A kingdom of sand castles
feathered sea oats and
wispy clouds
we are the wild rose
etched in the sand.
The scent of Jacaranda
hangs on the air
a stem from a wine glass
wedged between shells
When we are apart my heart
is the wing beat of birds
the dust of supernovas
falling to earth
where the sea meets the sky
and we are star dust
In my infinite smallness
looking out over the ocean
my limbs are albino snakes
basking in the sun and the heat
burns the soles of my feet
A treasure of pearls are strewn
like stardust on the shore
and a garland of lilac is tied
to nothing but my hand.
I am the universe lending life
to silent rock as the sun streams
down my throat where there is no voice.
The laughter of children rings
through honeyed coves where lost
lovers await the tide to
tumble them into the light.
Below my feet lies a carpet of
Jacaranda and my empty hands
carry no burden but love.
Hold me in fleeting hours
while we are beautiful and wild
winged creatures of the night
sipping honeysuckle vines
sustained by the sun and rain.
Stay when summer departs and
butterflies flit at teardrops pooled in
the corner of my eyes.
Lie down with me in winter when
hoar frost coats the rose buds
and blue birds cease their song
tiny skeletons of hollow bone
indifferent to the cold
These lips are petals
reminders of lost flowers
If you do not return
but fly on to distant gardens
my body will seek shelter
beneath the feathers of
tongueless birds.
Translation by Bernd @ neues vom Hutschi
Halt mich fest in flüchtigen Stunden den schönen und wilden, unser Fleisch ist voll und reif, geflügelte Wesen saugen die Nacht auf, Jelängerjelieber, die von Sonne und den Regen gespeiste. Bleib, wenn der Sommer vergeht und der Garten vom Lächeln nippt, das aus der Iris deiner Augen blitzt. Lieg bei mir im Winter, wenn die Vögel zu singen einhalten, winzige Skelette aus hohlen Knochen, gleichgültig der Kälte gegenüber. Für dich sind meine Lippen Blütenblätter, süße Erinnerungen an verlorene Blumen. Wenn du nicht zurückkehrst sondern weiterfliegs, wird mein Körper Schutz suchen unter den Flügeln zungenloser Vögel. translated by Bernd Huschenreuther
art by Steve Hanks
I am a constellation
pasted to a smear of deep sky or
some god spun leaf drifting
a wintry blue pond or a
flame living in fire.
My tongue turns silvery around
my words, do not take them
for sorrow I have named them
peace.
Do not forget me.
I still need you to carry me
over the pierce of thorns for
My hands are good for nothing
but a plea do not forget me
I am still here my hair a tangle
of stars.
Resa and Norm
Recently I came across a photograph of our lovely Fashionista, Resa McConaghy, and her beloved Norm.
Norman is a GUITAR PLAYER & COMPOSER. They lived in Miami for almost a year in the 80’s. Norman was working on writing songs and had an arrangement with a recording studio there. They lived in an amazing older home on Miami Beach. It was quite grand with a Florida Room and a maid’s apartment along the side. Per Resa, The original owners must of had a fab life there. They were renting it from an Argentine businessman who had bought it.
When they returned with Norm’s songs it led to a record deal in the 1990’s.
Norman at work!
Love is What is Needed
by Holly Rene Hunter
Here in paradise
the sun goes down on the
crescent shore of an empty beach
she found herself with a guitar man
and A life time of memories
It seemed so clear then and now
love is what is needed
A heart can fall like a suicide descend through shades of midnight frozen blossoms on an icy lake a silent sigh of despair Let my tongue flirt like a butterfly among fields of wildflowers rather than tend old wounds lick invisible scars
Your winter coat lies where we once lay on the bed of a decaying forest
the silence is as hard as pounding hooves or soft as the moon rising
in your kingdom of stars.
Gurkski’s ” Il me faut t’abandonne”
“Come dusk is when my mind walks out
from where I fence myself in,
my dark room of nightly delights where
I encounter her, my queen of all things blue
and we fight right from the start
To make me love her even more.
I place the hands of my heart to gather
my hunting spirit, follow her footprints
into our forests of love and war.”
( excerpt)
Von Liebe und Krieg — Of love and war
Translation to German by Bernd @ Neues Vom Hutschi
NICHT BEREIT DAFÜR REISE ICH,
UM ZU ÜBERLEBEN,
DURCH ERINNERUNGEN, DIE SICH EINFINDEN,
OHNE EINKLANG.
DA LIEGT DEIN WINTERMANTEL,
WO EINST UNSERE RÜCKEN WAREN,
HALB BEGRABEN IM FALLENDEN SCHNEE,
JETZT VERROTTEN SIE ZWISCHEN ZAPFEN UND NADELN.
DER WALDBODEN RIECHT NACH BRENNENDER KIEFER
UND STILLE IST WIE DER KLANG STAMPFENDER
HUFE ODER SANFT WIE DER ZUNEHMENDE MOND
IN DEINEM REICH DER STERNE.
AUSZUG AUS GURKSKIS „IL ME FAUT T’ABANDONNE“
„KOMM, DÄMMERUNG IST, WENN MEINE GEDANKEN FORTWANDERN,
VON DA, WO ICH MICH EINZÄUNE,
MEIN DUNKLER RAUM NÄCHTLICHER FREUDEN, WO
ICH IHR BEGEGNE, MEINER KÖNIGIN ALLER BLAUEN DINGE,
UND WIR KÄMPFEN VON ANBEGINN,
DASS ICH SIE NOCH MEHR LIEBE.
ICH NEHME DIE HÄNDE MEINES HERZENS
EINZUFANGEN MEIN JAGENDES WESEN, FOLGE IHREN SPUREN
IN UNSERE WÄLDER AUS LIEBE UND KRIEG.“
You want her to be real
A half smile curve of lips
a glide of a hand through hair
The click of heels on a marble floor
You want to be her clothes
Falling softly about her feet
That have formed the shape of her feet and when she arches her back
she soars as high as imagined
wings can fly.
art by Luigi Quarti “fallen angel”
I am touched
by a storm
the tongue of a
fire that burns
away sleep.
A tide crashing
into millions of
crystal droplets
becoming the sun.
My heart is ripe
like summer fruit
sweet juices flushing
tingling veins.
There is a storm circling
the pit of my stomach rising
to ache in my throat.
Steve Hanks art
I will always disappoint you
my verse is no where near roses
pigment stained and tear smudged
overflowing with sudden downpours
a spiraling monsoon that can
not be held back with the tenderest
sighs.
I tell lies lovingly
each line a litany of devotion
or a buzzed serendipity.
I will fall in love with the sleeved
heart of every poet.
Save me from obscurity, give me a purpose
sugary rose petals or the embryo
of a pearl washed ashore.
