tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90405091269713237722024-02-18T18:50:16.792-08:00Misty Mountain ReviewA journal of short poetryMisty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.comBlogger165125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-32546541528658527792018-03-17T05:49:00.001-07:002019-05-23T20:12:54.649-07:00MMR ON HIATUSPlease do not submit poetry to MMR. We are on hiatus.Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-16190788512981661752017-11-16T00:31:00.005-08:002022-07-01T02:20:12.346-07:00<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;"><b>Poets of Issue Twelve</b></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTOjvAFQ1Kh7fJ4NZYN4w9eKEC8UrU0F2Jty5PAGS0NBTGAc_RzV_oS4ov7YNXlbr7Seri4QXYWVwEsHqcT9eLY78q8UsSFFY6uBcT43kOsOAqcqBgGHgyAtkHAvIw5VW70DBIjw1Y7E/s1600/hourglass.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTOjvAFQ1Kh7fJ4NZYN4w9eKEC8UrU0F2Jty5PAGS0NBTGAc_RzV_oS4ov7YNXlbr7Seri4QXYWVwEsHqcT9eLY78q8UsSFFY6uBcT43kOsOAqcqBgGHgyAtkHAvIw5VW70DBIjw1Y7E/s1600/hourglass.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sketch © Shutterstock.com<div class="wDYxhc NFQFxe viOShc LKPcQc" data-md="25" lang="en-NP" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 8px; clear: none; color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><div aria-level="3" class="HwtpBd gsrt PZPZlf kTOYnf" data-hveid="CAoQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwi5uuGQrtf4AhVbR2wGHQsgDwAQtwcoAHoECAoQAA" role="heading" style="padding: 0px;"><div class="yxAsKe" style="color: #70757a;"></div></div></div><div class="wDYxhc" data-md="61" lang="en-NP" style="background-color: white; clear: none; color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; text-align: left;"></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anamika Mishra </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ben Groner</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Chris Wardle </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Christopher Barnes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Don Thompson</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Gary Beck</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">James Croal Jackson </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">John Grey </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Juliet Wilson</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Karen Neuberg </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lee Evans</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Michael Lee Johnson </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Michaeleen Kelly</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Saloni Kaul</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Todd Mercer </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<br />Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-7062776782479226122017-11-16T00:25:00.001-08:002017-11-16T00:25:36.493-08:00One poem by Anamika Mishra <div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Standing by the Edge of the River<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>
</b><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The inebriated flow </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of the river </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And its cooling-</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Calming edge</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And the passé </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bridge nearby</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Filled with </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Engineering great—
arts of beauty </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Basal: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mending of masons,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Laborers' duty,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Trails of trains … stretching </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Into the looming hazy dusk … </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All of which </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Have been the greatest inspiration </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And motivation</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Awful amenities </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of wisdom </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And ken! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While all of these </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Remind me </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of an evening, of the end</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of my days,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And I think of an eternal slumber,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The river calls me</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To get into it! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It says, "Only for a while, you'll drown.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then nobody can stop you from floating."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Come into the centre," says the bridge,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"And connect </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sensations with soul;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'll teach you how! And connect you </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With the things</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You've never been connected with." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"I'll never betray you," say the trails</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of trains gone to the sublime—</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lost in amazing </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Love of art,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Your own peace </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Will bring peace, giving birth to</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Love of peace!" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>ANAMIKA MISHRA</b>, a multi-lingual aspiring poet and
writer, comes from Birjung, Nepal. A graduate in English literature from
Pokhara University, she has recently started writing and contributing to several
online magazines and national dailies, working alongside as a teacher. She
blogs at <a href="http://anamikamishra.wordpress.com/">http://anamikamishra.wordpress.com</a>. </span></div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-46866944726207013982017-11-16T00:12:00.001-08:002017-11-16T00:12:32.326-08:00Two poems by Ben Groner III<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Norfolk, Virginia<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the Ronald McDonald House kitchen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">the little girl called my name,</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">so I knelt down again</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and stared into sparkling sapphire eyes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">as she laughed and jumped and danced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">on the linoleum floor</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">like a spinning top</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">while dusk’s thick rays poured</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">through whitewashed blinds</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">like honey</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and I prayed she could grow up</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">without the world laying a hand</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">against her, touching her only</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">to lift her up.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
A Strange Thought<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From this valley, some gaze up at the mountain’s ridge</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and say death is a starless sky blacker than pitch,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">for we can’t see beyond this most silent of seas;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">does the end come to everyone else or only to me?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But haven’t you ever woken in wonder from a dream,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">in the hushed hours of dawn? in the folds of morning?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and aren’t we aware that a newborn child</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">emerges from darkness and into the light?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>BEN GRONER III</b> (Nashville, TN), recipient of Texas
A&M University’s 2014 Gordone Award for undergraduate poetry, has work
published in <i>Appalachian Heritage, Third Wednesday, New Mexico Review,
Fourth & Sycamore, Texas Poetry Calendar, </i>and elsewhere. You can
see more of his work at <a href="http://bengroner.com/creative-writing/" target="_blank">bengroner.com/creative-writing/</a></span></div>
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Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-22758226051574417622017-11-16T00:07:00.002-08:002017-11-16T00:08:19.081-08:00Two poems by Chris Wardle <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Inheritance<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Perhaps no more than four or five,<br />
this Nepali child frowns nervously<br />
up at the ping*'s rope and Bamboo frame,<br />
unsure if the watchful smile<br />
on his Father's face,<br />
is one of joy, or madness!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But freedom slowly dawns<br />
on his opening mind and<br />
tentatively loosening his body,<br />
he leans back, swinging<br />
into a wide, grinning arc,<br />
full of Dashain* delight.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Accepting this flight<br />
of temporary freedom,<br />
he looks admiringly anew<br />
at his Father's face,<br />
and shares the confident smile<br />
he just inherited.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">**</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Ping —
Nepali word for swing </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Dashain —
one of the great festivals of Hindus</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Transported<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Standing in the carriage foyer,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">two artists.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A cellist,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">eyes closed in practice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">on her instrument case.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And a poet, lost</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">in the music</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">of her silent rapture.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Finding his voice late in life, Chris Wardle has his heart
firmly attached to South Asia and is currently halfway through a year-long
volunteer placement in Kathmandu. This grateful British-Australian nomad or
'malang' (Urdu term), development worker and student of Permaculture is
constantly surprised and delighted by the people, places and things inspiring
his poetic outpourings.</span></div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-56318470342556439682017-11-16T00:03:00.003-08:002017-11-16T00:03:55.087-08:00One poem by Christopher Barnes <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Why
Bother Ltd.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> (Martini glass on
secretaire.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Half-hearted
at poodlefaking?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here’s a
progression of 10 canoodling letters<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a
winsomely-devised box –<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Faultless
when you can’t be pestered<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To wrestle
your own nonchalance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>CHRISTOPHER BARNES’</b> first collection LOVEBITES is
published by Chanticleer. Each year he reads at Poetry Scotland’s
Callender Poetry Weekend. He also writes art criticism which has been
published in Peel and Combustus magazines.</span></div>
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Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-88163765103347073112017-11-16T00:00:00.006-08:002017-11-16T00:00:43.590-08:00One poem by Don Thompson <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lamp<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sometimes in this world, slightly</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">to one side of our five senses,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">a stone becomes translucent.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It seems to be a Japanese lantern</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">made of unimaginable litho-paper.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Foolish to think so,</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and yet, there it is in the dusk,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">aglow, holding the last light</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">as long as possible.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>DON THOMPSON</b> was born and raised in Bakersfield,
California, and has lived in the southern San Joaquin Valley for most of his
life. He has been publishing poetry since the early sixties, including a
dozen books and chapbooks. For more information and links to his
publications, visit his website <i>San Joaquin Ink</i> (<a href="http://don-e-thompson.com/" target="_blank">don-e-thompson.com</a>).</span></div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-90819185123907360422017-11-15T23:57:00.004-08:002018-01-01T03:37:30.699-08:00One poem by Gary Beck <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Out of Control<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Everything in nature</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">eats, or is eaten.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Natural selection</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">regulates existence,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">until human interference</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">alters the balance of life,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">condemning many species</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">to untimely extinction</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">by destruction of habitat,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">poisonous environment</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">eliminating the blue bird,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">extending the time of the rodent,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">while those who see the danger</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">lack sufficient resources</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">to prevent untimely demise.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>GARY BECK </b>spent most of his life as a theater
director. He has 12 published chapbooks, 14 published poetry collections, 7
accepted for publication. He has 4 novels and 3 accepted for publication. 1
short story collection and 1 accepted for publication. He lives in NYC.</span></div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-78069636704089583722017-11-15T23:54:00.002-08:002017-11-15T23:55:23.047-08:00One poem by James Croal Jackson <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Paradox<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">in
drinking</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I
add more</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">of
myself</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">to
myself</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">in
living</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I
add more</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">time
as</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">it
subtracts</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>JAMES CROAL JACKSON</b> is the author of <i>The
Frayed Edge of Memory </i>(Writing Knights Press, 2017). His poetry has
appeared in<i> FLAPPERHOUSE, Yes Poetry, Serving House Journal</i>, and
elsewhere. He edits <i>The Mantle</i>,<i> </i>a poetry journal. Find
him in Columbus, Ohio or at jimjakk.com. </span></div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-88584995733805293042017-11-15T23:51:00.004-08:002017-11-15T23:52:31.104-08:00One poem by John Grey <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ice Breaks in Mountain Stream <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
River grunts and groans, as blocks of ice crack,<br />
break apart, crush together, shatter like old timbers.<br />
Spurred on by deep current, water struggles to be free<br />
of long dark winter nights, bitter cross breezes,<br />
the hungry chatter of non-migratory birds.<br />
Movement is hatched in tiny chips that lap against<br />
brown grass vole holes, to the splintering edges<br />
of the more defiant blocks anchoring mid-stream.<br />
Geese alight on banks, honk a melting chorus.<br />
A hiker stands atop a rocky overhang,<br />
a back-packed guide post for the warming sun.<br />
More watery ballast, the river speeds downstream.<br />
What is not fuel is detritus in its way.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>JOHN GREY</b>
is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in the Tau, Studio One
and Columbia Review with work upcoming in Naugatuck River Review, Examined Life
Journal and Midwest Quarterly. </span></div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-56974187501255127242017-11-15T23:48:00.001-08:002017-11-15T23:48:41.774-08:00One poem by Juliet Wilson <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Raspberry Picking <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sweetness glows red in thorny undergrowth.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Arms scratched and nettled,<br />
we fill bags with fruit,<br />
juice on our hands like blood.<br />
<br />
I snack on berries and chocolate<br />
and dream of the jars of jam that will shine<br />
warmly red on our shelves<br />
<br />
seeing us through the winter.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>JULIET WILSON </b>is an adult education tutor and
conservation volunteer based in Edinburgh, UK. She blogs at <a href="http://craftygreenpoet.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://craftygreenpoet.blogspot.com</a> and
tweets @ craftygreenpoet </span></div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-90994123395099935162017-11-15T23:44:00.001-08:002017-11-15T23:44:13.810-08:00One poem by Karen Neuberg <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once a peregrine, here in Brooklyn,<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
landed close to my feet, swooping<br />
under a parked car, I presume for a rat. I never<br />
saw the reason, but heard the shuffle as it slid<br />
beneath, my eyes caught its tail and then saw it<br />
back out. We looked each other in the eye.<br />
For a moment, I was feral.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>KAREN NEUBERG</b> lives near the water in Brooklyn, New
York. Her work has appeared in numerous journals including <i>Canary,
Forage, Hermeneutic Chaos, Otoliths, Really System, and S/tick</i>. Her latest
chapbook, <i>The elephants are asking</i>, is forthcoming from Glass Lyre
Press in December 2017. Links to her work can be found at <a href="mailto:karenneuberg@blogspot.com" target="_blank">karenneuberg@blogspot.com</a></span></div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-14639866355603586492017-11-15T23:34:00.004-08:002017-11-15T23:34:49.638-08:00One poem by Lee Evans <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Free Fall <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The detachment of the moon</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Is like a fingernail clipping</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Frozen among the constellations.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Crunching down the snow,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My footsteps leave irrevocable prints</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To and from the bare forsythia.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I unsnap the mousetrap,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let the smashed body drop</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On a pale crust of moonlight. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>LEE EVANS</b> lives in Bath, Maine and works for the
local YMCA. His poems have appeared in various venues over the past twenty or
so years.</span></div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-6775379961204504992017-11-15T23:26:00.001-08:002017-11-15T23:31:50.307-08:00One poem by Michael Lee Johnson <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Alexandra David-Neel</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>S</b>he edits her life from a room made dark</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">against a desert dropping summer sun.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A daring travelling Parisian adventurer</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ultimate princess turning toad with age-</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">snow drops of white in her hair, tiny fingers</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">thumb joints osteoarthritis</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">corrects proofs at 100, pours whiskey,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">pours over what she wrote</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">scribbles notes directed to the future,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">applies for a new passport.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With this mount of macular degeneration,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">near, monster of writers' approach.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">She wears no spectacles.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Her mind teeters between Himalayas,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">distant Gobi Desert, but subjectively warm.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Running reason through her head for living,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">yet dancing with the youthful word of Cinderella,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">she plunges deeper near death into Tibetan mysticism,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">trekking across snow covered mountains to Lhasa, Tibet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nighttime rest, sleepy face, peeking out that window crack</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">into the nest, those quiet villages below</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">tasting that reality beyond all her years'</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">vastness of dreams.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>MICHAEL LEE JOHNSON</b> lived ten years in Canada during
the Vietnam era. Today he is a poet, freelance writer, amateur photographer,
and small business owner in Itasca, Illinois. Mr. Johnson published
in more than 989 publications, his poems have appeared in 34 countries, he
edits, publishes 10 different poetry sites. Michael Lee Johnson, Itasca,
IL, nominated for 2 Pushcart Prize awards for poetry 2015/1 Best of the Net
2016/and 2 Best of the Net 2017.<b> </b></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">He also has 138 poetry
videos on YouTube. </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">He
is the Editor-in-chief of the anthology 'Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow Haze' and '</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Dandelion in a Vase of
Roses'. </span></div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-13937298725263301892017-11-15T23:22:00.002-08:002017-11-15T23:22:28.425-08:00One poem by Michaeleen Kelly <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Loneliness of the Long Distance Whistleblower</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The misdeeds and generally bad ideas of her coworkers</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">permeated Ann’s consciousness at every workplace.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She channeled Aristotle in his call for an ethical life,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">never holding back calling them to task</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">for their regular failures at reasonableness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Agreeing with him that genuine friendships</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">being possible only with her moral equals</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">necessarily eliminated all the conformists.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Her predictable retreat to her Michigan garden,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">was a natural test site for Aristotle’s balanced life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There her generosity of spirit</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">proved uncompromised, unbalanced, un-Aristotelian.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There she willed the extreme, heedless giving of time</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">to the most flawless, unforgiving mistress - Mother Nature
herself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>MICHAELEEN KELLY</b> is an emerita professor of
Philosophy at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her poetry has been
published in Blue Collar Review, Melancholy Hyperbole, Main Street Rag
Anthologies, Dunes Review and Greywolf Press. She is a two-time winner of the
Kent County Dyer-Ives prize for poetry.</span></div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-26047907110324746532017-11-15T23:17:00.002-08:002017-11-15T23:20:08.751-08:00One poem by Saloni Kaul <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Price of Beauty <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Atop the hill old trees gaunt in a clump</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All stand on guard eternal like a sage, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the alert like batsman suave protects his stump </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Staying on is life though runs get him to the front page.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strewn generously along the pathways wild</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Are all the tempting delectations that us all intrigue,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Whilst thought and wisdom of the highest league</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lures like dramatically layered mosaic well-tiled.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How like the wild imagination does</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This tall top line to realms beyond extend !</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Entirely flat disregarded by the general buzz ,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Could all this something strenuously strange portend ?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Immersed in meditation, sagelike old trees stay on duty</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And the wayward beholder pays the price of
beauty. </span><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>SALONI KAUL</b>, author and poet, was first published at
the age of ten and has been in print since. As critic and columnist Saloni has
enjoyed forty years of being published. Saloni Kaul's first volume, a fifty
poem collection was published in the USA in 2009. Subsequent volumes include
Universal One and Essentials All. Most recent Saloni Kaul poetic production has
been published in Tipton Poetry Journal, Misty Mountain Review, Inwood Indiana,
Mad Swirl , FIVE Poetry, The Voices Project, The Penwood Review, Mantid
Magazine, Haikuniverse, Blue Pepper, Sentinel Literary Quarterly, Cabildo
Quarterly, AJI Magazine, Scarlet Leaf Review, River Poets Journal, Belle Rêve
Literary Journal ,Taj Mahal Review, Verbal Art, Poetry Pacific, Ink Sweat And
Tears and Military Experience And The Arts (As You Were : The Military Review)
. Upcoming publication acceptances include Blueline, The Penwood Review,
Cabildo Quarterly , Scarlet Leaf Review and Indiana Voice Journal . </span></div>
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Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-75363080135843445462017-11-15T23:06:00.001-08:002017-11-15T23:19:16.222-08:00One poem by Todd Mercer <div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Note to Ingenue, Near North Side</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ll see you at the Water Tower,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">when you’re feeling better than me,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">down with winter heaviness, and a squeeze</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">of angina. What are ya gonna do? I’ll look out</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">for you, where the enormous straw draws</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">all of the city’s supply. So much it seems endless.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Isn’t. That’s another day’s issue. Come see me</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">outside St. James chapel, in the shade</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">of the John Hancock, ticker ticking better</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">than it has in a while. Drop that pointless malaise</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">off the Skyway Bridge on the inbound trip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Think Spring, see me North of the river.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Remember who you are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ll take your picture at the Tower,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">an icon in front of another icon. My view.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Meet me when the winter’s over, or it’s in retreat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>TODD MERCER </b>won the Dyer-Ives Kent County Prize
for Poetry (2016), the National Writers Series Poetry Prize (2016) and the
Grand Rapids Festival Flash Fiction Award (2015). His digital chapbook, <i>Life-wish
Maintenance,</i> appeared at <i>Right Hand Pointing</i>. Mercer's
recent poetry and fiction appear in <i>The Drabble,</i> <i>Eunoia Review,
The Lake, Peacock Journal, </i>and <i>Vending Machine Press.</i></span></div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-37700669483736963312017-05-20T02:17:00.000-07:002017-06-06T11:47:57.657-07:00<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;"><b>Poets of Issue Eleven </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<br />
<i>(In alphabetical order)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
Gordon Hilgers<br />
James G. Piatt<br />
Jason Galloway<br />
John Grey<br />
John Kropf<br />
Margarita Serafimova<br />
Michael C. Seeger<br />
Michael Lee Johnson<br />
Pat M. Kuras<br />
Robert Beveridge<br />
Sanjeev Sethi<br />
<br />Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-60395826369805055232017-05-20T02:07:00.001-07:002017-06-07T05:03:30.361-07:00One poem by Gordon Hilgers <div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Keep it short <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br />
You worked for the paper awhile, but your<br />
sweeter, driftwood flourishes would never hit<br />
either print or fruition. You would pen them,<br />
book reviews, you all of twenty-six, but Bob<br />
sat behind his smile to inform you that, no way,<br />
not enough room. Word count is important,<br />
he said, more important than content. Outside,<br />
you sometimes watched the bevies of them,<br />
pigeons, how the birds wheeled. Some danger,<br />
possibly a red-tailed hawk, had alerted them,<br />
their scavenger ways interrupted, an editorial,<br />
yes, there on the walkway, now bloody feathers<br />
to be lifted, ghosts, wind their final breath, not<br />
one word about it. Stiller afternoons, you see,<br />
when you can go no farther, you sit right here--<br />
crazed creatures, beasts, sky bluer, no clouds,<br />
only wings, the maw of moments memorized.<br />
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GORDON HILGERS lives in Dallas, Texas, in an area The Los Angeles Times calls
"the Ellis Island of Texas" because no less than 30 languages are
spoken in the neighborhood. The Chiron Review, Edgar Allan Poet Journal,
Texas Observer, Sequestrum, Deathlist 5, as well as several anthologies,
including Fresh Cuts 2: The Skinning Volume and The Art To Be Human, also have
published his poetry and stories. </div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-40389176033832793862017-05-20T02:05:00.004-07:002017-05-20T02:05:42.052-07:00One poem by James G. Piatt <div class="MsoNormal">
<b>A Mother</b></div>
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Her hands reach out to </div>
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Soothe the weighty </div>
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Sorrows on a small </div>
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Quivering brow; her smile </div>
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Fills a sad heart with hope, </div>
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Her love covers times of </div>
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Gloom with optimism, and </div>
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her continence covers the </div>
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Sad hours with a joyful </div>
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Glow when the day </div>
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Appears dreary, and lost.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
JAMES, a retired professor and octogenarian, is a pushcart
and best of web nominee, and his poems were selected for inclusion in The 100
Best Poems of 2016, 2015 & 2014 Anthologies. He has published 3 collections
of poetry, “The Silent Pond” (2012), “Ancient Rhythms,” (2014),
and “LIGHT,” (2016), and over 960 poems, in over 135 magazines,
anthologies and books. His fourth collection of poetry will be released this
year. He earned his BS and MA from California State Polytechnic University, and
his doctorate from BYU.</div>
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Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-82177252461055892662017-05-20T02:03:00.004-07:002017-05-20T02:03:44.103-07:00One poem by Jason Galloway <div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Sitting at a Table at Sunset<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The last effort of light outside the glass—</div>
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empty glass, blank pages </div>
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in the darkening room</div>
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in the company of empty chairs</div>
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<br /></div>
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& this dark gold candlestick tarnish</div>
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this thumbprint & these ovals of beeswax gold</div>
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<br /></div>
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teardrop pendants, the tip of this pen</div>
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not yet lit</div>
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JASON GALLOWAY is a poetry student in the MFA Program for
Writers at Warren Wilson College, and he lives in the foothills of the
Appalachian mountains in Greenville, South Carolina. He has published work in
Right Hand Pointing, The Enlightentment Projects, and has participated twice
in Tupelo Press' 30/30 Project.</div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-42005728446873784262017-05-20T02:02:00.000-07:002017-05-20T02:02:08.559-07:00One poem by John Grey <div class="MsoNormal">
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<b>Slow Passage of Time <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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sweet fluted winds<br />
blown by<br />
the near-dark forest<br />
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steadfast live oak<br />
presses its case<br />
to glades of deep shadow<br />
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leaves flutter<br />
simulate<br />
the whisper of vows<br />
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sleepy down day<br />
and no watch<br />
worth looking at</div>
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JOHN GREY is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently
published in New Plains Review, Stillwater Review and Big Muddy Review with
work upcoming in Louisiana Review, Columbia College Literary Review and Spoon
River Poetry Review. </div>
Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-72671390897429799932017-05-20T01:58:00.004-07:002017-05-20T01:58:52.719-07:00Two poems by John Kropf <div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Not myself </b></div>
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I’ve been put in this position before</div>
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waking up in the middle of the night</div>
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to utter phrases</div>
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not my own (and with no one to hear them).<br />
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<b>Plastic grocery bag </b></div>
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Is the tumbleweed of the urban landscape</div>
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and sometimes</div>
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an undulating jellyfish in a sea of trees.</div>
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JOHN KROPF is a Washington area attorney and writer who has
written a travel-adventure book, <i>Unknown Sands: Journeys Around the
World's Most Isolated Country</i>, and a legal reference book, <i>Guide to
U.S. Government Practices on Global Sharing of Personal Information</i>. He has
also contributed to Verse-Virtual, Burningword LIterary Journal and a regular
reader at the Iota Poetry series. John was awarded a Certificate in Laughter
from the DC Improv Club and keeps a blog on books and poems on an unscheduled
basis at <a href="http://compulsivelyaimless.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://compulsivelyaimless.blogspot.com</a> </div>
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Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-6195880116675758742017-05-20T01:49:00.004-07:002017-05-20T01:49:46.388-07:00One poem by Margarita Serafimova<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">If it were possible …<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">If it were possible for me to be there, I would
be fingers <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">and nails of impetuous dark, and I would lightly
cleave to you, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">and leaning over you, I would let you drink my
throat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Fury and sand, quick, count down your desert.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">MARGARITA SERAFIMOVA has contributed to Outsider Poetry,
Heavy Athletics, Anti-Heroin Chic, the Peacock Journal, Noble/ Gas Quarterly,
In Between Hangovers, Window Quarterly/ Patient Sounds. Pieces of hers are
forthcoming in The Voices Project, Obra/ Artifact, MockingHeart
Review, London Grip New Poetry, The Birds We Piled Loosely. She has
two books of poetry in the Bulgarian. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9040509126971323772.post-23356646835669239472017-05-20T01:47:00.004-07:002017-05-20T01:50:39.483-07:00Two poems by Michael C. Seeger<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>I</b> <b>Wait</b></div>
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It’s heavier here now</div>
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Since you left.</div>
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Like a miracle; Wow!</div>
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See: Bereft.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I have in my hand words</div>
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From a book;</div>
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An empty sky holds birds</div>
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As I look.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Slowly the past recedes,</div>
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Timelessly</div>
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Emptied, as the mind reads</div>
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Watchfully.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Hardened understanding</div>
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Changes us</div>
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In our views; Birds landing</div>
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Make a fuss.</div>
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<br /></div>
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It’s dark where sunlight fell;</div>
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You are late.</div>
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Silent as a cancer cell,</div>
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I wait.</div>
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<b>Transience</b></div>
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I found in a book some leaves</div>
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I had picked up from a road</div>
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one rainy day last fall. I could</div>
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not bear to let their beauty lie</div>
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there on the cold, wet ground,</div>
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waiting to disintegrate under</div>
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the wheels of oblivious drivers.</div>
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I tried to save them from their</div>
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transience,</div>
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<br /></div>
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as we all
have tried</div>
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in similar ways to save ourselves</div>
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from time. It is nearly Spring,</div>
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<br /></div>
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but these leaves, like memories, </div>
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say to me, again, how fleeting</div>
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everything is.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And that no one</div>
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can stop, not for a moment, the</div>
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constant flow and inexorable</div>
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passage of life.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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MICHAEL C. SEEGER is a poet and educator residing in the
Coachella Valley near Palm Springs, California. Prior to his life as a middle
school English instructor, he worked as a technical writer for a baseball card
company and served as a Marine infantry officer during Desert Storm. He
considers poetry a passion and writing generally a way of life. Michael’s poems
have only recently been published, though he’s written many and stands ready to
embrace the opportunity of being so honored.</div>
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Misty Mountain Reviewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16747822036533360992noreply@blogger.com0