Thursday, August 30, 2012

BEYOND THE DARK ROOM, AN INTERNATIONAL COLLECTION OF TRANSFORMATIVE POEMS



AS IS THE CASE WITH MANY AN ACTUAL INFANT - WE HAVE A GRAND SURPRISE - 
BEYOND THE DARK ROOM, AN INTERNATIONAL COLLECTION OF TRANSFORMATIVE POEMS HAS BEEN BORN 8-30-12 !!!  I AM DELIGHTED TO HAVE SERVED AS EDITOR OF THIS WONDERFULLY WORTHY PROJECT.  ROYALTIES WILL BE DIRECTLY DONATED TO MSF (DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS) 

THE FOLLOWING 21 AUTHORS HAVE BETWEEN 2-5 POEMS INCLUDED:
Daniel Ari
Pamela Smyk Cleary
Barbara Ehrentreu

ina Roy-Faderman
Michael Grove
Rob Halpin
Patricia A. Hawkenson
Laura Hegfield
Jane Penland Hoover
S.E. Ingraham
Patricia Anne McGoldrick
Connie L. Peters,
Pearl Ketover Prilik,
Meena Rose
Jlynn Sheridan
Jane Shlensky
Jay Sizemore
Marian Veverka
Rosemary Nissen-Wade
Richard Walker


TAKE A MOMENT AND READ SOME OF THE WONDERFUL ENDORSEMENT RECEIVED FOR BEYOND THE DARK ROOM....  
“--- this very special anthology is an invitation to bear witness to both the positive and the negative dimensions of the journey through life’s challenges.  The poems are an inspiring testament to the interface between the vulnerabilities and the resilience of the human spirit, and to the potential for growth inherent even in the most adverse circumstances.”

From the Foreword by Dr. Nurit Nora Israeli – Psychologist/poet- specializing in living with and moving beyond loss 

~
Beyond the Dark Room is a powerful testimony to the resilience of the human spirit. If you have ever struggled with the dark of your own life, this book could be your gateway through healing to hope. The poetic offerings in this heart-touching tome make one thing crystal clear: we are here not just to survive, but to thrive; to live into the love that we are, no matter what we have endured in life. This book is raw and succulent, daring and delightful, courageous and beyond-the-rainbow-hopeful. It is nothing short of a balm for the weary soul.


Janice Lynne Lundy
Author, Your Truest Self: Embracing the Woman You Are Meant to Be 
www.awakenedliving.com

~
This extraordinary anthology, Beyond the Dark Room, speaks directly to life’s inevitable sorrows and the yearning we all have to heal emotionally, to experience life fully, and to know the deep peace of equanimity and unconditional love. —The first step on the journey out of darkness - is what the poets so eloquently help us do in the first five sections of the anthology -- In the last five sections of the anthology, the poets invite us to undertake a journey of transformation. This is an anthology to keep by your side and dip into over and over. I’m grateful to have it in my life.


Author, How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and their Caregivers. Website: www.howtobesick.com

Toni Bernhard
This is quite a collection! - Inspiring encounters with pain and suffering by poets who find an honest way to take a journey toward life. These offerings are guideposts on the very fragile human pathway to wholeness.
Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg, 



 PLEASE ENJOY THE LINK, SUPPORT MSF (DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS) BY PURCHASING A COPY AND JOIN IN THE  CELEBRATION!!!! :)))))

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

3 Appointment Poems - The Best Laid Plan - Just A Regular Appointment - The Important Date - A Light Haiku





  1. The Best Laid Plan
    Perhaps it was
    a morphine misunderstanding
    when he came home
    from hospital
    showered
    shaved
    dressed in a fresh
    short cotton robe
    and slipped like a
    letter into an envelope
    between
    Crisp white linens
    arranged with as
    much precision
    as a king of ancients
    piled upon
    heaps of creased
    white pillows
    sunshafts playing
    the silver threads
    in his black hair
    Perhaps it was
    a morphine
    misunderstanding
    that when he looked
    about the room from
    face to loving face
    he would simply
    royally nod,
    close his eyes
    and thus signaled
    exit
    On his terms
    his time
    rather than
    open his eyes
    time after time
    through eleven days
    and eleven nights
    to ask with
    Whispered wonder
    whirling into
    imperial impatience
    “Why – am – I – still – here?”
    Morphine misunderstanding
    Or grand finale
    His heart danced, dipped
    and leapt again
    For eleven days and
    Eleven nights
    She sung
    Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
    Magic of the Night, Bring Him Home,
    I Dreamed A Dream, Summertime
    In a continuous loop
    until her throat rang rasped raw
    Combed his hair with cologne
    wet his lips with balm
    walked to the edge of
    the abyss with him
    watched from behind
    his shoulders at him seeing
    the Universe spread
    infinitely before him
    poised to step off
    Only to be returned
    Again, and again and again
    Rested with the crescendo
    of Sibeilus, Tchaikowsky,
    crashing the walls of her
    mind as he raised graceful
    arms and conducted
    in silent connected concert
    until
    the sudden scent of apricots
    filled the room
    And he smiled
    the smile of kings
    and left on a sigh
    acknowledging
    Universal
    incompetence
    reconciled and forgiven
    Fin

    ************************************************************




    Just A Regular Appointment
    Routine
    they planned on lunch
    after
    Routine
    just a rule out
    protection
    Routine
    these things almost
    always benign
    Unless they’re not
    routine
    at
    all

    ***********************************************************


    The Important Date - A Light Haiku

    There rushing  he runs
    He’s late – He’s late – that date
    Wonderland whirring 


Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Vice and Verse





I object to your welcome
Of hope into my despair
As I poised at the precipice 
Prepare to fall  into the delicious 
Embrace of self neglect