Story Time Friday: poet @ellle_em returns

poems by Lindsay Maruska

Grotesque

grandfather’s hands killed
mother before we
knew her

built instead in coiled scrap-
wood, weak sand a woman
who belonged in blue

woods, who never cut
her hair. and what are children
of a murdered

mother meant to resemble
but pillars of salt,
cities of ash:

we catch quick mirror looks,
eyes murked as river-
bottoms: oh what are we

oh what
we are.

Frustration

kids grit teeth, stick needles in:
train hums low baritone
warped electric hymns bred familiars
out of kicked-up sand,
gull-shadows wheeling white
against white moon:

where nothing waits still;
all according to light & pull we move
through bitterness that comes to claim
this narrow spit
train empties its city guts & rutted
storm-drain roads smoothed

for tourist season: we dream drowning
in hotel pools, that bright blue
doesn’t exist anywhere else,
not the dirty harbor green, oil-
skeined marina lots: take postcard photographs

of grinning locals ;
but don’t ask them what they’re smiling about.

About the Author:

Lindsay Maruska is a 31 year old wannabe writer from New Jersey. She has six dogs, five cats, and one kid. She writes poems and one day dreams of finishing longer projects.

Find out more:

• Twitter
• Instagram

How to Submit:

For those who wish to be part of Story Time Friday in the near future, you can send submissions to the email address that I formerly used for review requests (but don’t anymore since I’m retired . . . don’t try to be clever and slip one in 😛 ): miztrebor88@gmail.com. Be sure to use the subject “Story Time Friday Submission” and send your piece as an attachment (.doc/.docx would be best). Any other questions, feel free to comment here or contact me through the blog’s contact form.

Hope to hear from some writers soon!

Story Time Friday, with poet @lynniespalmtree

You Think You Know

by Kristalyn Thornock

You think you know,
But you don’t.
You think you understand,
But there’s no way you can.

Head down,
Walking,
Trying to breathe,
No eye contact,
No fake smiles today.

I don’t want you
To know.
To try and know.
To act like you know.
Because you don’t.

You can’t possibly know the struggle.
It’s mine.
It’s always mine.
Mine alone.

Sometimes okay,
Sometimes not.
Don’t ask.
There’s nothing for you to do.
Nothing you can do.
Just let me walk by,
With tears streaming down my face.

Trying to breathe,
Trying to escape:
The pain,
The illness,
The constant ache.
Let me just be.

One day,
Maybe tomorrow.
Maybe the next day.
Maybe a week, or month, or year from now.
As long as it takes
Then, I may come back to you.

I’ll look up.
I’ll smile again.
A real smile!
The pain will let me go just enough.
I can be me again.
I can be reached again.
I can care again,
If only for a little while.

But until that day,
Remember,
You think you know,
But you don’t.
Nor do I really want you to.

About the Author:

You can find Kristalyn over on her blog The Sarcastic Palmtree where she blogs about what she reads, wants to read, and many great authors. You can also find some other fun posts about TV shows and music.

Kristalyn is also mother to Ainsley Thornock, who you may remember from a few weeks back with her story Me and Albert Einstein.

Find out more:

• Website
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Goodreads

How to Submit:

For those who wish to be part of Story Time Friday in the near future, you can send submissions to the email address that I formerly used for review requests (but don’t anymore since I’m retired . . . don’t try to be clever and slip one in 😛 ): miztrebor88@gmail.com. Be sure to use the subject “Story Time Friday Submission” and send your piece as an attachment (.doc/.docx would be best). Any other questions, feel free to comment here or contact me through the blog’s contact form.

Hope to hear from some writers soon!

Story Time Friday, with poet @ellle_em

Haywire

by Lindsay Maruska

crossed Manayunk halfway,
only a little awake,
aware: I inoculated myself
against cold years ago, dip shaking
hands in moth-dust, smear summer
ruin on skin, erupting bone:

my sisters in the canal
sing sinister beneath the bridge
always for me, waiting:
they knit for me home in weed
& mire:

you said yourself
this river was your first friend.

I never know what season it is;
white bridge curves like
hands& underlit red-light
I never know where I am: Manayunk,

river sisters
narrow winter-
carven streets
strung moth-
thick bones
beneath parchment
skin

my face:
I wake up
sunday train hums river-thick,
clotted tongue, breath oh:
it’s summer now
outside& I didn’t
know.

About the Author:

Lindsay Maruska is a 31 year old wannabe writer from New Jersey. She has six dogs, five cats, and one kid. She writes poems and one day dreams of finishing longer projects.

Find out more:

• Twitter
• Instagram

How to Submit:

For those who wish to be part of Story Time Friday in the near future, you can send submissions to the email address that I formerly used for review requests (but don’t anymore since I’m retired . . . don’t try to be clever and slip one in 😛 ): miztrebor88@gmail.com. Be sure to use the subject “Story Time Friday Submission” and send your piece as an attachment (.doc/.docx would be best). Any other questions, feel free to comment here or contact me through the blog’s contact form.

Hope to hear from some writers soon!

Happy #ValentinesDay! Want a #free #poem?

Four years ago today, I released my poem I WOULD. It was a Valentine’s Day poem I wrote for my then girlfriend (now fiancé), but I felt the world could benefit from reading it. So I published it and made sure it was free for anyone who wanted to read it.

I don’t have anything new for you today, but I’m sure some of you may have missed this poem over the last few years. Some of you are new readers. Some may just have not seen that I Would is out there. Today may be a good day to read the poem. Or at least grab a copy!

And if you end up enjoying it enough, I want to let you in on a secret (not so much a secret since it’s in the book’s description): I Would is a bonus poem in the latest paperback editions of From Where I Stand! So if you wanted to have this one on paper, that’s the only way to get it. And you also get my debut collection along with it. Seems like a win-win to me (the unbiased author, wink). Don’t worry, the book isn’t very expensive. It’s $5.99 for a copy. It’s pretty much the lowest I can price it and still make some royalties on it…not much, but a little bit.

Find more about the poem, and how to get it free (or in print for a small fee) below. And I hope you enjoy and please spread the word!

I Would, is a short poem that touches on the difficulties of being in a long distance relationship. Yet, with the difficulties there are always hopes of a reunion on the horizon.

This book is ALWAYS FREE

Amazon | Smashwords | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

And if you wanted to buy From Where I Stand which includes I Would in print, find it here:

Createspace

(p.s. – Yes, From Where I Stand is available on Amazon, too. But if you like supporting authors, buy directly from Createspace. Royalties are a good deal more on CS than through Amazon since it’s another level of distribution on Amz. Just a heads up. No one really likes talking about that stuff, but every little bit helps us all.)

#PoetryMonth – #Review: Unfinished Ink, by Joanne Marlowe

For those familiar with my reviews, reviewing poetry isn’t something I feel I’m great at. I read it. I enjoy it. After that comes the explanation of my reaction and I normally feel I don’t have adequate words to express how the poetry has touched me or the analytical words for the technical elements of a collection. But, since I do try every now and then, I’d like to attempt another review of a poetry collection.

Title: Unfinished Ink
Author: Joanne Marlowe
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Unfinished Ink is a unique collection of poetry about love, lust, loneliness, liquor and letting go.  Ms. Marlowe highlights the ups and downs of love with flirty connotations and paints haunting portraits of desperate souls.  Beautiful and tragic, her words will take you on a powerful and emotional journey that will leave you thirsty for a lover and another glass of wine.” (Description from Goodreads)

Joanne Marlowe’s collection Unfinished Ink, which you were introduced to earlier in the month, is just what the description says it is. To quote a few words, it’s beautiful, tragic, and emotional. All the other words in that description apply, as well, but most of all these words are key.

When reading this collection, you know that Marlowe isn’t holding back. All-out honesty and emotion is what I look for in poetry. Marlowe delivers. Whether the poems are word-for-word accounts of real-life events or embellished upon for the sake of the poem (neither is an issue, of course, and great poetry tends to blur the lines), Marlowe’s words ring true and would be hard for readers not to get drawn in by.

This collection was filled with many gems and will be worth a reread (and many more to follow) down the road a bit. If a poetry collection makes me want to do a reread to enhance the first reading’s experience, it’s a poetry collection I can get behind. Marlowe’s work will be on my shelf for years to come.

If you’d like a copy of this collection, you can order it directly from the Marlowe’s site:

Order Book Here

About the Author:

Joanne Marlowe was born on June 3rd, 1975 in Montreal, Quebec.  Joanne currently resides in Hamilton, Ontario where she is continuing to work on her writing, developing new screenplays and publishing poetry.  She strives to help promote local art and artists and encourages others to do so as well.

She is also the author of My Little Book of Randoms and self publishes her work under Strangegirl Publications.  Her style of writing is short and sweet and to the point, much like herself and her personality.  Her poetry can be playful at times but also tragic.  Powerfully raw and candid, her words will resonate with you.

Joanne is currently working on her third book of poetry and hopes that 2016 will lead to some big projects that include film and music.

Find out more:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Google +

#PoetryMonth – Featured Poet @hgracestewart

It seems like we’re traveling to Canada a lot this month. Today is no different. You know about Natasha Head and Joanne Marlowe from earlier posts. Now you get to find out a little about Heather Grace Stewart and her poetry!

I’ve had Heather on the blog a few times in the past. Most notably, she was part of an event I had a few years back called Poetry Week. It was like Poetry Month, but in a more condensed form. If you click HERE you can find Heather’s post on print on demand poetry, and read a poem from her collection Carry On Dancing.

Along with that, I’d like to share a little about her collections with you all. And it doesn’t stop there. She also has fiction out, so be sure to give that a look.

Poems about life and death, modern family life, and hope

From the author of Carry On Dancing and Leap. Heather Grace Stewart is an author, poet, and photographer. Her poems have appeared in Canadian literary journals, international anthologies (Routes, Babylon Burning) e-zines, and the British small presses. Where the Butterflies Go is her first complete collection.

Purchase

Modern Life, Family Life, and Leaps of Faith Along the Way Readers of Where the Butterflies Go will already be expecting accomplished, fresh and lively work from Heather Grace Stewart, but even they will be surprised by the strength of this new collection, this genuine Leap, so direct, political and feminine by turns that it can take your breath away. A must for new and already hooked fans. About the Author Heather Grace Stewart is an Ottawa-born author, poet, and photojournalist now living in Montreal. She is also the author of Where the Butterflies Go and Carry On Dancing.

Purchase

From the author of ‘Where the Butterflies Go’ & ‘Carry On Dancing’ comes a brave new collection of poetry, prose and photography. Three Spaces explores themes within our public space, our personal space, and cyberspace.

Purchase

About the Author:

Heather Grace Stewart is a Canadian magazine writer, author and poet. Her first poem was published in her school newsletter when she was five, and she’s been hooked on writing ever since.

Born in Ottawa, she lives with her husband and daughter near Montreal.

In her free time, she loves to take photos, scrapbook, cartoon, inline skate, dance like nobody’s watching, and eat Swedish Berries — usually not at the same time.

Find more about Heather at:

• Website
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Goodreads
• Amazon Author Page

#PoetryMonth – #Review: The Type, by @kaysarahsera

Title: The Type
Author: Sarah Kay
Rating: 4/5 stars

“The Type is a lyrical unfolding toward empowerment. A moveing ode to women of all ages, this beautifully illustrated poem shows us the ways we create, build, and live.” (Goodreads)

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What can be said about Sarah Kay and her poetry that hasn’t been said before? Each piece she publishes is a must-have. The Type is no different.

Unlike B, I wasn’t aware of the viral sensation that The Type was before it was published in book form. With B I had watched and listened to Kay read it numerous times before taking in the poem in text form. I got a chance to try experiencing this poet the other way around for The Type and I’m glad I had that chance.

I enjoyed this poem and its message. Like most of Kay’s work, there’s a strong message. There’s honesty. There’s humanity in the message and strong emotion. I read through it, and followed it up with watching a video of Kay reading it. Then I read through it again. Each time I enjoyed it more. It might not be very long, but it’s worth taking the time to absorb slowly and often.

There are few poems that I feel could stand alone as their own “book” like this one. While the illustrations do also help with the experience, Kay’s words makes it all worth it most of all.

You can grab a copy of this book from:

Amazon | B&N | Kobo

About the Author:

Sarah Kay has been invited to share her poetry on such diverse stages as the 2011 TED Conference; the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne, Australia; the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark; and Carnegie Hall in New York City, among hundreds of other venues around the world. She is the author of two additional poetry books: B and No Matter the Wreckage. Sarah is the founder and co-director of Project VOICE, an organization that brings spoken word poetry to schools and communities around the world.

Find more:

• Website
• Project V.O.I.C.E.
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Goodreads
• Amazon author page