Incompletist 
 
It's all a bit sketchy don't you know what with the RMS and all.  
Formal education and I didn't work out but I was on my way across the country to fulfill my own peculiar 
and 
particular manifest destiny which at the time (at the time)? was a semi - conscious state of befuddled uncertainty laced with a lack of pragmatics that was nothing short of utter ineptitude.  
 
(Oh essential humor I laugh to myself now at the notion of then going clear across the country to maintain my standards and my continuous quest for success in failure). 
 
We arrived at the train station and said our goodbyes.  
 
After you left there was a welling and a filling and at the same time a depletion of air.  
I rushed outside after a constricted couple of minutes to tell you something but you were gone. 
 
I was consistently lacking in effort 
and all done and said 
pretty consistent in afraid. 
 
I do at times wish that I had more of more 
than all this less though 
but the wish won't make it so 
 
At a certain point, I guess, we got 
uncomfortable around each other.  
 
I'm glad, though, that I said what I said before you went.  
I will add now that I am sorry I made you nervous. 
 
As I think back right at the now of this 
now 
 
I was at a loss 
then 
and still am 
 
so I'll leave it 
at that. 



it can sometimes does 

I am looking out the window with my classical on as I ponder the rigmaroles of existence discussing such with the most fascinating person I know.   
Every time I feel I've made a valid point or observation during my ongoing convo I like to whip off my glasses to add further emphasis while highlighting a point that's been made salient and to add further punctuating resonance landing on a note redolent of conversational flair.  For example as I gaze out I reflect to myself on the virtues of eschewing the virtual for the sake and embracement of tactility and doing the sharp clean whip on eschew.   
When I revelate that the only thing remaining is to become a saint there is a slow whipping on become. Like that. 
 
Happenstance can work well and good sometimes. 
 
Oh sweet exquisiteness, as I lovingly prepare an afternoon aperitif and just now at the ready of the first gentle sip (lord how I love my ceremonies!) the radio crows out "heroes" - Ah yes, aglow and a flow, I duly proceed to an illuminated bask. 
 
The heart of the matter resides in the entire lonesomeness of the venture, and so dream, a much needed break from the prosaic, makes fantasy a much vaunted ally. 
So it goes, the garden of eden and myself with menagerie of profound friendships and equipped with a fleet of canines are baying in unison at the rising moon each eve over the waters.  
 
I think of a bovine at dusk by the side of a country road, looming and ruminating.  Life can be so wonderful!  And indeed the cat never ceases to contribute the phenomenal and to provide blessed insight into all things seriously absurd, a well rounded tutorial in surrealist burlesque, 
It welcomes and relieves one from the strangulating  confinements of love and isolation, providing a delightfully futile longing for unencumbered innocence and a bit of air. 
 
So it goes, the gallivanting ambition is to string two good days in a row together. 
 
But for now, synchronicity dovetails to a tee and a thickening 
of well and good in the here/now of slow nothing. 



Read 
 
Read 
Trees (solidity presenting) 
Fluttering leaves 
The light kissed plants merry with the wind free and clean 
The rain stream glimmering to 
a speckled burst of sun 
Gentle easy rolling chuckle of 
The sighing creek 
Uncluttered sea green 
Ah read the ripple (and if you hanker success that day, smell the dirt) 
Read 
The people prevarications (attendant chicanery) digitally respirating goofed on technology / hope's dilution on endless extension 
Read 
The blank vista 
Cloud proclamations and 
Twilights gold riddled clarification 
That shall permit languishing 
 
Books and songs have been my 
Life's blood 
But then it is just schmo/mooks mouthing off 
Read 
The perfect view point 
To watch the world go 
Tits up 
 
Soak up your/ time / space / 
Up to 
This eventual farewell / for now / 
Read 


 
Newsie 
 
He would come to the door ever so slow 
Deep into dotage and well past prime time 
I waited amid discomforts shade 
Eager to collect and be on... 
 
I liked the design of my route 
All customers were conveniently located next to each except 
for one lone house down the street a ways which was a drag on Sunday morning because that was the day I had to stuff all the papers and stack them in a grocery cart instead of the rest of the week's thin editions which were easily fitted into my portable sack and slung over my shoulder for an easy afternoon delivery stroll around the block (Saturday mornings I trucked out my bike and then I would treat myself to breakfast)- 
 
Sweet Bitch Memory 
/man oh man... 
 
the frowzy chippy who blurted on 
about the doings and going ons of the scotland yard 
(what she meant specifically I could never ascertain) 
the one who insisted I give change to the tune of a dime 
on her 90 cent weekly tab 
(my young self indignant at this outlandish chintz) 
I henceforth always made an elaborate spectacle of fishing and searching all about myself for her "dime" whenever I collected from her (but always coughing it up eventually - I was a good kid) - 
 
it was the year 1977 (we were there) 
I had heard thru the neighborhood vine about her demise and 
went up to the white house to collect 
 
He trudged to the door and we made our transaction 
both of us looking down until the close of business then 
He said to me looking up "my wife died"  and I responded "I know" 
He slowly lowers his head backing away just as slowly shutting the door 
 
I do my own slow lower into the realization (vague) that happens (if you're lucky?) that a goodly bit of life consists of pain and fear -- so much goddam sadness ... 
 
I stood a moment - left and was 
glad to go on and get away 
 
Lo here in the current deep up to the neck of the boo radley years 
paid up in full 
my bridge burner dues 
losing bits piecemeal 
 
/ it's not so vague 
 
I have often sensed the imperative of getting away ... kinda sorta before the reality boom lowers - 
 
There/then 
and now 
 
I didn't make it 
 
 

Another Day in Armageddon 
 
The potential is there (here) 
To be Infected by 
all of it 
But Hey!  I'm not sick (the world is) 
 
Yes it's so 
(torture and hell resides on two legs) 
 
Realization dawns full on and tardy 
Cutting clarity sharp 
 
Works torpor 
and necessities grind slapped still  
(its bigger'n money!) 
 
Mine is to 
Maintain 
I never could drive proper 
due to an excess in shy 
Beyond me (way over) 
it is 
the modernage train  
passing  
Goodbye and likewise riddance  
 
Right!  
Seize the day (your sick after all) 
Books can matter deep 
Computers stunt likewise 
Good luck dink 
 
My own 
I will relish 
The ring of brass repose 
The opportunity 
(Grand) 
To call in sick to life 
as you've prescribed it 
Your relish of standing in line 
 
Uniforms conforming  
I would prefer not to don the mask 
(while we're at it why'd you gobble up all the cans of tuna?) 
 
Ashes of surrender 
You is yours mine's mine 
Fiduciary sanctuary 
Good luck in prison 
The hard work of hope reaps dirt well you know (why don't you care?) everyone trying to inhale and exhale 
and I can't help rubbing my eyes they hurt when I look at you 
(But It's tuneful when the brook babbles) 
 
and so 
Maintain 
This lofty status 
and this gift of repose 
Splendiferous indifference 
the exhilaration of chopping air 
Beautiful futility 
(Grand) 
 
A permanent 
Hiatus 
 
 

Saturday’s Child 
 
Given the modern malaise’s dictum that to exist is to be stuffed stuff it is reasonable to desire retreats’ entreaties 
 
Aside  from the more obvious artificial means there can be perhaps a more elevated or at least organic avenue to meander down .  I’m hungry. 
 
Thus I crack open some pages.. 
 
oh hell.  It’s been said  that he wasn't steeped in culture and yet his stuff is upper case all the way, encoded in delicate mists of shroud.  
This technical mumbo minutiae numbo stagnates - give me the meat that fills.  
I gasp along hoping against hope for a gut issuance.  Oh my babies cmon, crap the pome that needs the exorcise and that 
resonates the empty room... Forget it.   Ah well, ‘The Joker’ comes on the airwaves and sometimes classic rock steps up.  Cat splayed royally recumbent in the corner always giving out 
sound concision melodiously relates that effort is a drain/drag but shoot some days I’m a gamer so I per sue: 
 
Fuck it fuck life fuck death fuck school fuck parents fuck families fuck friends and enemies fuck jobs (god knows) and fuck god (the people’s not the mystery - Ahh the catholic ingrained  -  I hope god’s gotta sense of humor) but Hey!  Fuck hope! 
Fuck art fuck professional expertise (self-evident in this presentation) fuck fuck but not nature and not animals hey ya gotta have sentiment no? Fuck expectations fuck demands fuck pressures life goes on death goes on longer 
Right fucker? 
Fuck 
 
Stuffs got us by the stuff and all this speed has left life in the lurch taking it (any of it) serious is seriously discouraged 
 
Pardon my distraction 
My immersion in desolation 
Tit-fer-Tat - happiness for holiness 
At the current there is not much else known 
Diligence comes due 
The strive to surrender 


 
A Good Clean Break 
 
realities routine's are a stone crusher 
all of it 
the jobs 
the relationships 
the striving 
the failing 
the achievements (I'm guessing) 
and more begets more 
all the do's of you hafeta do 
you can get tired beyond exhaustion 
tired of your self 
your thoughts (if you are inclined to that sort of thing) 
and relief is much needed 
some quiet  
a long walk  
to  
the middle of 
nowhere 
some surcease 
the compassion of a dog's eyes 



It’s the best 

he was pouring at the happening and usually there is a fair amount of disdain for the enthusiasts  
who like to sidle up to sample the snacks, libations and what have you goodies. 
 
he was a wisp of fair blond - a hippy kid. 
 
he asked me if I would like him to crack my can of brew 
I told him that this was not necessary 
 
I looked at some stuff and listened to some other stuff 
trying to maintain a bit of elbow room  
while the crowds swirled and yammered 
 biding some time before refill and then I went back for another and he  
cracked this one for me and said "cheers" 
 
I drank it down and went for a walk down the street 
I did not want to appear to be too gluttonous so I gave it some minutes 
 
when I resurfaced in the crowded room and foraged thru the groups back to my man 
he smiled and said "I grabbed this one at the bottom so that its chilled and now it needs to be shotgunned". 
 
I laughed and retorted with double thumbs up 
Impressed that this cat accurately assessed my quench and provided a  
responsive and congenial atmosphere in one that can be rather unpleasant and clannish 
 
my man had it 
and I salute him for it 
the damn hippy dippy  
had it 
 
kindness 

It was my job to keep Uncle Billy from jumping into his mother’s grave

talking politics   my teeth are dry

sea grass so close to a whisper

a descending red-leaf sermon

before it’s too late to simply live and let live

he butchered the deer on the double yellow line

the creepy forensics of strange hairs in hotel rooms

he was a man who knew how to light a lady’s cigarette

amidst the sunny paroxysms of yellow jonquils, I’m asked to repeat myself

unable to dispel worry, I turn to simple prayer

in the middle of a mass extinction: a knock, knock joke

born yesterday   the pine mushroom

the director’s cut of this world

the tea drinker didn’t take sides

grateful to get the heel of the loaf

the One Step Beyond of facelifts & Botox

arranging my own Castalia again

Into each traveler’s travels, a little rain must fall

we have two sets of grandchildren…  one  set in Duluth, Minnesota, three hours north of where we live in Maplewood and one set in Riverside, Ca…  while the kids are little, we have tried to spend Halloween with one set one year and the other set the next year…  Halloween is a big deal to little kids in the USA…

so, this year was our year to go to Riverside, Ca for the holiday…  we flew to LAX on October 21, 2023 and took the Metrolink out to Riverside…  we had a wonderful visit with our daughter and our three amazing grandchildren…  carved pumpkins and watched soccer practices and games… and generally enjoyed the warm southern California sun…  on the day after Halloween, November 1, (all saints day on the Christian calendar), our daughter dropped us off on her way to work at the Rialto Metrolink station and we caught the train for Union Station…  then, the flyaway bus from Union Station to LAX…  the trip usually takes about two hours depending on traffic…  sort of weird that southern California does not have a more efficient mass transit system, but, they do love their cars…

anyway, it was a bright sunny day and we had a beautiful view from the train of Mount Baldy, the mountain that borders the Los Angeles basin to the north…  it is an interesting view from the junk strewn rail yards with their elaborate gang graffiti, across the suburban sprawl that begins to crawl up the edge of the mountain, then to the magnificent bulk of the mountain itself, looming in the distance, with its vast ridges edged against the incredible cerulean southern California sky…

we had a flight booked on ITA, successor airline to Alitalia, that left at 4:30 pm… it was a direct flight over the USA to hit the Canadian border over North Dakota then just south of Hudson Bay…  across the Atlantic over the southern tip of Greenland, then over England and Europe to FCO, Rome, Italy’s airport… we arrived at about noon and as we were going through customs, Mary’s passport had a problem and we got separated…  I had her phone in my bag…  I could not contact her and since I was through customs, there was no way I could go back to the secured area to look for her… I asked information people and officials that I could find and there was simply nothing to do but wait and hope she came out the exit that I was waiting at…  which she eventually did…  but I spent a tense hour waiting…  it turned out she had to go through a very long line to talk to a real live customs person and there never was any real problem with the passport…  but it was a crazy, helpless feeling…

there is a train station at the Rome airport, so we took the train to Rome Termini, the central train station in Rome…  we had decided to avoid the hustle of Rome and so I had found a small hotel in the city of Ladispoli, which is considered to be part of Rome but is actually out in the country about twenty minutes from the Rome Termini…  the Italian trains are very fast and dependable… so, we flew through the countryside of farms and fields with eventual views of the Mediterranean sea… and got off on the platform of Ladispoli…

Ladispoli is a city of some 44,000 people…  it is an older resort on the shore of the Mediterranean… I had found a lovely back to the fifties hotel with a balcony that looked out across the street over the black sand beach to the crashing surf…  it was very windy while we were there, so the waves were large and spectacular…  the temps in the day time got up to the upper 60s/lower 70s…  which we found comfortable to walk around with a light jacket…  we did have some light rain while we were there… the town had a busy shopping district with upscale clothing stores…  the Italians seem to be very fashion conscious and I assume that these stores did a good business catering to the stylish needs of the locals…  there were trattorias and restaurants on every corner and numerous pizza stalls…  hole in the wall places selling slices of freshly made Italian pizza…  we found the food in all of the venues to be delicious… so, we fell asleep to the whistling of the wind and the roar of the surf across the street from our hotel…  the next day, Friday, we caught the train back to Rome…  to do some sightseeing…  I had never actually seen a Michelangelo statue that is in a church in Rome…  it is a statue of Christ the Redeemer in the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva… so, we made our way from the Termini via subway to the Pantheon stop…  we walked around the outside of the Pantheon admiring this wonderful ancient building, one of the very few buildings from Roman Times standing more or less intact…  due to the all saints day holiday, this was a holiday weekend in Rome and so the streets were very crowded with tourists from all over the world, but mostly, it seemed from the USA… 

we found the church of the Minerva and it was cool and lovely inside with soaring, barrel vaulted naves and spectacular stained glass glowing in blue and other rainbows of colors, impossibly high in the gloom of the vault… there just to the left of the high altar was the Michelangelo statue… just standing there with a rope to keep the spectators a few feet away…  this is supposedly a work that Michelangelo was unhappy with and had others work on…  but it was easy to see the master’s hand in the beautifully carved torso and the intricate musculature of the legs…  it was overpowering to be in the presence of a work of such genius…  most places in the world would build a special museum to house this work from the hand of Michelangelo, but it Rome, it just stands there by the alter…  you can deposit a euro in a box which causes a light to shine down from the ceiling and illuminate the statue…  we spent an hour looking at this wonderful work and feeling blessed to be in the presence of such true genius…

when we left the church, it was raining…  so we walked to a bus stop to catch a bus back to the Termini…  I had my credit cards and id in a pouch under my clothes to keep safe from the ever-present Rome pickpockets… but I had 35 euros in my pocket to use for incidentals…  when the bus came, it was very crowded, but because of the rain, we boarded it anyway and were accosted by one of the pickpockets who got the 35 euros out of my pocket before we managed to get off the bus…  it was a stupid mistake to get on such a crowded bus, but, I was really glad that I had secured my cards and my id…  35 euros is about 35 dollars, so it was a small loss and kind of annoying, but c’est la vie… the bus and train fares were so low as to be almost free, so it was a very inexpensive day, even including the theft…

the next day, we had planned on an outing to a small town north of Rome, but when the ticket agent at the train station told us that it would take two and a half hours each way by train to get there, we decided to go to another small town just a few minutes away from Ladispoli by train…  this town Santa Marinella was very quiet…  we walked around the town and looked down at the boats in the marina…  we then decided to have a nice lunch at a nice restaurant…  we found a lovely place with amazing home made pasta where two large meals, including chianti, cost less than $40…  

the next day, Sunday, we spent walking around Ladispoli and ended up with a seafood dinner at one of the many seafood restaurants…  the spaghetti with clams was delicious…  then, on Monday, we hauled our suitcases six blocks to the train station and caught the train for Civitavecchia…  as we walked through the town, we noticed that what looked like a small carnival was set up in the park near our hotel…

in Civitavecchia, we boarded a cruise ship for a 16 day cruise to Tampa, Fl… the next morning, at about 3 am, I awoke violently ill with what seemed like a norovirus…  I was sick for one day and missed the first port which was Toulon, France… I then did not feel terrific, but was good enough to go to shore at the next port which was Palma de Majorca…  we had a nice walk around the city and ended up at a coffee shop near the cathedral…  it was lovely and warm…  and Mary much enjoyed her coffee…  we stopped in at a church we walked by and enjoyed the beautiful stained glass and then spent some time sitting quietly in the garden in front of the cathedral… we then stopped at two ports in Spain, Malaga and Cartegena, both of which we have visited before and both of which are lovely cities to walk around in…  we hired a horse and carriage for a ride around Cartegena and visited the central market in Malaga which had lots of olives, seafood and cheese…  picture the fish, large and small on thick beds of ice, vegetable stalls with fresh oranges, berries, tomatoes, etc… the aisles crowded with shoppers picking up the ingredients of dinner… lots of smiles and talk in the quick native Spanish of the venders and the customers…

the next port was Gibraltar… we had been scheduled to stop at Azores, but bad weather in the north Atlantic dictated a more southerly crossing, so we stopped in Gibraltar…  we hired a tour and rode a mini van up to the top of the rock with stops along the way to enjoy the spectacular views of Spain and of Africa, across the strait…  there are troops of monkeys, Barbary Macaques, who live in the woods up the side of the rock and seem to enjoy bugging the tourists, trying to steal their Starbucks coffee and snacks…  one jumped up and grabbed a lollipop out of the mouth of one of the tourists…  the tour guides were on very good terms with the monkeys, visiting them every day, and carried sliced apples for the monkeys…  across the strait, we could see the shadowy bulk of the Atlas mountains of Morocco…   looking the other way, you could see the harbor and beyond the city, the green hills of southern Spain…

well, we said goodbye to the monkeys and embarked on a nine day sea voyage to Tampa, Florida…  the sea was kind of rough for the whole voyage…  we have done this trip or similar trips across the Atlantic many times and always had calm seas, more or less…  when the boat rocks, I take a medication to prevent seasickness…  this stuff works like magic, but leaves me kind of stoned and drowsy…  but not seasick…  unfortunately, a couple days out, I became ill again, this time with respiratory symptoms and fever…  I was worried that it was Covid, even though, I have had six inoculations for Covid and have actually had Covid three times, most recently, in June…  the Covid tests proved negative and I was diagnosed with acute bronchitis…  the doctor gave me a strong antibiotic that had some very strong digestive side effects, so, while I felt better, I was still uncomfortable for a couple days…  aside from that the sea voyage was lovely…

every morning, I would walk my usual 40 minutes, round and round the top deck…  this walking/jogging track was kind of bouncing around with the motion of the ship and as we were usually heading into a head wind, very windy…  but the air was amazingly fresh and watching the sun come up over the deep blue of the ocean horizon and light the clouds on fire was spectacular…  it was warm enough that we could eat breakfast on the open deck in the back of the ship where the bulk of the ship blocked the wind and the morning sun became warmer and warmer as we approach the Bahamas…  I breakfasted on the lovely fresh rolls with butter and jam and a piece of English bacon, maybe varied a few times with the full English breakfast of eggs, baked beans, mushrooms and grilled tomato with bangers and English bacon…  breakfast has always been my favorite meal of the day…  and looking out at the vast blue circle of the ocean, we felt very privileged to have this experience of crossing the ocean…  out in the ocean, it is very rare to see any wildlife…  you will occasionally see a frigate bird soaring just above the waves and occasionally, flying fish jumping away from the bow wave of the ship…  but that is about it…  when you get closer to land, you begin seeing sea gulls and other birds and if you are very lucky, you may see a dolphin or two…  we did not see any dolphins or whales on this trip…

after all those days at sea, we were pretty excited to get off at the port of Nassau in the Bahamas which was our first stop in 9 days…  we wandered around the straw market in Nassau, I bought a hat that said Nassau on the front…  and we bought a few trinkets…  mostly, it was lovely to sit in the shade and look out over the port where no less that six cruise ships were tied up along with an assortment of cargo ships and pleasure boats… in the distance, we could see the pink spires and towers of the fancy Atlantis resort…   it was not as hot as it usually is in Nassau and so was a very pleasant sunny day…

then we got back on the ship for one more day at sea going around the Florida Keys to Tampa… it was fun to be close to land again and to see the lights of Key West in the distance…

we disembarked in Tampa the day before Thanksgiving and got an afternoon direct flight back to Minnesota…  we were tired and glad to be home…  our daughter in California sent us a news article she had seen to the effect that a real male lion had been released from his cage by animal rights activists…  apparently, this was at a circus in Ladispoli, which was the small carnival we had seen and walked past… so, not long after we left Ladispoli, a Lion was loose, wandering around the streets looking quite lost and forlorn…  he was later captured, the article said, and returned to his cage… which was a bittersweet ending to a very odd story…  I mean, the Lion was not harmed, but then he was returned to his life in a cage, which must have been awful for him…

it had been an interesting trip with some negative times, getting robbed, getting sick, being separated at customs in Rome, some wind and rain on land and then rough seas… but overall, it was a fascinating trip and the highs more than made up for the lows…  and it is good to remember that travel always involves some risk… even the fairly sheltered type of travel that we do can have its difficult and uncomfortable moments….  still from the monkeys of Gibraltar to the spectacular sunrises of the central Atlantic, I am glad we went…  now, we are home in Minnesota where the temperature had not been above freezing for a week and we have had some light snow… we have, I think a new appreciation of our beautiful and tranquil home and of the many privileges we are blessed to enjoy at home in Minnesota…

a fast train

I was standing on the

railroad platform in the Ladispoli-Cerveteri

train station,

when a red train came

roaring through at 150 miles per hour…

two feet from where I was standing…

the blast of noise and wind

almost knocked me over…

an Italian commuter sat

on a concrete bench, playing

with her phone and

did not even look up… 

a visit to Palma de Majorca

what I remember of the stop

in Palma de Majorca, was that

the walk into the town was

straight up hill…  alongside the

old mustard colored

cathedral, a forest of spires

and buttresses, build between 1229

and 1601…

we stopped at a coffee shop with

a bright, white and blue tiled floor

and a bathroom at the

bottom of a tight circular

stairway, in the basement… finding

bathrooms in cities we

visit has become more

important now that we

are in our mid 70s… and facing

our bodily limitations…

walking back down the hill, we stopped at

another church, Parròquia de Santa Eulàlia,

to admire the

stained glass, then sat for a while in the

shade of a park at the front

of the cathedral and watched the

fountain jets squirt in arcs

over oblong pools…  the old

trees were green with twisted black trunks

and

the hedges were trimmed square around the

pools…  from where

we sat, we could see the

port through the trees

and the cruise ship, like

a white and black mirage

looming over a concrete dock…

Dreamy Clouds of late afternoon

 After the chanting smell of your breath touches 

My day is almost doomed

The heart of sunspots if the night refuses

Dies like ashes, though

Nothing happens suddenly in this world of duality

The verse of birth remains hidden from the roots.

The world whirls in the urge to survive,

Although the sun is still elusive in the evening 

A gloomy poetic cloud is sitting behind me 

Dropping sweatsome through your catkin-neck 

Golden love from sun shakes hand 

Afternoon shines gloomy 

The gap is not so long but 

I know it is too late to reach 

So lie down on your chiffon-hair 

scattered on your graceful shoulder 

All that love gets wet 

In my dream in hidden kisses

I deep into the dim sun, rain and clouds 

The sharpest touch makes the body 

of the shadow playing on the glass

This did not happen suddenly. 

Desires were sitting awake for millions of nights. 

Five Untitled Monostichs

dried apricot alpha flight

—

in the old room in the new room

—

moldy brackish from milton bradley

—

vasculitis removes rain roman my-my

—

talia shire one gallon of dimetapp

—

bio/graf

J. D. Nelson’s poems have appeared in many publications, worldwide, since 2002. He is the author of ten print chapbooks and e-books of poetry, including *Cinderella City* (The Red Ceilings Press, 2012). Nelson’s first full-length collection is *in ghostly onehead* (Post-Asemic Press, 2022). Visit his website, MadVerse.com, for more information and links to his published work. His haiku blog is at JDNelson.net. Nelson lives in Boulder, Colorado, USA.

Odyssey of Hvar

You are a delicate flower Generous and good Noble
in soul like a true king
You are an odyssey of the Croatian seas
Cili hvar has known you for a long time

My heart goes out to you
when you walk
And when you invite me
to your place
When you look at me
with your eyes
And when you tell me a lip ric:

“L’Amour C’est Toi,
L’Amour C’est Moi,
My dearest love”

Chez mes amies

Chez mes amies

Aujourd’hui je partie,je partie 

Chez mes amies.

Qu nous jouons des instruments

Parce que ca fait nous trop de plaisir.

Qui est ce qui chant avec nous?

Oui est ce qui chant avec nous? 

C’est un Hippohippopotamus ! 

Vous tous sayer, qui’il est!

Karmelina Angelika Kelenc Karmelina was born in 1966. She is a painter and singer-songwriter. She writes and sings songs dedicated to God, homeland, love….