Once it was between men wading in their own blood. Once it was between men cowering in trenches. It was between machine churning through the sand. It has been the vastness of the sea. It has been the emptiness of space. Now, it can never be wider. It stretches painfully between men who cannot understand […]
Poetry Corner: Ranjit Gill “Living or Just Breathing?”
Some live lives while others just live lies Every second dies. Surprised? Reliving the past Remembering the moments Tryna make ’em last. Bad feelings buried deeper than the bottom of a well. Negative feelings leading to straight to Hell.
Jeff Burkhart’s “Rhyme and Reason”: Introspection
I used to be a cynic I saw the glass half empty The good things in the world were just Some carrots used to tempt me And then one morning I woke up And put my pen to paper The poem I wrote made all that stuff Just vanish into vapor A light bulb lit […]
Poetry Corner: James Garrett “High on a Hill”
High on a hill, In the day or the night, He will stand there just watching, And recalling the sight. One near yet so far, But still lost to the view, Is the one that he visits, And the one he talks to. Blossoms open in springtime, And crumple in fall, And he talks to […]
Poetry Corner: Larry Beresford “One Candle”
For my birthday breakfast, she made me pancakes with fruit and bacon. Now she sits grinning in the hazy noon light through a window well flanking the fireplace, slouched in her easy chair, legs crossed over the arm. The strands of silver she finally decided not to darken at the temples are evident and, yes, […]
Poetry Corner: Bud Light “Mourn Not”
Mourn not untimely death; mourn not the waste of talents unrefined, of life not spent before Satanic illness, in its haste to kill reviled a life…from heaven sent. But count the moments—gems of treasured joy: The humor, strength and love he could impart. Each word, each smile—let not the grave destroy A soul which lives […]
Rellik to host Beat poetry reading
Dig this: in just over a week’s time, The Rellik Tavern will be swinging with a galaxy of Benicia’s finest poets as they pay tribute to the cool cats of the past. In other words, it will be a reading of Beat poetry. Benicia Literary Arts (BLA) and the Benicia First Tuesday Poetry Group will […]
Poetry Corner: Gene Kahane “My Girl”
I do not want to go home yet, For the night sky is but navy, The moon one third, And the girl with the wrist tattoo, Has not stopped looking my way. And so I sit, Writing this very poem, Hoping she’ll recognize my serious pen, The way my hand presses against my head, And […]
Poetry Corner: Dave Holt “Love Thrives”
Tender as the perfectly formed phrase that Satie played, enchanting as a story book on a blustery night when the blanket of dark enfolds us close, comforting as courage discovered on a retreat of the moon. Stepping into the glare of a rain-slick street, I turn to catch the warm glow, smile at the window, […]
Poetry Corner: Johanna Ely “What the Rain Has”
This rain has a silver tongue to taste the sweet silence of morning. It has lungs to breathe in the dawn’s goodbye— a last glance looking back over a shoulder of dark clouds. It has lips to mouth all the unspoken words caught in a dream. Listen! Rata-tat-tat— hard drops on skylight glass. This rain […]