Tipton Poetry Journal, Summer 2011
Mystical Muse Magazine, February 2013
Ephemera
Mayflies bear a Greek name meaning living a day,
An allusion to their dance before they die
After maturing in the month of May.
Mayflies bear a Greek name meaning living a day
And start as water nymphs that grow to fly
Only to die after mating–a last hooray.
Mayflies bear a Greek name meaning living a day,
An allusion to their dance before they die.
Bliss, MUSE Press Anthology 2013
The POTENTIAL VI: The Way You Eat Your Mango
I was meant to have three uncles, just three. I never met one – In person – but I read (with) him, read his books, his notes, and saw his spirit, his drive; I do not know what he looked like, yet he taught me: he taught me to dare.
My other uncle nurtured me from afar; I learnt by osmosis. He once said he’d not have (or take) whatever God had not given him. So in his short, fulfilling, life – no but’s – he taught me that Pastors are not God, that Winners are made and not enslaved, that right is forever right irrespective of what any Pastor says; and, most importantly, he taught me contentment.
My third uncle is the first. He taught me from Pluto, he taught me by radiation. He is a genius, and I learn to be one. I pretend not to listen to him, and he in turn pretends not to notice, but I do, and he does. I inform him whenever I want to start something, not so much for his monetary input, but so that he can discourage me – as he should – and I can go ahead anyway (making adjustments for his concerns) – as I should. He teaches me caution, a by-product of anticipation.
So that whatever and whoever I am today and forever I owe it (in part) to these three people – and I am always indebted to my father, who made me (painfully). Of course, I pick up lessons as I go on: I recently saw what personal ambition can do to a Church – or any organisation for that matter. I recently observed how comparison and strife can ruin peace and progress.
Newton had said if he saw further than his peers, it was because he stood on the shoulders of giants; well, I have seen. I see how my forebears forever change me: I learnt diligence from my father, and camouflage from his mother. In fact, as much as I can remember, the only word Father ever taught me was “diligence” – it just so happened that I hadn’t known that word at the time.
All these people together influence(d) the way I eat my mango: daringly, cautiously and contentedly, diligently and in camera.
Closer
On the news, white flags of surrender
fleck the country side
to mark the bodies; metal, soft fabric
in equal amounts bent and woven
through foreign flora: charged green shoots,
blossoms at the tips like blue-bulbed street lamps.
I had just hung up the phone, a friend calling to talk,
but with forced topics, not a breath in between,
avoiding all she wanted
to say, as I’ve done many times before; as, I think,
we’ve all done. I felt that crick of regret and changed
the channel: a scientist began explaining microscopic level,
that mysterious plane where, as he stated,
nothing ever touches.
Gargoyles Table
Fair is foul, and foul is fair:
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
– Macbeth: Act 1, Scene 1
The pit of my gut
is a bubbling
cauldron of missing
children, faces of
victims as the blade
goes into soft raw
pomegranate flesh
all clamoring for
the archangels sun
and getting nowhere
my own voice screams at
the horror of it
such foul wretched masks
competing for a
soured place at the
gargoyles table
I’m the old face that’s
tainted forever
I’m the old face that’s
shunned in my bell
tower solitude
the fires that rage
I don’t put out, nor
would I want too for
they are company
Kathleen Popa’s To Dance in the Desert
To Dance in the Desert is a page turner. Once one starts reading, they will find it very hard to put the book down until the end. The book is about Dara and Jane. Dara moves to a remote location in the desert to work through or try to run from her emotions. Her abusive husband is dead and her father was killed. Her mother left when she was but a small child. One day she looks out the window and sees a woman dancing and twirling in the desert. The woman is Jane. Jane doesn’t know that Dara had moved into the house that had been empty for ages. They become fast friends. Jane talks Dara into going to Brittlebush to work with her in her brother Tom’s diner. Tom’s wife passed away and the diner had not been doing well since. However, with Dara’s cooking and Jane’s waitressing, the diner is once again making money. Dara sets out to find her mother and finds out she is much closer than she thought. To Dance in the Desert is funny, deep and thought-provoking. I highly recommend this book. I know you will enjoy it as much as I have. It’s so good you will want to read it much more than once. I rate this book five stars and two thumbs up.
Rita D’Orazio’s Remember Me (not yet released, cover not yet available)
WOW!! Remember Me is a suspense/romance. It is a really great story. Once the reader starts, they will absolutely not be able to put the book down. The story is about Henry and Cynthia Jones. Henry is a prosecutor who has put away many dangerous felons. One of the violent rapists he put away is out on parole. He fears for his wife and daughters due to threats the rapist made at the sentencing. Henry books a cruise for his family for his and his wife’s 40th wedding anniversary. Things don’t go exactly as planned on the cruise. There is heartache and love. When they all arrive back home. Henry’s long time trusted secretary comes across files that Henry has kept on himself and his wife Cynthia. Helen, the secretary, is shocked by the information and calls Jatara, the middle daughter. For the whole story and to find out the surprise ending, read Remember Me by Rita D’Orazio. I highly recommend this book. I rate it five stars and two thumbs up!!
Brahma’s Maze is a suspense thriller that is a page turner. Once the reader begins, they will not be able to put it down. Brahma’s Maze is about Tarun, a scientist who is working on a cure for cancer. His whole family was killed by powerful mafia type thugs and he has found a way to avenge their deaths. The daughter of one of the most powerful men in India is dying from cancer. Tarun and the scientist he is working with decide that Tarun should secretly take the cancer drug to India to try it on “The Old Man’s” daughter. The daughter is cured of her cancer and “The Old Man” helps Tarun avenge the death of Tarun’s family. What happens next is a page turning, thrilling ride that will leave you wanting more! I highly recommend this book. I give it two thumbs up and a five star rating!
A Portrait in Time is a novel about time travel. It is intriguing, a real page turner, and will keep the reader on the edge of their seat. Nicole Bruante is a nude model in 1870’s Paris. She is with her lover and drinking absinthe laced with laudanum when a portal opens in the painting above her bed and they are transported to a museum in Paris in 2011. She arrives with bruises and short term amnesia. Her lover arrives completely crushed internally and dead. The police hear the alarms from the paintings go off and start chasing after Nicole. Nicole remembers her name and finds an office to hide in. As she looks around she finds a coat, hat and boots plus an umbrella that should disguise her well. She then finds out the office belongs to Susanne Bruante. As she looks around more she finds pictures and two envelopes with addresses on them. She finds Susanne’s apartment and meets her great, great, great granddaughter. Susanne calls her uncle Henri and together they believe what Nicole is telling them. Susanne contacts her “exboyfriend” from the United States, Dr. John Noland, who happens to be working on time travel. He flies to Paris and does some tests and finds out that Nicole has mutant genes theat opened up the portal when she was drinking the mind-altering absinthe and laudanum. Susanne has herself tested and she also has some of the mutant genes. Nicole was not crushed when she was transported to present day Paris because of the mutated genes. The four of them set out to figure out how to send Nicole back to the 1870’s. A Portrait in Time is an excellent read! The story is so good you will NOT want to put the book down. I very highly recommend this book. I rate this book two thumbs up and five stars. Happy reading!!!
Alterien: Once Was Lost is a sci fi short story that takes place in the year 2059. Agent John Lost and Agent Abigail work for the ISA (International Security Agency). Agent John Lost has superhuman abilities that allow him to see what will happen in the near future, among other powers. Agent Lost and Agent Abigail are assigned to preventing terrorist attacks and bringing in the terrorists for questioning. Investigator Sharon Marshall calls in Agents Lost and Abigail for questioning. Sharon Marshall is certain that Agent John Lost looks very familiar. She calls in a doctor and does a DNA test on John Lost. The results show that he is indeed her half brother who disappeared many years ago and his true name is Oberon. Alterien: Once Was Lost is a great Sci Fi short story. I highly recommend this book. I certainly can’t wait until part 2 comes out. I rate this book five stars and two thumbs up!