Fairy Chimneys by John Lowe (LANDMARKS Series)

Fairy Chimneys
Cappadocia, Turkey
by John Lowe

By rights they should not be,
basalt buds on stems of stone.

Why are acrobatic boulders “fairy”?
— Theirs is the domain of wonder,
with mustard seed and whales.

Holes of solidity bored up into air
make javelins to puncture normality
and tip us from our everyday divan.

PHOTO: Triple fairy chimney (Cappadocia, Turkey) by Niels Elgaard Larsen (2009), used by permission.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Cappadocia is a historical region in Turkey that includes a variety of natural wonders, including fairy chimneys, also known as hoodoos. A hoodoo is a tall, thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of an arid drainage basin or badland. Hoodoos typically consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the elements. They generally form within sedimentary rock and volcanic rock formations and are mainly found in the desert in dry, hot areas. Hoodoos range in size from the height of an average human to higher than a 10-story building.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Lowe has published poetry in various Australian magazines and anthologies, and jointly with his wife Virginia Lowe in the poetry collection Lines Between.  He will release a book later in the year (Houndstooth, Ginninderra Press), Covid allowing.

C L I M B I N G by Robert Lima (LANDMARKS Series)

C L I M B I N G
by Robert Lima

I see myself climbing,
not the Matterhorn, not
Picos de Europa, not
Kilimanjaro, nor the
highest peak of all —
Mount Everest . . .

I see myself climbing
Huayna Picchu in Perú,
teat of the Inca world
with its milk of mist.

It is set higher than its
sister Machu Picchu and
offers aerial vistas of the river
Urubamba and the deep valleys.

I see myself climbing its
steep inclines, foot upon foot,
clinging to the rock face
as bits dislodge in karmic fall
into the waiting precipice.

I see myself climbing, fear and
tremor at each step of the steep
ascent, ever reaching higher
to attain the mountain’s sacred self.

PHOTO: At nearly nine thousand feet above sea level, Huayna Picchu (center) overlooks Machu Picchu, the so-called “Lost City of the Incas.” (Photo by Izabela 23, used by permission.)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Huayna Picchu is a mountain in southern Peru that rises over Machu Picchu, a 15th century Inca citadel. The Incas built a trail up the side of the Huayna Picchu and erected temples and terraces on the mountain ridge. The peak of Huayna Picchu is 8,835 ft above sea level, about 850 ft higher than Machu Picchu. (Source: Wikipedia.)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Robert Lima is a Cuban-born, award-winning poet, as well as an internationally recognized critic, bibliographer, playwright, and translator. As a Greenwich Village poet during the 1960s, he read at coffeehouses and other venues, co-edited Seventh Street. Poems of Les Deux Megots, introduced by Denise Levertov, and the second series of Judson Review. His 15 poetry collections include Celestials, Elementals, Sardinia/Sardegna, Ikons of the Past: Poetry of the Hispanic Americas, and Writers on My Watch (2020). Over 600 of his poems have appeared in print in the U.S. and abroad. Eleven of his poems have just appeared in Greek translation in Noima Magazine. Among his numerous critical studies are works on García Lorca, Valle-Inclán, Borges, Surrealism, folklore, dramatic literature, and translations of plays and poetry.

St. Patrick’s Day, poem by Jean McKishnie Blewett

ST. PATRICK’S DAY
by Jean McKishnie Blewett

There’s an Isle, a green Isle, set in the sea,
Here’s to the Saint that blessed it!
And here’s to the billows wild and free
That for centuries have caressed it!

Here’s to the day when the men that roam
Send longing eyes o’er the water!
Here’s to the land that still spells home
To each loyal son and daughter!

Here’s to old Ireland—fair, I ween,
With the blue skies stretched above her!
Here’s to her shamrock warm and green,
And here’s to the hearts that love her!

ILLUSTRATION: “Ireland Watercolor Map” by Michael Tompsett. Prints available at fineartamerica.com.

The Last Cowboy by Adam Jahiel

I recently visited the website of Adam Jahiel, and enjoyed reviewing the breathtaking photos from his book The Last Cowboy.

During the past two decades, Jahiel shot the photographs as he spent months at a time living among the men who live on the range. In a recent Huffington Post article, Jahiel remarked, “It is a culture that has dwindled and almost disappeared through the years right in front of my camera.”

The Last Cowboy — 158 pages in hardcover or softcover — is available at blurb.com.

Thank You to Our Visitors!

As the Silver Birch Press blog celebrates its 2-month anniversary (well, we did a few days ago), we’d like to take a moment and thank our visitors from 80 countries, 1 continent, and 1 commonwealth. Thank you to our visitors from (listed in order of number of visits):

United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Italy, Turkey, Netherlands, France, India, Australia, Czech Republic, Spain, Sweden, Slovakia, Portugal, Mexico, Japan, Finland, Belgium, Greece, Philippines, Austria, Croatia, Russian Federation, Argentina, Chile, Serbia, Denmark, Switzerland, Malaysia, Israel, Cyprus, Norway, Taiwan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Puerto Rico, Estonia, Romania, Pakistan, Albania, Uruguay, Colombia, Ireland, Hungary, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Slovenia, Lithuania, Peru, New Zealand, Ecuador, Luxembourg, South Africa, Bulgaria, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Republic of Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Ukraine, Paraguay, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Georgia, Latvia, Senegal, Malta, Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Bolivia. American Samoa, Tunisia, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iceland, Zambia, and Honduras.

Thank you! We appreciate you spending part of your day with us — even if it’s just for one minute while you sip coffee (or tea!).