swaying your mind for a while Now, there are two roses left: Which blooms after death  The other that blooms before it  To the flower, I can say, 'it's full of beauty' even when the garden isn't full of it Your petals around it  is just your photograph. Bio: Born on 1988 in a small town of Silchar, Assam, India. Daipayan Nair is a freelance writer/columnist, poet, fiction writer and essayist. His works have been published in a lot of printed anthologies and online poetry journals like The Poetry Breakfast, The Galway Review, Tuck Magazine, 1947 Literary Journal, Duane's PoeTree Blog etc. He was recently awarded The Reuel International Poetry Prize 2016. His works have been translated in q...

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...