He stood there thinking, moving his feet. His only love waiting across the street. The light seemed stopped as he waited at ease, Watching her dress ruffled by the breeze. The small package held firm in his hands, While inside lay the tiny gold bands. For a moment he looked from the woman he knew, […]
Poetry Corner: Johanna Ely “Build a Library”
Build a library where 7,000 books become 100,000, where children with Teddy bears listen to stories until they fall asleep, and teens study late into the evening, cell phones left on vibrate— where neighbors meet to hear a famous author speak, or a musician play guitar. Build a library where literacy is a free gift, […]
Jeff Burkhart’s “Rhyme and Reason”: The Illusion of Ownership
Think of all the things on Earth, which people think they own Buildings, land and money, they can spend or waste or loan It all works if everyone, respects the current laws Sometimes ownership breaks down, exposing all its flaws We use small bits of paper, which we trade for things we buy We’re living […]
Photo: Lively up the traffic box
Poetry Corner: Johanna Ely “A Pair of Haiku”
Haiku for Carolyn Under the white plum— a snowstorm of memories covers two old friends Old Woman Haiku By the open door an old woman undresses— the moon her voyeur
Poetry Corner: D.L. Lang “How to Swim Through a Tornado”
Violence starts by simply not seeing one another as human beings, but as usable things to be molded as we please. It grows when we allow our emotions and expectations, to control our actions rather than pausing to reflect on how our actions will affect others. When we ignore the cries for help that sound […]
Poetry Corner: Ranjit Gill “Nanak’s Langar”
Truth is immortal Light dispels darkness Some call him Guru Nanak I call him a dreamer a rebel, a challenger but they get mad at me for doing the same. I’m baffled at people blind to their own hypocrisy. The “Go With The Flow” mentality, maddening insanity. And it seems to be never-ending! Covered heads […]
Poetry Corner: James Garrett “Thoughts on the Flag”
He stands a little taller at a parade. He knows the price that was paid. There is a walk, hesitant with age. To look at his face is to read a page. His head is uncovered, and his eyes see. His eyes are moist, the flag is the key. Some know what he feels, deep […]
Photo: Traffic box gets new design
Tossed materials become art in Gallery 621 exhibit
Benicia artist Robert Nelson has a knack for turning trash into art— literally. The discarded items that line the shores of the Carquinez Strait often end up in the hands of Nelson, who takes littered materials like wooden objects and tin cans and uses them to create three-dimensional sculptures of rabbits, sharks and more. How […]