November 2017 Vol. II No. XI
Not your ordinary poetry magazine!
If good coffee (or just the concept of coffee), great books, sharp wit, and great authors excite you, we are for you!
Sentimental Poetry edited by Anthony Watkins
A MIDDLE-AGED SOUTHERN COUPLE REACTS TO ICE
When the sweltering South was struck with cold
And Dad dripped the pipes, the dangers of ice
Made us realize that my parents are old.
“Take your iPhone with you” my mom advised
So she’d know to save him before he dies,
Sprawled on the driveway like any well-bred
Southern man over fifty. Bundled head
To toe, Dad waddled out to Hell’s ninth ring
While Mom watched out for any frozen threat,
And I observed what affection time brings.
​
SHADOW PUPPETS
Why do hands on a piano look so
Elegant? Is it how the fingers curve
And move into shapes like making shadow
Puppets? No, it’s because they truly serve
The beauty that lies within their maestro,
Transforming the face that you had known first.
The allure of birds on the wall is made
In what you may glimpse within the dim shapes.
​
Mary K. Gowdy
One More Summer
There was a place I used to go
As a boy some years ago
A place onshore of a big lake
Where seagulls swooped for fish to take
Long walks on a soft sand beach
White breakers crashing within reach
The sun warming my back and face
How I grew to love that summer place
I’d gather wildflowers growing free
Beneath a gnarly black oak tree
Then climb a stretch of rolling hills
Still dotted by some old saw mills
Greens and violets lit the nights
From skies adorned with northern lights
A sweet smelling girl with sun dyed hair
Maggie and I had our love affair
Just once to return to that fine time
When everything near me seemed to rhyme
How joyous it would be again
For one more summer way back then
​
Alan Balter is a retired university professor. He had a wonderful career, spanning 35 years, at the University of Illinois and Chicago State University. His job was to prepare teachers for children and adolescents with special needs. Now, in retirement, He has turned to writing fiction, poetry, and personal essays. This helps keep his neurons firing and his dear wife sane.
