hypnotic voice
Healing hands
we fell together
a perfect weather
golden sparks
And songs of larks
silver fountains
dot sunny parks
I'll stay in Spring
I'll stay in Spring
Haiku
by Gregg Dotoli
Red Rose Moon
Painted in burst
Diana
FEATURED POET: FRANK O'HARA
WHY I AM NOT A PAINTER
by
Frank O'Hara
I am not a painter, I am a poet.
Why? I think I would rather be
a painter, but I am not. Well,
for instance, Mike Goldberg
is starting a painting. I drop in.
"Sit down and have a drink" he
Says. I drink; we drink. I look
up. "You have SARDINES in it."
"Yes, it needed something there."
"Oh." I go and the days go by
and I drop in again. The painting is
finished. "Where's SARDINES?"
All that's left is just
letters, "It was too much," Mike says.
But me? One day I am thinking of
a color: orange. I write a line
about orange. Pretty soon it is a
whole page of words, not lines.
Then another page. There should be
so much more, not of orange, of
words, of how terrible orange is
and life. Days go by. It is even in
prose, I am a real poet. My poem
is finished and I haven't mentioned
orange yet. It's twelve poems, I call
it ORANGES. And one day in a gallery
I see Mike's painting, called SARDINES.
MISSED CONNECTIONS
Craigslist Montreal - Missed Connections - September 10th, 2017 - Anonymous
Woman sitting on front steps near De l'Église, Aug 14th
An urban neighbourhood, early evening, August, the street. The air is still with the coming of autumn. A few bikes
roll past. Large oak trees hang over the street in pairs, framing the buildings at either end. A windowpane slides
open on wooden tracks and a little more paint chips off. At the same time, the first fallen leaves crumple under the
heels of two passing businessmen talking their official talk, stiff sleeves obeying their every gesture. Behind them,
seated a few steps up, a woman in a forest green sweater leans against the cast-iron railing of a brownstone. With
forearms outstretched and resting on her tucked up knees, we see a cup cradled between her palms. In it, a star-shaped
cross-section of an orange oriental fruit turns slowly clockwise, leaving amber traces in the hot water. We hear a
child's wail carried over the thick august air from a distant schoolyard. She looks down the street, towards the end
of it, where we see an abandoned 1930s private school, boarded up windows hanging crooked on the cool and imposing
stone façade. From the shadows cast by the towering oaks framing the end of the street, a long silhouette emerges,
stretching down the sidewalk in her direction. The figure stops, resting in obscurity. The woman quickly stands up,
appearing startled. Once again we see the slowly turning celestial fruit, now in red water. The star stops turning.
What was seen.
BOOK REVIEWS
RESIST: INCANTATIONS FOR PEACE, LOVE AND PROTECTION
Byline: Subterranean Blue Poetry
Title of Book: Resist
Author: Kimberlynne Darby Newton
Publisher: Subterranean Blue Poetry
Date of Publication: 2020
Pages: 35
"The world so fine
And Eden not so far away . . .
- from As Darkness Reigns by Oracle
"Black is Beautiful", in response to the ever-present violence in the United States against our brothers and sisters,
RESIST is a brilliant write from Kimberlynne Darby Newton and Subterranean Blue Poetry. Kimberlynne Darby Newton, a
Poet and retired history professor from Alabama is famous for being a consummate Poet, writing the poem, "Song of the
South." She is one of the highlights of post-modern American Poetry.
RESIST, a Chapbook of the cause for love and freedom, is at once empowering, an inspiration and a truthtelling. As if
the Black Poet goddess preaching good gospel, this poetry raises the Spirit to heaven, in positive affirmations. A
heart weave, a love song, a Neo-classical war chant for love. Calling on Artemis, the goddess of love and Erzulie,
she of water, she of life in incantations for peace, love and protection. Newton calls her people "Children of the Sun"
and the poetry spills forth like fresh, clean water for Black suffrage and freedom. This writer can remember being at
a friend's house when a teenager and listening to Malcolm X recordings on vinyl. This poetry has the essence of that
freedom call.
From "Where I Lived":
"Let pride run you,
sweet made baby,
shout and slander
them hush-a-byes.
Got people depending on you,
and people that will never.
Sing your freedom, girl!
I did like they told me to.
Loving, laughing, liking the me,
they believed in.
Where I lived."
A Beat poetry progression in the New Age Renaissance Republique. Perfect bound Chapbook candy, a celebration of life
and love in the face of violence, RESIST by Kimberlynne Darby Newton. A Subterranean Blue Poetry Imprint.
"Winter garden,
The moon thinned to a thread,
Insects singing."
- Matsuo Basho
Poetry is like seeing another's soul, a little foreign, a little familiar, and ultimately food. This is the poetry
of a beautiful soul. In the spirit of the New Age Renaissance Republique, an incredible Chapbook of Haiku and
Haiku-like poetry, of the Neo-classical, elegant with a sensibility of the spare, the idea of light and breath,
Osmosis by Debarashi Mitra and Hawakal Publishers.
As if painting places out of time, places of memory, places of beauty, this poetry lives in the winter of a love
affair. A trail of light through a tall window into a bare room, the still. The quiet of the poetry, in nature imagery
is startling. A mastery of considered verse.
"Dawn
A nameless bird
circles overhead
and then disappears
becomes a poem."
A conversation with a lost or missing lover, the poetry is a dance with memory and a shadow in the corner of
the room. A brilliant write in Neo-Classical Haiku, Osmosis by Debarashi Mitra.
"Somebody bring me some water . . ."
- from Bring Me Some Water by Melissa Ethridge
A brilliant New Age Renaissance Republique of Poetry write, a progression in Confessional poetry, a series of movie
reel picture images with a touch of surrealism that blows this poetry into the stratosphere, Papi Doesn't Love Me No
More by Anna Suarez. The Poet and storyteller is a Cuban American who performs poetry readings in Portland. She has
studied and earned degrees in Philosophy and French at Portland State University. She is published in Exotic Magazine,
Unchaste Volume 2 and Comparative Woman amongst others.
This write is a masterpiece in poetic craft spinning images through the gritty everyday into the elegiac of Angels
with a touch of the surreal. A truthtelling of a beautiful young Poet,
the sex trade and the emotional pain of the dispossessed. The writing a purge and a celebration in the face of lover
disparu. A naked offering of skin, bone and hair against the nightsky.
"A plea: I am not made for this world, I was stolen and trapped."
A quiet violence, images of flowers and lace, tea, the beautiful juxtaposed with loss, the bright full imagery triumphs
and paints a picture. The inside of an oppressive society that causes severe dis-ease in personal lives juxtaposed with a celebration of things that are beautiful.
"it does not suffice
to see
the reflection of
clashing bodies in
the mirror,
all I want is
to feel your
entrance,
essence
of rain,
apricot, and saffron tea
down
my throat."
The girl as Poet, as a survivor, as a Muse of eternal Summer. In the heat of Summer night, a fantastical write,
Papi Doesn't Love Me No More by Anna Suarez.
"But all in vain; good queen, it will not be:
She hath assay'd as much as may be prov'd;
Her pleading hath deserv'd a greater fee;
She's Love, she loves, and yet she is not lov'd."
- from Venus and Adonis
by William Shakespeare
"To father dynasties. The air is rich.
Here is a queenship no mother can contest -
A fruit that's death to taste:
dark flesh, dark pairings."
- from The Beekeeper's Daughter
by Sylvia Plath
FOREWORD
Always fascinated by the history of The Battle of Troy and the idea of love affair, home with the conflict of
"ownership" and bed rites, this poetry write became an obsession with exorcising demons. The idea of peace, the idea
of freedom, and justice and the ability to follow your calling for love in a real democracy without violence. This poem
is a timepiece. Parts of this poem were written 20 years ago, some nearly 40 years ago, some of the writing incomplete,
without a home. Like magic and with a mysterious compulsion, triggered by a poem written in Prison Music for
Chameleons, which became the bones of the first poem in this write. The idea of the symbolism of bees in the
royaume cultural oeuvre inspired a reread of the "Bee" poems by Sylvia Plath, The Beekeeper's Daughters, borrowing from
the Plath poem of the similar name, began to take shape. The poem is based in research of the Hellenistic Era and
events psychically intuited from dreams, SignsfromGod and the whispers of angels. The Battle of Troy is the worst
remembered tragedy of ancient times, the Greek Spartan kingship run like an army base camp by Menaleaus with values
of physical health, sports and cunning, the peaceful Greek kingdom of Ithaca run by Ulysses and the advanced
civilization of Troy where due to superior midwifery knowledge there were few child deaths and everyone was happily
married to their Starcrossed Lover. The only exception being one serving woman at court who attempts to poison
Hélène's drinking glass. In Greece, Ulysses married Hélène's cousin Penelope before Hélène comes of age, Hélène chose
to marry Menaleaus because of his striking looks with wild red hair, they were not Starcrossed. On her wedding day to
Menaleaus, Hélène was congratulated on her marriage by Ulysses, their first conversation, she meets her Starcrossed
Lover on her wedding day to someone else, the converasation unfinished as the crowd moved between them. Hélène,
unhappily married, Menaleaus is not a great lover, he has a first concurrent wife and rapes the serving girls when
he finds them alone. Paris from Troy arrives in court on a trade mission, meeting his Starcrossed Lover Hélène,
(her second Starcrossed Lover) they spirit away in the night, Menaleaus gathers an army, the 10-year siege of
Troy ensues.
In this write, a portion of the poems are erasure poems (impossible to translate into Html effectively, here it is
represented as dropped portions on the next line, a similar affect). The erasure poem is an avante garde poetry
form that involves erasing words from prose or poem. The erasure poem suggests a range of symbolic affects and
draws attention to the political or social meanings of erasure. Many Thanks to R. Bremner, for introducing me to
this poetry form through the poem "Diamonds in the Mine" printed for the "Leonard Cohen for Christmas" Subterranean
Blue Poetry Christmas Issue 2019. Another example is Jenny Holzer's art installation Redaction Paintings that
recreate declassified American intelligence and military documents that have been censored using erasure, when they
become public. Raising the question of secrecy and violence in the American military power system. In The BeeKeeper's
Daughters, perhaps reminiscent of letters home from soldiers in the army with parts of the sensitive security
information blacked out by the state department, in a celebration of positive anarchy all these parts can now be seen.
The poem can be read in different ways, just the black writing or just the white writing in black boxes or all the
writing black and white, the poem can be read anew in parts and sequences.
THE PLAYERS
Agamemnon - his brother (of Menelaus)
Achilles - the prize warrior (prize soldier of Sparta)
Aeneas - Trojan commander
Andromache - his brother's wife (wife of Hector, sister-in-law of Paris)
Brisseus - the good maid (wife of Troileus, Chrysside)(Hélène's maid)
Calchas - the village elder (Trojan Priest)
Cassandra - his sister (Paris' sister), a prophetess, Trojan girl
Hector - his brother (Paris' brother)(husband of Andromache)
Hecuba - his mother (mother of Paris)(wife of Priam)
Hélène - the daughter of Zeus, la rien (la Reine), quiet she, the jewel of bone, her (wife of Menelaus,
Starcrossed wife of Paris, Starcrossed with Ulysses)
Hepsabah - the woman of the court of Summerkand
Hesiod - that mistress (wife of a Spartan soldier killed in the war)
Ithaca - the sun kingdom
Leda - her mother, (Hélène's mother)
Lydia - the first wife, Starcrossed wife of Menelaus
Mena - the girl, the dark one of the mountain people (Paris' lover before Hélène)
Menelaus - the Fire King, the Storm King, the storm, he (husband of Hélène)
Paris - the dark Le Roi, the winter Le Roi, he (Starcrossed husband of Hélène)
Patrocleus - soldier of Greece
Penelope - her cousin (cousin of Hélène)(wife of Ulysses)
Priam - his father (Paris' father)(husband of Hecuba)
Sparta - Enfer
The Chorus - the Women of Troy, the collective conscious, the grapevine
Troileus - her husband (soldier husband of Brisseus/Chrysside)
Troy - Summerkand
Ulysses - the summer Le Roi, he (husband of Penelope, Starcrossed lover of Hélène)
"o' sun shines the bare winter bare trees holding . . ."
hier, in the land of Gilead, in the evening sews up his heart what makes you live without love
the gypsy rien left but our letters our maidenhead in the Wilde and sweet Odysseus nein o' nein
the cat in the wardrobe hides under the chair running the bath water the silence the young girl
as she slept the breath even here the breath is gone forgive any poet one thing once as she slept
the silence to sew to sew "and all I have is this antique chair" all poets are writing, writing
into the night demystify the prayerbook not a lot of tire iron space the Duke of Earl except for
the military jag psychotic tabouli room at the inn it's not worth the tethered edges the chair
mended there are many ways to rid the world of person inconvenient the girl inconvenient the innocent
girl the daughter of Zeus the dope show . . . God is of God masticate a soft blue velvet cloth, the lace
is silk . . . when the walls move when the sky falls when . . .
trust your rapist buzz buzz Bismarck heresy on a c-note the star bright the night I disowned my
body long ago the ugly the rape and departure the nothing in the sky the night . . . so I sing and sing
the women of Troy sing the chorus the collective conscious we sing all the night into night watch the
tangerine sun rise rising . . . the ships were never in the harbour . . .
the ships have not left the harbour she who walks in indigo blues the indigo dress her favourite colour
"as if the world was made just for me" bless the Fates bless the world bless the dark beauty colours of
the soul so fair of face rivals the Spirit for those that rival the moon (how the shadowed sun sleeps) the
snap of perfection the snap of disaster perfect love stops the world a place that forever moves a journey a
shadow . . . to worship the ground to drop a stitch . . . for those that dream of Summerkand blue the ocean
the walled city that sings under the moon . . .
Chorus: "We are the daughters of Zeus the daughters of the vernal equinox of forever springtime . . ."
the girl-child la peu de noire the unforgiven . . . the broken telephone the silent no thoughts broken
thoughts no thoughts no history no stories of culture kidnapped locked in an attic punching her way out of
a paper bag a bottle of wine too fair of face (to look her in the face the sun princess the too beautiful
they looked down and away . . . to her dismay) . . .
the Le Roi said "I knew I had ruined your life when I did not choose you the Fated One" the Le Roi and the
she sit at the table caught inside the warmth of the room the bee sleepy and slow he takes up a book and
bang bangs it shut . . .
(To be continued . . .)
"Living is cold and technical
without you, a death mask of itself."
- Zelda Fitzgerald
HE SITS ON THE STONE STAIRS
by
Rebecca Anne Banks
"coptic light throws Summer through the evening trees Blue Ryder . . ."
he sits on the stone stairs (stone gothic revolution) quiet, the shadows beat off the sky a lion, the golden sun bare
feet in blue water cottage draws blue bonnet haze (a jealous universe doc dollar roman driving the manger)
(the ipswitch the observer the poet the words the weave, the heart home) and everything writes into stone, stone
lions the lions of sunshine looking for water in the music air ensemble the couple dance in the open square change
partners in the music caught in a crime scene dime fare golden fire (it is Summer let me run a bath the water cool
against white porcelain white robe wash you dress you in silk, soft breeze, the ocean) "I have no crimes to confess"
(expensive is priceless) the book of you all the memories in frames behind glass "don't suffer" fill the spaces of
the wall black ink on white paper a thousand picture frames a thousand days all the lost dragons the dragons in the
sky (he doesn't look like a Jane Austen novel)(a banger on Marigold Monday but it's Thursday)(a found-in at the
movie theater I sit in the velvet and dark all Summer long) a thousand picture frames a thousand days clay, my hands
mould the clay, mould the day the tears fall the oceans of rain, cold the window is open . . .
Zelda in Switzerland
"Good-night -
Dear-dear dear dear dear dear dear
Dear dear dear dear dear dear dear
Dear dear dear dear dear dear dear . . ."
"light fair in blue full the dark trees dark, falls the nightsky . . ."
BIOGRAPHY
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).
Jim Curtis received his PhD from Columbia University and taught at the University of Missouri-Columbia for
31 years. He is now Professor Emeritus, which is why he has time to take photographs of colorful jellies. His
portfolio of photographs taken at the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum will be posted online in September 2019 at the
Stillpoint Art Quarterly site.
Gregg Dotoli (Poet, cyber security specialist) lives and works in New York state. He has studied English
literature and computer programming earning a B.A. and an M.B.A. He works in cyber security ensuring the New
Technology infrastructure. He is widely published in Internet poetry journals and internationally. Dotoli has
published a collection of poetry, Everblue Soul with Subterranean Blue Poetry.
Debarashi Mitra is a 25 year old poet from New Delhi, India. His debut book of poems Eternal Migrant was
published in May 2016 by Writers Workshop. His works have previously appeared in anthologies like Kaafiyana,
Wifi for Breakfast and Best Indian Poetry 2018 and to poetry journls like The Scarlet Leaf Review,
Thumbprint, The Punch Magazine, The Seattle Star, The Pangolin Review, Leaves of Ink, The Sunflower Collective,
Coldnoon, Indiana Voice Journal, The Indian Cultural Forum amongst others. He was the recipient of The Wingword
Poetry Prize 2017, The Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize 2017 and was long listed for the TFA Prize 2019.
Kimberlynne Darby Newton is a Poet and a retired professor of history, a native of Montgomery, Alabama. She
hopes that her writing will help someone; with a smile, a shared experience, and hopefully, an inspiration. She is
happily writing her next book, and lives with son, Isaac and husband, Barney.
www.kimberlynnedarbynewton.com.
Frank O'Hara (Poet, writer, art critic) was born in Maryland and became a curator at the Museum of Modern Art
in New York, New York. He was a prominent member of the New York School, an ad hoc group of writers, artists and
musicians inspired by the new jazz music, action painting, surrealism, abstract expressionism, and avante garde art
progressions of the day. He is best remembered for Lunch Poems (City Lights Books, 1964) and Meditations in an
Emergency (Grove Press, 1957) amongst others.
Anna Suarez is a Cuban American Generation "Y" Poet who also writes. She performs Poetry Readings in Portland
and has studied Philosophy and French at Portland State University. She is published in Exotic Magazine, Comparative
Woman and Unchaste Volume 2 amongst others.
ubterranean Blue Poetry
