Oct/Nov 2019 Poetry |
e c l e c t i c a
s p e c i a l f e a t u r e
In an ongoing series, the editors, former contributors, and readers of Eclectica have been invited to write a poem containing four pre-chosen words. The words for this issue are brew, indigo, paper, and cruise.
If you would like to participate in the next special poetry assignment, the new words are long, west, moon, and news.
(These are excerpts—click on the title to view the whole poem)
Elephants
people like us are brewing
our virus in a Petri dish
Bob Haynes
This City
Breathes wet trash and dog waste, cut grass and tar
Cruises past each day into the new,
Divines that everything will be left behind
Aileen Bassis
First Date
When I was nineteen, I went on my first date with another woman.
Patricia Haney
The Titanic phase
Stains went unnoticed while
we ran around, brewed relationships
in our bloated heads.
Michelle D'costa
Floating World
We linger here at sunset,
wait for the ferry to reach the pier, its legs creaky
like ours
Erika Michael
Age Is Just a Number
Boldness invites me
to dance the tango in pink slippers
Barbara De Franceschi
home
my brother, the ever-changing companion, is a friend to many, but seldom to himself
Graciela Barada
A Letter to Somebody Hurtful That Will Never Get It
You should know I sleep well—
I have soul-mellowing indigo dreams.
David Mathews
Early Mourning
if you listen carefully,
the tiny laughter of my youth can still be heard
Sanjyokta Deshmukh
Mood
I grinned
as you shredded
the expulsion paper
Steve Deutsch
Erosion
Moments slip from the fist of time. He's just a boy.
Mandira Pattnaik
Like All Things Indigo
when I was
brown sugar sweet
when I was paper thin
Essah Cozett
Pantoum for my Father
This line I've drawn in the sand,
is no pleasure cruise for me or you.
Janet Rodriguez
Elephantine
the sleeping elephant
heaves her shoulders
with this epoch's single breath
Stephanie L. Harper
On the Stage
you are equal to anything, repeating
it out loud
Jennifer Finstrom