Soul Portal, by Debi Swim

Soul Portal
by Debi Swim

If this is all there is
and then nothing
if my sole looking forward to
is fertilizer for the growing things
or back to starry debris across the
sea of sky… I have to ask why?
Why do we gasp with awe
at the miracle of babies’ birth
calf, kitten, pup, whelp, infant,
nebulae, souls, love, poems, art
where is the wonder in finite?
We want things to live on.
We want to be remembered.
Why is it that we can’t just let go?
Obscurity is an obscene word,
Pauper’s graves a silent shame.
Why is the want to live forever
so strong in the human heart?
Is it planted there and meant to be
or just another human fallacy?

Note: Written in response to Red Wolf Poem, Prompt 150.

Debi Swim writes primarily to prompts. She is a wife, mother, grandmother and WV poet.

A Poet’s Life, by Edilson Afonso Ferreira

A Poet’s Life
by Edilson Afonso Ferreira

Poets are made by mode of enchantment,
and mine has been an exquisite one.
It comes from our common ground,
sometimes from dark underground,
even from sparkling highs of heaven.
Some days, somewhere, untied to myself,
world loses the poet and gains the autist,
till a good soul recognizes me,
reconnecting the mode,
like an out of order gadget.

 

Mr. Ferreira is a Brazilian poet who writes in English rather than Portuguese, having been published in venues like Right Hand Pointing, Boston Poetry Magazine, The Lake, The Stare’s Nest, The Provo Canyon, Red Wolf Journal, Subterranean Blue, Highland Park Poetry, Whispers, Every Day Poems, Indiana Voice Journal, Synesthesia, Dead Snakes and some others. He lives in a small town with wife, three sons and a granddaughter and, unhurried, is collecting his works for a forthcoming book. See some of his works at http://www.edilsonmeloferreira.wordpress.com

Laoshi, by Robert Walton

Laoshi
by Robert Walton

Nameless stream,
Smooth and ancient
As a master’s tomb,
Your black jade whispers
Fall too quickly into rapids’ laughter
For me to catch the
Jest.
But cliffs above,
Robed
In Confucian silks of alpenglow
Glimmer
Like an old man’s smile.
The day’s last light on snow
Must be Li.

Note:
‘Laoshi’ means ‘teacher’ in Mandarin.

‘Li’ – Li is both a concept and a process in Confucian philosophy. It begins with proper social behavior, especially good manners and respect for elders. If practiced, it leads to wider perceptions of nature and harmony with the universe.

Robert Walton is a retired teacher and a lifelong mountaineer. His Civil War novel, Dawn Drums, was honored by two awards: first place in the 2014 Arizona Authors Association’s literary contest and the New Mexico Book Awards Tony Hillerman Prize for best fiction. His poetry has been published in Avocet and other journals.

Was it a breeze, by Robert Walton

Was it a breeze
by Robert Walton

That nudged my study door,
Or a kitten
Busy making things its own,
Or my imagination’s
Ghosts
All pushing together
To remind me that you died
Last April,
Leaving me with creaks and whispers
Only old houses make?
Was it a kitten,
Or a breeze?

Robert Walton is a retired teacher and a lifelong mountaineer. His Civil War novel, Dawn Drums, was honored by two awards: first place in the 2014 Arizona Authors Association’s literary contest and the New Mexico Book Awards Tony Hillerman Prize for best fiction. His poetry has been published in Avocet and other journals.