Poetry

In that first moment Seeing all those stars, My journey began. Mexico, Canada, Paris, Todos Santos, Across the States Sleeping on trains, And all those “trips” Were just distractions From my daily trek: Thanking my ego, Letting him go, And embracing The Wonder Of it all! Kirk Gothier

she grins at me so proud I swing the wet hot pink plastic bag away from her snout my baby blue umbrella gives no cover we don’t notice we are drowning safety orange jacket with pockets full of treats my cell phone demands attention but I can’t find my brain the box I keep it […]

Speaking softer now in a still lingering light Measured in long peeks out the window, Until the life of darkness Resumes the ongoing day: Slipping, Stretching, Into something else. Some of us lost the light Before we were even able To sequester its sparkling splendor In some imaginary pause. I walked right past that bus! […]

Deep Blues settle into Yellows and Reds Lifting my horizons, While I sip coffee Wandering again Beneath it all… I once complained About the lack of Clear directions From whomever, Until a dear friend Returning from war Enlightened me: “She did the best, She could.” Kirk Gothier

To meet what I lack and to go on, in faith, as if all of the reasons might roll into one healing event. And one fine day my body will spring and all of the reasons might release me. All I lack might meet the reasons I spring in faith as if going on in […]

Because why have imitation bomb noise In a world where bombs and land mines destroy lives daily? Because basic rights for women have been cancelled And Queer rights are next. Because billionaires play with rockets While poor people sleep in cars And even the professional class can lose everything to a hospital bill. What if […]

A tribute to KMUD and local radio As BBC expounds on nukes, low-yield Our hay truck lurches as we leave the field. A disc can launch them from the NATO ring Encircling our competitor. It’s spring. Ill-omened, like the dread two-headed calf Are infants suckled by Globemaster jets. And Service suicides are up by half! […]

On May 14, cycling to Santa Cruz, I stopped at the park in Felton, tilted my face up to drink, at the edge of the grass. A car door shut, a tall, broad-shouldered man in a blue shirt, his skin polished bronze, black hair in a braid down his back, held a bulldog wearing a […]

There are no more words Parents can say to children, If they do nothing Again Kirk Gothier

An Owl as a cowl – offered – refused – What pose could be Struck with Claws such as those? a Cowl such as that – unesteemed at Home – Vestment of Feather, hollow of Bone. There’s no prize for devotion – no praise for what’s Feral, not a glad hand extended for one who […]

Overhead: the soaring sounds, Calling. Down here: The edgy electricity Jostles limbs, Loosening blackened blooms And thickened tassels Of tiny pears to the back porch Wind chime chatter. Damn these winds! To stir stale oceans, Stomping seasons, And lifting life anew In their leaving. Sam A. Flanagan

A hazy day at Humboldt Bay, moments of Zen Watching pelicans play Offering thanks to Last night’s dreams, where stories are told In impossible schemes Movement and freedom Combine in a dance, loosening images Unfurled, entranced. Lori Cole