Read Poem: Yesterday, by Yavor Vesselinov

Yesterday I…
Yesterday I…
Gave up my life again
like
(night fall off)
like
every night
(last night)
I thought I was sorry
I wish I was sorry
So I say, and
Trust me
Trust me
Imbibe my truth
Become
Become
Yesterday I
Did terrible things
I can’t remember
but can sense
I told stories
I can’t remember

But can taste

My taste of
Terrible things
Crawling
Up my head
My head my head
My head

Read Poem: FRAGMENTS, by Donna Greenberg

I forgot how you tasted
The day your ship left my shore,
Only the rage of the waves
Reminds me.

I waited with arms wide-spread,
Legs tingling,
The imprint of your touch
Still longing…

Even the strong wind
That tore my heart
From my skin,
Could not bring you back.

Sands blistered by the sun,
If only you had remembered
How green spring rains
Bring flowers.

If in dreams
You do not appear,
Your shadow falls
On the wall
When waking.

The horizon, now tinted green,
Almost sunset,
Still
A flower may bloom.

Read Poem: WHO?, by Ines de Macedo

Who will read my verses?
Who from all of you?
Who will ever find on them such depth,
The depth only I feel,
The depth where I dive, swim and adrift?
For to meet one deepest secret,
Ask them only to unfold their art.

Are we in the exact orbit of our soul?
Who could ever measure?
Who could be entitled to judge?

For if one wants to dream,
Let him sleep longer.
If one wants to think,
Let him be provoked.
If one wants to paint,
Let him choose his colors
If one wants to move,
Let him dance.
If one wants to teach
Let him learn his way.
If one wants to write poetry
Let him have his heart broken.
And if one only love is searching,
Let him come inside, take a seat and have a tea.
I came to stay!

Read Poem: Rather an Odd Quirk of Death, by Corey Elizabeth Jackson

Rather an odd quirk of Death,
Whom few would call a friend,
That it persists as near as breath
In loyalty without end.

But with this friend we hesitate,
Uncertain of its touch.
We do not stop for Death nor rate
Its presence welcome much.

Yet Death’s appeal at times is clear.
It shuns no human ties,
And some to whom it has come near
Gain solace from disguise.

So maybe I’ll give Death a break
Whene’er I beckoned be,
And humbly for my new friend’s sake
Show best civility.

Read Poem: LORCA, by John Kanieki

Before I read Lorca
My words were blunt swords for
Slicing rotted wood
Constructing
Rackety trellises
To fortify
Pathetic castles of sand
Praying never the waves
Or even harsh winds
Ascend to my feeble heights
Where from above with disdain
Cupid mocked
My juvenile sonnets of adoration
Before I read Lorca
My muses imploded
Like small delicate fish
Swimming in a shallow stream
Scatter
As a rude rock rapes
Their calm tranquil waters
Before I read Lorca
I had never truly lived

Read Poem: “And In This Corner” by Rob McLean

How do I introduce a poem? Let me count the ways.
One. With dramatic flourish, commanding voice accompanied by a
flurry of trumpets, a clash of cymbals, or should I say symbolism…
I step into the spotlight and proclaim…
Ladies and Gentlemen! Children of all ages! Please turn your attention
to the center ring and witness…Ode On A Grecian Urn!
Two. Maybe a sporting theme?
And in this corner in the white trunks weighing in at ten thousand lines
of verse! Putting the iambic back into pentameter…Paradise Lost!
Three. Perhaps a more sombre and severe pronouncement of the
arrival of the poem…
As I stand here today, I humbly request that you welcome to this
modest podium…The Wreck of the Hesperus.
But then you may ask does the poem need such a grand entrance of the
gladiators?
That perhaps a more casual and low-key approach would be more
suited…
Hey everybody, meet Brown Penny.
It makes one wonder if the poem even requires an introduction?
The poem has no ego. (This is not a discussion about the poet.)
And the poem is much stronger than the poet. For the poet is mortal,
but the poem, immortal.
Not marble nor the gilded monuments, Of princes shall outlive this
powerful rhyme.
Yes, the poet may die of consumption in a drafty garret…
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of
the light.
But the poem lives on.
And lives on in many forms. Yes, all sonnets are poems, but not all
poems are sonnets.
So, I find my task of introducing the poem to be daunting.
But I should not worry, for the poem does not need me.
It lives. It breathes. It thrives.
Why, just the other day, I saw a mullet-haired redneck in a T- top Trans
Am listening to Free Verse on his 8 –track.
Or was that Free Bird?

Read Poem: “Window” by Mario Mora

The glowing window of knowledge and thought,

Illuminates with facts, ideas, and opinionated mental rot.

A stark light blue glow, poisons the eyes with fatigue.

Wears down the soul, with social outrage and intrigue.

Like a spirit from beyond, it leaves us waking, missing rest.

A portal of vampirism, poised upon our labored chest.

Attention so solid, so unbreakable a digital chain.

All in hopes to see something different in a sea of the same.

I should be tired, should be sleeping, but instead I rise.

To go find late night refrigerated, nourishment lies.

Now I watch an amber glow of light, as a plate heats heaped,

with pizza rolls, maybe fish sticks, my acid reflux to keep.

Now back to my rectangular master, resting in my hand,

perhaps as I eat, I’ll play a game, or listen to a new band.

Late night anxiety isn’t so bad with a dosage of lithium ion.

Feeding me it’s stream of thoughts on what to try on,

On what to eat, what to think, what other people are doing.

It’s simpler to not dwell on the evil wrongs that are brewing.

It’s an addiction, intravenous, intoxicating, digital cyanide.

Your likes, ad info, will be your legacy long after you’ve died.

But that’s alright, don’t worry about it, here’s a new meme.

Save it, share it, comment, like, and watch the new stream.

Entertainment, political satire or personal dumpster fires.

It’s a mental incubation, come join the online quagmire.

Read Poem: Caribbean Sea, by Jon Michael Johnson

impossible heavenly blue

outlining the island beaches

a blue that into my soul reaches

skewing what I perceive as true

this crazy, sparkling, crystal hue

I’ve seen this sight and lost my way

mainland drudgeries fade and fray

waves create hazy rainbows fine

that steal a heart that once was mine

how will I ever get away?

Read Poem: Hypersensitivity, by Mathilde Renault

l’hypersensibilité,
c’est être au milieu d’un océan
et vouloir ressentir toujours plus
provoquer les vagues
faire danser la houle
puis s’y perdre
s’y noyer
submergé par l’écume
surpris par le trop plein

l’hypersensibilité,
c’est nager dans l’océan
s’égratigner contre un rocher
s’éloigner, grimaçant au contact de l’eau salée
puis revenir à ce rocher,
se blesser encore
plus fort
plus profondément
après tout, on l’a un peu cherché

l’hypersensibilité,
c’est regarder l’océan
l’admirer au loin
l’envier
l’aimer
le détester

l’hypersensibilité,
c’est être l’océan.

hypersensitivity,
is being in the middle of the ocean
and wanting to feel more
provoking the waves
making the swell dance
then getting lost
drowning
submerged by the foam
surprised by the deluge

hypersensitivity,
is swimming in the ocean
scratching ourselves on a rock,
getting away, flinching because of the salt water
then coming back to that rock
hurting ourselves again
harder
deeper
after all, we were asking for it

hypersensitivity,
is looking at the ocean,
admiring from a distance
envying it
loving it
hating it

hypersensitivity,
is being the ocean.

Read Poem: When I am quiet, by Jakob Bonne

The time before was not worth writing down,
I was uninspired, demotivated and often felt like a frown,
The thought of the future made me feel lost and tied to the ground,
But then you came along and I finally felt found.

You gave me something entirely new to care for,
I look at you and feel like I want to be more,
A feeling so amazing I hope it never goes away,
But when I am quiet just remember, these are the words I want to say:

I want to be your mountain,
Solid, steadfast and strong enough to bear both of us,
Regardless of time, I will always be there for you.
I want to be the anchor that keeps you steady,
when you start drifting away.
When you cry I want to be the columns that hold you up,
So I keep a brave face.

I am just now realizing that time is short,
So I want to spend every waking moment with you.
I stay awake stretching out time,
So that we will have more of it together.

You have given me so much,
More than more than i ever could have asked for,
The needed step to look reality in the eyes,
To see the light above the clouds,
The lost key to free the fullest of my being,
The missing piece I didn’t know I was looking for.

All these things i desperately want to repay,
So when you feel undeserving of the things i do for you,
Just remember,
You taught my heart how to sing,
For you, my love, I would do anything and everything.