Subterranean Blue Poetry: Current Issue

"And we’ve got to get ourselves
Back to the garden . . ."
- from Woodstock by Joni Mitchell/Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

"Being in-line with the Holy Spirit is like a constant drink of water."
- Rebecca Anne Banks (poet, singer, songwriter, musician, writer, artist, philosopher, counselor, activist)

"Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord."
- Romans 12:19

The nature of the love of God/the Spirit and the Divine Right, the sacred. The nature of the earth, birth, regeneration and death is the cycle of the seasons within The Holy Spirit. The universe is constantly working its way back to a pristine state, coming back to God through karmic balancing. This applies on all levels, the way a society is governed, the social ecology, the body politic that is mirrored in the political concourse and This Writer theorizes is mirrored in the nature ecology. This spiritual paradigm is the nature of the sacred and plays into how well-developed societies go into decline and morph into new entities. The Economy/Government/Environmental Health/Personal Health and peace on earth is affected by The Holy Spirit paradigm for redemption/healing, karmic purity and wholeness and regeneration in the Spirit that operates in the background of life on earth. The Wiccan Spiritual principal of thrice x thrice, speech and actions that hurt or help, create karmic balancing and become magnified 9 x’s returning to the initiator, (that is why theoretically there are only helping witches) like a boomerang there is a karmic reckoning. In the life of Planet Earth there may also be other unseen interstellar forces operating that affect the weather.

With the current plague the environmental distaff is compounded by huge population growth since the late 1800s with the advent of manufacturing and the weight of so many carbon footprints has manifested pollution and unclean. With the history of the decline and fall of advanced civilizations, on a surface level affected by factors of overpopulation and living in unclean conditions leading to epidemic diseases spread by population movements and travel; warfare; climate change; famine; perhaps compounded by an unclean body politic, against the Spirit, a society of people not living the Holy Spirit Way, the Heads, the governance, the masses not living consecrated in the Spirit and not according to karmic Spiritual principal. This karmic dissonance against the Holy Spirit, sin is suffering, translates as violence and may also be reflected in environmental distaff, pollution, out of control weather systems, plagues. Spiritual dis-ease, can be mirrored in physical disease; sexual corruption of the body, abrogation of bed rites (people not marrying on SignsfromGod), trespass against others may become magnified and returns as a source of actual disease with a mirror of synchronicity within the natural environment, the weather, ecological systems and in the lives of the people. This idea of synchronicity is in the idea of portent in the weather in writings of William Shakespeare (playwright) and the theory of synchronicity in the writings of Carl Jung (psychologist), and This Writer has experienced as an Oracle.

The Maya, the Ancient Aztecs. This society practiced human sacrifice, fomenting wars with neighbouring communities, the men taken as prisoners. The prisoners were then scrificed in riutalized ceremonies by the king. This Writer’s understanding through research and psychic interpretations, Tchlechan desired a local beauty and had her sacrificed which led to him being poisoned at the local "smoky mirror society" (the local bar). With the despotic head disposed, this society ceased to exist in its violent state murdering innocents.

The Italian Congrieve for 900 years. Ancient Rome. In this society bed rites may have been determined through Lupracalia, marriages through a lottery (not through SignsfromGod) marriage ceremonies were outlawed (St. Valentine (namesake of St. Valentine’s Day) would secretly marry people who were Starcrossed, he was caught and put to death) manifesting a sexually defiled population, men as soldiers fueling wars with neighbouring communities, the sacrifice of Jesu and innocents, feeding Christians to the lions, violent Colosseum "games." Italy was affected with the Plague, the Antonine Plague: A.D. 165 – 180 (small pox). Plague of Cyprian: A.D. 250 – 271, probably spread by troop movements as well as violence against innocents.

Ancient Greece. The Fall of Troy (1194 – 1184 B.C.) Warring kingdoms. The killing of the innocents of Troy, all the men were happily married to their Starcrossed Lovers, so there would be no revenge the male children were thrown off the cliffs and died impaled on the rocks below, none of them were good calls. Hélène was basically an innocent in an unhappy marriage, remarried to her Starcrossed Lover Paris. Menaleaus’ first concurrent wife was his Starcrossed Lover. Later, The Peloponnesian War (431 – 404 B.C.) – between the Greek cities of Athens (the city of light and the arts) and Sparta (the city of war). Plague of Athens: 430 B.C. (typhus).

Ancient Egypt. Brother/sister marriages amongst the Egyptian Royal Family and the enslavement of the Jewish people (who were probably sexually defiled) set free through The Holy Spirit and SignsfromGod operating through Moses. In the Bible mentions plagues delivered to Egypt. (Sexual licentiousness and not keeping The Holy Spirit Way is also mentioned in The Bible stories of Sodom and Gomorrah and Noah’s Ark).

The Renaissance/Reformation (1600's England). In London, England and in Europe the population had severely increased which led to the exploration and colonizing of North America/South America. In London, living conditions were overcrowded/unclean and disease struck as The Plague, the Great Fire of London burnt down a lot of the old architecture and as a silver lining the rats and disease dissipated. Through some of the major Artists of the time, William Shakespeare (Playwright), John Dowland (Composer, Lutenist), This Writer theorizes the inside of the Bible in The Holy Spirit Way was rediscovered, and some major Artists, perhaps Heads, bed rites were severely out of place and they were living largely in celibacy or in serial sexual relationships. The tenets of the Holy Spirit may have become lost again with the morphing to the Industrialized Society and the rise of the city state.

A combination of factors including capricious Heads not aligned with the Holy Spirit; the death of innocents, human rights abuses; conflicted bed rites (sexual defilement and/or celibacy) where people are not married to their Starcrossed or more suited Lover on a SignfromGod, cleaving only to their spouse for longtime. A defilement of the pristine soul, the sin returning thrice x thrice, manifesting karmic dissonance in violence, that when widespread spirals into Collective Calamity bringing hell fire (e.g. Sodom and Gamorrah) and eventually morphing into karmic redemption, the Godhead reasserts itself returning the Community to a state of pristine nature and health in line with the Holy Spirit when the ways of the Holy Spirit are kept by everyone.

The nature of The Holy Spirit paradigm in the ecology and in the social habitat – a karmic balancing for purity and karmic redemption, in love lives and in the ecology. Like a point of karmic impurity (a polluted environment) there is a natural reckoning, a regeneration paradigm of the sacred, for the pristine forest. A state of moral decay, a dis-ease of the soul, being out of sync with the Holy Spirit for a majority of the population manifests karmic dissonance, a violence that creates change for the re-establishment of the principles of the Holy Spirit and reinstates the pristine state, the well-tended garden. A re-establishment of the natural order of the Holy Spirit.

The royaume, the natural appointed leaders of the family/the political heads/advisors of the country, appointed by physical attribute of an open room head by the Holy Spirit. They should not be sexually defiled. They should be karmically pure. Should be married to their Star-crossed Lover or more suited Lover on a positive SignfromGod and cleave only unto their spouse. They should be effectively educated and enculturated learning The Holy Spirit Way. They should keep consecrated in the Spirit. The Heads being in-line with the Holy Spirit create peace, justice and prosperity, reflect well-being in the incoming harvest and positive weather conditions. When they are righteous and of an age, they experience SignsfromGod at the end of their psychic line, as the Holy Spirit protects them as they help protect the community. The Heads are like Icons of the Holy Spirit. The natural order of The Holy Spirit needs to be taught to each new generation in a way which they can understand to avoid tragedy and disaster. When the population is effectively mentored and discerned, following their calling for work, their calling for love and does not hurt innocents, keeping the tenets of The Holy Spirit Way, life becomes a dance with the Lord without needless suffering, manifesting a prosperous, peaceful community and one without major Collective Calamity problems.

- The Editor at Subterranean Blue Poetry

WHAT THE BLUEBIRD WANTS

by Ana Reisens

I don’t ask for upturned hands
or the taming of volcanic shores.

I’ve seen your concrete freedom,
the geometry of wooden doors –

I know what awaits those who crave
more than meadows can afford.

I can’t fly on the currents of desire
or weave baskets from embers.

I don’t need to reach for galaxies
beyond the comets of feathers.

I am a little thing,
asking for little:

let me trace the lines of cerulean sky
beyond your great gray reaching.

I’ll remind you what it’s like
to be a little thing,

to witness the wild earth
opening.

A NOTE ON LONGING

by Ana Reisens

I remember
the children
knee-deep
in the stream
behind the barn
fishing for minnows.

Listen:

that distant splash
of ripples
and hands,
chasing
something
so simple

                    it could slip away.

THE WILLOW KNOWS ROOTS

by Ana Reisens

Forgive my thin bark,
the petals of my fingers.

Forgive my inability
to blossom in the wind
as you would forgive
the white lips
of an orchid.

I, too, yearn
for roots.

The willow knows
it must listen
to the river’s
melody to grow.

We trees,
we know what we need
to sing.

ONAN

by Dan MacIsaac

“And Onan knew that the seed
would not be his.”
- Genesis 38

A bull resists the plough.
That yoke I refused.
Er’s field stayed fallow.

His widow, fragrant
as a garden after rain,
I touched not.

Her hair, dark
as the well is deep,
I touched not.

Her skin, glowing
like an oasis,
I touched not.

My seed I spilled
on barren ground.

A SHADOW CRAFTER

by Kenneth Johnson

blocking in scrubbing out
      defining eliminating
bring the sun in
            for a closer look
dots of light
      on the surface
sparkling embers
            floating on breaths
bits stuck in the tooth
      some in deep canyons
others barely visible
            some crevices deepened
some skimmed over
      shadows are formed
opaque objects block
      source light
            hard light
                  soft light
            white light
      yellow light
nonblack shadows
      transparent layers
absorbed colors
            reflected colors
highlighting differentiating
                  concealing revealing
organizing unifying
            weaving in and out
of visible degrees
            on an invisible scale

APRIL TREES

by Jeevan Bhagwat

Silhouetted against a slice of sky
pale effigies in emperor's clothes
slowly awaken to Spring's caress,
their branches beseeching
the hallowed heavens
for benedictions of birdsong
and rain.

REPRESENTATIVE

Original: Assamese: Guna Moran
Translation: Bibekananda Choudhury

I
am not I

am just a representative of time

Whatever I have done
Is not my credit
Just the return of discipline

Whatever I have not done
Have not been kept aside thinking not to do
Suffered the result of not sparing time in time

Two arms two legs
Are partners of time pass
Can I become a time-teller to pick up

I cannot claim myself to be I
I am just a representative of time

I was driving a silver Toyota 4runner with big wheels . . .you were walking in . . . you passed me and we both smiled at each other as you walked by . . .you were in a skirt with some kind of warm leggings . . . You looked really classy . . . very beautiful! . . . I hope you see this! . . .

Beautiful woman walking to her car (Aurora)

We passed each other in the parking lot. You were coming out of the dollar store and on your way to your car. We shared a smile, but you seemed to be in a hurry. You look fantastic in those leggings! What color were they? I had on jeans and a purple shirt.

(N.B.: "Attention Kmart shoppers!" – says the cat

"Leggings on sale in aisle 5" – says the other cat

"Attention Kmart shoppers! There is a stalker in the parking lot" – a note from the Editor

"Is he a good-looking poet type stalker?" – says Madame X

"With a car?" – says the cat

"There are no victims only volunteers" – says mum)

Luminescence, the beauty of New Age poetry lit from within, a New Romantic Beat in Imagist form, sunlight from a warm island place that brightens Canadian winters by Jeevan Bhagwat and IN Publications. Bhagwat (Poet, media consultant) is internationally published as well as celebrated in the Canadian landscape. He has won the Monica Ladell Prize for Poetry (2003, 2005) and the Scarborough Urban Hero Award for Arts and Culture (2015). He has co-founded The Scarborough Poetry Club and is a member of The League of Canadian Poets. Bhagwat has written Night Shadows (1998) and The Weight of Dreams (2012) amongst other books.

A beautiful, original event in the romantic that weaves nature images in layers of the Poet’s treatise, a celebration of place, events, childhood memories, family, a truthtelling, lovers, a lover’s call. In the rhythm of days, the summer in winter, the short staccato lines in heat become Haikuesque, a flowering. Although the “beat” lines are short, they do not manifest dissonance, magically a storyline unfolds in beautiful layers of sonnance. Although, perhaps inside some hidden tragedy, a story of rain is woven into the incredible light of love and celebration of God’s creation. Writing with a Poet’s soul, in the eyes of the god Artemis, as if an epic picture of the Poet as Dr. Zhivago (Boris Pasternak), a storyline of love and intrigue:

From “Held”:

“You held me in your arms
when the night wept jewelled stars,
and the wind wailed like
a banshee
at the threshold of your door.

In the golden glow of morning
I marvelled at your hands,
their small and tender palms
capable of such strength,
such fortitude of love
to hold another’s heart,
when it was bruised and falling.”

This poetry, so easy to fall into, a lovesong plays into shadowed places, steeped in the rain, although sometimes difficult or painful events are portrayed, the oeuvre of beauty dances, a nuance, breath to breath into sunlight. The nature images, full with light and sorrow, create a cadence, the story of love, as if the place of Bhagwat’s birth, Trinidad, the island place of warm is transplanted into the cold Canadian winter landscape creating magic.

Truly a noteworthy dance in poetic climes, Luminesence by Jeevan Bhagwat.

Available @ Amazon.ca.

Subterranean Blue Poetry: What are the titles of the books you have published?

Mr. Bhagwat: My poetry books are Night Shadows (Plowman, 1998), The Weight of Dreams (IN Publications, 2012), and Luminescence(IN Publications, 2020).

Subterranean Blue Poetry: Where have you studied?

Mr. Bhagwat: I am a graduate of Ryerson University where I earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in 1993, and of Athabasca University where I earned a Master of Arts degree in Adult Education.

Subterranean Blue Poetry: Who are your influences? What was the most interesting work of poetry you ever read?

Mr. Bhagwat: My greatest influence has always been John Keats. His poetic aesthetic and sensibilities resonated with me from an early age when I was first introduced to the British poets. I admire his devotion to the art of poetry and his quest for understanding Beauty in all its myriad manifestations. Another poet whose work I greatly admire is W.B. Yeats. I love his mysticism and cadenced use of the English language. His poetry can be simultaneously simple and sublime and has the power to move the reader in a profound way. Finally, I admire the work of Canadian poet Patrick Lane. There is a deep honesty in his work that enables the reader to extract truths from it and situate them in the context of their own lived experiences. This allows us to find commonalities in each other and better understand the human condition.

The most interesting work of poetry I ever read was Shakespeare's Sonnets. The psychological power of the poems is mesmerizing! They not only encapsulate our shared human experiences, but help to elevate our consciousness to a level whereby we can aspire to better comprehend Love. I still read them to this day, And I still find something new to learn from them.

Subterranean Blue Poetry: What influenced you to become a Poet? What were your experiences with mentoring around your arts calling?

Mr. Bhagwat: When I was in Grade 4, my teacher wrote the opening stanza of Wordsworth's poem "I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud" on the blackboard and after reading it - I was hooked! It was my eureka moment and I wanted to write like that and feel like that. It was this passion for poetry that later led me to co-found the Scarborough Poetry Club with Anna Nieminen. I wanted to help promote the art of poetry in my community and give writers the opportunity to get their voices heard and interact with and learn from each other. To this end, we have held mentoring classes for writers and members of the public and have been successful in obtaining several grants to continue promoting poetry in our community.

Subterranean Blue Poetry: What has your writing journey been like? How did you become a published poet?

Mr. Bhagwat: My writing journey has been one of discovery and at times, adjustment. Before I became a published poet, I had to learn about what kinds of poetry magazines were publishing and readers were reading. This was new for me because I thought poetry was poetry. But I was wrong. I learned that an effective poet is one that writes about his/her own time and what matters to people in that time. I learned that if one wanted to write good poetry, one had to be courageous and stay true to their own voice, regardless of the consequences. This knowledge influenced my poetry and I started to get recognized and published in literary magazines across Canada and then the United States. Eventually, my poetry started to be published internationally and I thought about book publication which became a reality soon thereafter.

Subterranean Blue Poetry: What was the best thing that happened because you picked up the pen?

Mr. Bhagwat: The best thing that happened was that I instantly realized my true calling. How many people can get to say that at age nine?

Subterranean Blue Poetry: What is the current writing project you are working on?

Mr. Bhagwat: I wrote a novel and I am desperately trying to find the time to type it up. I hope I can do so before summer and submit it to a publisher. Having said that, poetry is my first love and I am always scribbling lines when I can find the time to do so. I just might finish writing another poetry book before my novel gets out there . . .

the wind rises dark darkening sky quickly their dirty work done the armada sails the winds the rain comes the blue torrents o’ rage the storm . . . the ships are dashed to the shore she the jewel of bone walks the tide finds a sanctuary house Menelaus and a handful of men find her take her down to the water, swinging their swords, cutting the men, they commandeer a ship, the dark night to the dark land he rapes her by night . . . to Enfer . . . back on land she threatens him will not tolerate his advances his Starcrossed wife accosts her "Look at me" "Look at me" "I have done nothing but age" her daughter Hermione despises her will not talk to her . . . the women of Troy the lament in Chorus the tears fall become concubines are taken in at the religion house find sanctuary . . . the storm arranges a flotilla of 3 ships down into the islands a new moon a new day she washes her face with her hands . . . they run out of water stop in at a pavilion house . . . that mistress a cold reception her husband killed in the war serves her glass . . . she is thirsty drinks quickly the poison tastes badly she stops drinking it is too late she calls to that mistress, "what was that drink?" collapses to the floor the maid watches cries runs from the room the captain of the guards enters the room does not know what to do she painfully dies . . . her body without ritual burned in the garden the gardener strips the body grudgingly raises an eyebrow in sorrow the Fates sing "such the beautiful Hélène" "such the beautiful one" . . . the rain falls darkly . . .

dark darkening clouds “a ship” “a ship is in the harbour” the Summer Le Roi draws his sword dark darkening heavens goes down to the shore the blood flows o’er his eyes he swings swings at the intruder raises his sword smites his father he does not recognize the son from a mistress in his travels hap’s blood flows his old lover holds him the darkness crosses the sky the summer kingdom the flight of the golded blue-green magical the darkness crosses the sun . . .

(To be continued . . .)

suspended in water walk swim walk the water level increases how easy it is to drown sweet warm cocomo lace blue and blues angels in the sky somewhere in the clouds the large empty room with dozens of coffins an empty Colosseum the lights turned down shadows . . . bitten by the darkness . . . bitten by the sunlight found and lost lost and found flowers grow a garden fall falling yellows and blues riot Summer deep green and green . . . the revenge of the angels of the forest . . .

Rebecca Anne Banks lives in the New Age Renaissance Republique of Poetry. She has been writing and producing artistic content for 38 years and is the author of over 30 books of poetry, guides to the Holy Spirit, a primer on marriage discernment, a family cookbook, a book of children's stories, a book of World Peace Newsletters, all available at Amazon Stations. She has produced 3 CD's of Folk/Rock music and has 17 CD's of music awaiting production. She won an IARA Award for Top 55 Internet Airplays for Angel Song (2010). She is an Associate Member of the League of Canadian Poets. She is also the Poetry Editor at Subterranean Blue Poetry (www.subterraneanbluepoetry.com), CEO/Artist at Tea at Tympani Lane Records (www.tympanilanerecords.com), the Book Reviewer at The Book Reviewer (www.thebookreviewer.ca)and the Quilt Artist at Kintsugi Art Quilts (www.kintsugiartquilts.com.

Jeevan Bhagwat (Poet, writer, media consultant) lives and works in Toronto. He is published internationally and won awards, including the Monica Ladell Prize for Poetry (2003, 2005) and the Scarborough Urban Hero Award for Arts and Culture (2015). He is a member of The Canadian League of Poets and co-founded The Scarborough Poetry Club. He has written books of poetry, Night Shadows (1998), The Weight of Dreams (2012), Luminescence (2020) and is working on a novel.

Bibekananda Choudhury, (Translator of Guna Moran) an electrical engineer by profession working with the State Government of Assam has completed his Masters from BITS-Pilani. He has also earned a diploma in French language from Gauhati University. He has published works (both original and translated) in Assamese, Bengali & English in popular periodicals and newspapers. His translated poems have been published in Indian Literature, the bi-monthly journal of sahitya akademy. Suryakatha, the Bengali adaptation done by him is being taught in the undergraduate courses of Bangalore University and post graduate courses of Gauhati University. A collection of 101 folk tales from the foothills of Patkai translated by him has also been taken up by publication for Gauhati University. He is presently the editor-in-chief of Dimorian Review, a multidisciplinary web journal.

Kenneth Johnson. In the Poet's words, “I am Kenneth Johnson, a visual artist, writer, and educator born in New Orleans now living and creating in southern California. I have published infrequently during the past decade but have recently focused on writing and publishing poetry. My poetry can be found in Carousel, Written Tales, and Bein Bua Journal.

Dan MacIsaac. For 10 years, Dan MacIsaac served as a director on UVIC’s Environmental Law Centre board. Brick Books published his collection of poetry, Cries from the Ark. His work has been short-listed for the Walrus Poetry Prize and the CBC Short Story Prize. In 2020, his poems appeared in filling station, Canadian Literature and Train, and are forthcoming in Presence and This Magazine. His website is www.danmacisaac.com.

Guna Moran is an Assamese poet and critic. His poems and literary pieces are published in national and international magazines, journals, webzines, newspapers and anthologies such as - Tuck magazine, Merak, Spillword, Setu, Story Mirror, Glomag, Poem Hunter, The Sentinel, The Hills Times, Litinfinte, Best Poetry, Academy of the Heart and Mind, The Creation Times, Infinite Sky, International Anthology of Poems on Autism, International Anthology on Water (Waco Fest Anthology 2019), International anthology on TIME, THE VASE: 12th Guntur International Poetry Fest Anthology 2019, POETICA: The Inner Circle Writer’s Group Poetry Anthology 2019, Nocturne (poetry of the Night, An Anthology), Phantasmagoria Magazine. Apart from this, his poems have been translated into Italian, French and Bangla.

Edgar Allan Poe (writer, poet, critic, editor) born in Boston, his father deserted the family and his mother (an actress) died a year later of tuberculosis. He was taken in by a wealthy merchant, John Allan and his family in Richmond, Virginia. He studied literature at the University of Virginia, only attending for one year and joined the United States Military Academy because of poor finances. He married his cousin Virginia, she passed away from tuberculosis 11 years later. He had a full-time writing career and worked as a literary critic at the Southern Literary Messenger (Richmond, Virginia) amongst other positions. He is a major writer in the Romantic movement, writing horror and mystery and is considered the percursor to the modern detective novel and science fiction. He is best known for "The Raven", "The Black Cat", "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Fall of the House of Usher", and "The Murders of the Rue Morgue" amongst others.

Ana Reisens is an emerging poet and writer with a background in translation. She was recently awarded the Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Award and you can find her poetry forthcoming in Inkwell Journal. She enjoys spending time in nature and is always in search of a good meal.

Yumi Sakugawa (Comic Book Artist) lives and works in Los Angeles. She is a Fine Arts graduate from the University of California. Sakugawa is the author of 2 books I Think I am In Friend-Love With You and Your Illustrated Guide To Becoming One With the Universe and her comics have appeared in numerous publications. She was nominated for an Ignatz Award. www.yumisakugawa.com.