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WALKING Water 
       Support my feet 

Looks like Liquid 
       feels like street 

I'm Heart filled Dreaming 
     I could go Home 

But Bring Here Heaven 
      just now on loan 

LOVE lift my thought 
     Above Being tried 

As STEPS ON Liquid 
          are not denied 

WALKING Water 
       Support my feet 

Looks like Liquid 
       feels like street

                                                ............

by John Edward Culp
Saturday Morning
February 18, 2017

Flutter of an Eye

The "Flutter of your Eye" on the day you passed away
Reminds us of a "Butterfly as it gently flies away"
And as we see the grazing deer we know that you are near
We long to hear your voice and see your smile again
And know we will again someday and will hold on to the
memories until then.
We will always remember that day and the
~"Flutter of your Eye" as you drifted away~
Sending our everlasting love and hugs up to you and
We want you to know we are thinking of you!


Your Spirit

Your touch, your voice, your warm embrace
The bright smile that lights up your beautiful face
These memories of you we hold on to and remember each year
Especially when your birthday is here.
We take comfort in the love that you gave us and
We know "Your Spirit" always surrounds us!

Sisters

My parents blessed me with two "Sisters" to share my love with in life
There for each other through thick and through thin
I couldn't imagine my life without them
The bond that we have is as strong as our faith
We wouldn't have it any other way
As we grow old together through the years
Through happy and sad times, up and down times
Holding hands through laughter and tears
I thank my parents and the Lord above for
My two "Sisters" that I adore and love!

Take Me With You

"Take me with you" whatever you do
I will always be a part of you
In the good times, bad times, happy and sad times
"Take me with you" down the road
I will be by your side wherever you go
Part of me lives in you since I've gone away
"Take me with you" I'm there to stay

Salute a Soldier

“Salute a Soldier” and show your support for
The sacrifices made even lives were cut short
They will always stand tall even after the fall
“Bravery of a Soldier” will be remembered by all!
“Salute a Soldier”
It’s the right thing to do
For all that’s been given for freedom for you!

“Flutter of an Eye is a short collection of poems written by Tammy Spears in homage to her mother, who recently passed away in 2007 from lung cancer. The chronology order of the poems reflects the last two stages of the grievance process: depression, and acceptance. The first arrangement of poems reflects memories of the poet’s mother and the poet’s future without her. Towards the end of the book, the poet reflects on the blessings she has in this life. Flutter of an Eye is meant to help and inspire those who have lost a loved one.”
— The New England Book Critic

My name is Tammy Spears and I am the author of the inspirational poetry book “Flutter of an Eye”.  My poetry book has been published through iUniverse of Bloomington, Indiana.  My poem “Flutter of an Eye” has also been published in Upon Arrival-Interlude by Eber & Wein Publishing. Various poems have also been published in the 2021 monthly editions of Neighbors of Bowling Green and Franklin Kentucky Magazines.

The book was written in memory of my beautiful Mother, Diana Hullings, who passed away at a young age of 61 from lung cancer. (“MOTHER” is a poem in my book). My mother was and still is my inspiration in life and I wanted to dedicate my book of poetry in her memory to share with family and friends to be inspired as well.

My book of poetry contains inspirational poems of love for a Mother and a Mother’s love, blessings in life, love of family, love to share, God’s gifts and blessings, honoring the military, life experiences, seasons of change, memories of a loved one, reminiscing and cherishing precious time, and love of a child and spouse.

I also have material to publish my second book of inspirational poems that will be titled “Fluttering On”. The meaning of the title of the sequel is that my mother is “Fluttering On” with us as we are “Fluttering On” without her.

We only have “one life” to live, so make an “Impact” while you can, “Reach for Hope” when in need, “Come Together” and “Lend a Hand” to make a difference, “Cherish the Memories”, “Precious Time” and all of “Life’s Blessings” God sends your way “Year After Year”.  Won’t you “Take me With You” on The “Walk” of  life’s journey?  (All of the quotes are inspirational poems in my published poetry book).

The one message I would like to convey to my readers is to Cherish Life and the many Blessings God sends your way! “Dream”-“Dream”-“Dream” you can make your dreams a Reality! This was taken from one of my poems in the book called “Dream”.

My advice to aspiring authors would be to pursue your writing as an author if it is a passion and make your “Dream” come to light!

Please order Tammy Spears’ Flutter of an Eye here.

Title: Hell on Earth
(Perception of Reality)

Genre: RAP/HIP-HOP

Waking up from sleep
Still in the ill state of slumbering
Anticipating bliss but sunk in pain
Wondering ‘why wake up?’
Another day of working out
To become the real biggie
But being forced to do the smalls
Subconsciously waking up to breaking up
Happiness kept at bay
As if joy is kept at arms length
Seeking inspiration to glide against the tempest
Only to realize this is hell on earth
The living projection from hell
The world being lived in
So twisted that what’s left in it ain’t right
Hell on Earth

Chorus

Hell on earth
What an experience!

The perception of reality
Look at all directions
That’s a pointer(2ce)

Verse 2
Lost in time
Sought for the time machine to bring me back
Only to realize I was in the past, present and future
My predicament was Not Obviously Waiting
The Ascertained Generation of Existence
Likened to flying kites back in the day
And the present AI activity
Expressed Excruciation marking the pinnacle of adversity
The hell of the poor
The  paradise of the rich
Making pain to create gain
That’s the contradiction
The programmed nature of man
The Defined Attainment of Time Embraced
Tantamount to the Hell on Earth ordeal.

Chorus
Hell on earth
What an Experience!

The perception of reality
Look at all directions
That’s a pointer (2ce)

Verse 3
In the train of thoughts
emanates a dynamic release of flaws
Depicted by overwhelming concerns
Put forward amazing challenges
Death and life polarized the essence
Judgmental in the first place
Biased at the end
Consequential absurdities
Tantamount to retributions
Worried About Revolution  as panacea to war
Thought of projecting bullet bars from mars
But outpaced by the mind-blowing speed of light years cars
Heaven the next option
But its 12 Pearly Gates an obstruction
Couldn’t believe the vision
Blamed it on pseudo information
But it became crystal clear
The fact emerging
Then it was true
The hell on earth situation

Chorus
Hell on earth
What an experience!

The perception of reality
Look at all directions
That’s the pointer (2ce)

YOUTH

The morning has already arrived.
Youth is:
-Get up now my son. Don't be a slacker.
Get up; get handsome
That the Professor sees you beautiful.
At snack time, at recess
Eat it and don't give it to the birds.
If a partner hurts you
Go run to the teacher
Or the principal of the school.
Be careful when you tie your shoelaces
Of the shoes
Because they told me
That the religion teacher
Who is a catechist
Gets close to the boys and girls’ ass
Let's see if their panties or briefs are made of silk.
Don't go into the bathroom alone
Well, there are clever companions
What have they learned
To give up the ass
That, one day, they will become parish priests
Or state politicians.
Don't go alone down the street
Because there are criminals and wicked
That, with trompe l'oeil
They want to see if the boys and girls’ asses
Really have a seraph face.
-But, mom, if Serafin is a boy!
Whom everyone loves
Because he teaches us to jerk off
For one euro
And gives us the prick like a Chinese lantern.
-My son, don't be stupid.
Stop rubbing
That you will lose the sap of Life
And your teeth will fall out.
Go, better, to play in the street
With the skates
With that little girl friend of you "la Puri"
To which you have said more than once:
-Pretty, you still haven't given me your meat
Why do you ask me for the eggs?
And learn, coxcomb¡

-Daniel de Cu

A Book review by Linda S. Gunther

“ETERNAL” by Lisa Scottoline

With a trip planned to the wine country this past weekend, I couldn’t wait to get away for a few days. It was a long drive from our house at the beach in Northern California to Sonoma County, and I was in the midst of reading ETERNAL, an historical fiction novel set in the 1930’s and 40’s in Rome, Italy, written by Lisa Scottoline.

I get carsick if I read as a passenger which means I was incredibly frustrated during that 4-hour car journey. I had started the novel the night before and read about 135 pages, my eyes in the book until the last minute, digesting another 20 pages before my husband and I left the house on Friday morning.

I just didn’t want to put the book down. I like to run my fingers down the pages of a good book and because I’m a novelist myself, sometimes I make notes in the margins or bend the page corners because of something so beautifully written. I learn so much from every book I read, so I haven’t ever considered switching over to audiobooks. I sat in the car and suppressed my impatience until we arrived at our destination. At the hotel I flopped down on the cozy love seat, curled up in front of the fireplace, a glass of intoxicating Cabernet on the table before me and held ETERNAL in my hands, ready to savor every page.

The story starts out joyous, the three young protagonists as children (Elisabetta, Marco and Sandro) in Rome, hanging out together, biking the city, splashing each other at the foot of the Tiber River. The story begins with a love triangle. Best friends, Marco and Sandro are both secretly captivated by feisty Elisabetta. She favors one of the boys but loves them both in different ways for different reasons. I won’t say more about how this topsy turvy love story works out but it’s not what you’d expect and I mean that!  Your heart will be turned inside out going through the ups and downs of young love.

The timeline of this novel spans decades through Mussolini’s rule of the country, the start of WW II, Italy’s unification with Hitler’s Germany, the Nazi occupation of Rome and the chaos that ensues with a barrage of anti-Semitic laws that morph into a living hell for all Italian Jews, one of whom is Sandro. 

The back cover of the book describes ETERNAL as a sweeping epic and for me that’s a perfect description for this page-turning read, a heart-wrenching tale full of twists and turns. 

The added bonus in this read was learning all about the craft of pasta-making! The secondary character, Nonna, the proprietor of exclusive Casa Servano, the only restaurant in Rome to serve the highest quality of home-made pasta, urges her protégé, Elisabetta, to finally take control of her young life, become independent of men, and savor everything there is to know about cooking and how to run a flourishing restaurant business. 

If you enjoy a good pasta as much as I do, then you will swoon over ETERNAL’s Chapter Eight-five where Elisabetta prepares spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clam sauce), complete with the fresh chopped garlic, oregano, parsley, salt and olive oil. I could actually smell the dish on the page as the narrator described the precise preparation. As soon as I read it, my meal out that night in the wine country was a plateful of linguini and clams with a robust glass of Coppola Cabernet. 

One of my favorite historical novels of all time is Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, now being made into a film. In my opinion, the intriguing characters in Scottoline’s ETERNAL, their complex relationships, the deep dive into the internal dynamics of all three families and the delicious nuggets of Italian culture sprinkled throughout, places this novel in the same league as The Nightingale. And so, I give ETERNAL the highest rating of 5 out of 5! 

Linda S. Gunther is the author of six published suspense novels: Ten Steps From The Hotel Inglaterra, Endangered Witness, Lost In The Wake, Finding Sandy Stonemeyer, Dream Beach and most recently in 2021, Death Is A Great Disguiser.

Her short stories have been featured in numerous literary publications. Linda’s passion for travel and continuous learning fuels her fire to create vivid fictional characters and unforgettable story lines.

Dreams

I want to see sweet dreams
In slumbers of calmness.
Falling and rising with the moments.
Creating world of my own.
Cloning my own fantasies.
 Reality is giant mountain 
Hard to digest
Making me forget
the empathetic spears.
I want to travel nowhere
Like radiant of the sun
Travels the world.
I am hungry 
For progress, not for perfection 
cause nobody is perfect.
My struggles are milestone
One day,
giving others to courage pursue.