A Happier Half Year, poem by Shreyas Gokhale (Half New Year Poetry Series)

A HAPPIER HALF YEAR
by Shreyas Gokhale

There are a lot of poems on New Year
They tell you how it feels when it is near.

An excitement and joy sprouts in the mind
To start afresh and leave the past behind

But none tells you what happens in the mid,
When half is gone, half set to make a bid.

The half gives ample time to retrospect
And play fresh moves or make the wrongs correct,

May this Half Year bring lots of love and laugh,
You can’t be full unless you are a half!

IMAGE: “Calla Lily Vendors” by Diego Rivera (1943).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shreyas Gokhale is currently pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Jabalpur Engineering College in India. He also serves as a writer at Keynotes Poets and Writers, Sacramento, California, and has written several works in Indian languages — including Hindi, Sanskrit ,and Marathi. A collection of his Sanskrit verses was published recently in an Indian spiritual magazine Atmotthaan.

Winding Within, poem by Shreyas Gokhale

WINDING WITHIN
by Shreyas Gokhale

The sky was dark with clouds of mourning shades
The rolling thunder, as lightning invades.

The thunderstorm was storming upside down,
On earth, the fiery gale did seem to frown.

The trees were trembling, swinging flowers and grass
The birds and beasts were bolting through vistas.

A shower of rains had chilled the warmth of noon
The bamboos played enchanting mystery tune.

In such a vehement weather, no one near
I closed my eyes and Oh! I found you dear!

ART: “Sudden Storm” by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: The poem describes the scene of a violent rainstorm and the images of the things around. The poet experiences a fiery weather outside and a tumultuous behaviour of all the creatures because of it. In such a scenario when he closes his eyes and looks into his own self, he finds the ultimate solace and the existence of someone divine and dearly in it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shreyas Gokhale is currently pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Jabalpur Engineering College in India. He is also serving as a writer at Keynotes Poets and Writers, Sacramento, California. He also has written several works in Indian languages, including Hindi, Sanskrit, and Marathi. A collection of his Sanskrit verses was published recently in an Indian spiritual magazine, Atmotthaan.

Dreamers May, poem by Yoli Ramazzina

DREAMERS MAY
by Yoli Ramazzina

Dreamers may saunter, wandering by
With a seemingly far-off look in their eye.

Dreamers may smile as they gaze afar
Their eyes locked upon a twinkling star.
Dreamers may delight in each drop of rain
Slowly rolling down, landing on the windowpane.
Dreamers may bask in the warm, brilliant sun
Neglecting their chores that need to be done.

Dreamers may curl up, retreating inside
Of their own heads, and then they may ride…
A bright wave of rainbows, that blasts them to space
Dreamers may linger in their happy place.
Dreamers may jump, or they may do a dance
Unfazed by logic, and driven by chance.

Dreamers may, with their arms outstretched, reach for the stars
As they contemplate living on Saturn or Mars.
Dreamers have hope.
They have faith.
They believe.
Dreamers also feel sorrow, and shed tears when they grieve.

Dreamers may misstep, they may fall or have slips
Yet they cherish the stardust on their fingertips.
Dreamers see beauty in every detail
From the glow of the moon, to the shell of a snail.
Dreamers get lost in books, words pull them under
Dreamers hearts nearly burst, overflowing with wonder.

Dreamers paint pictures and dreamers tell tales
Dreamers put wind in a ship’s empty sails.
Dreamers may soar far beyond these blue skies
Dreamers may sometimes appear very wise.

Dreamers are many things,
So much more than they seem
Because they have courage.
The courage to dream.

PAINTING: “The Dreamer Overwhelming Beauty” by Maria Pace-Wynters. Visit the artist at etsy, wordpress, twitter,  pinterest, and dailypainters.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Yoli Ramazzina was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley (818!), but now resides in Long Beach, California. She is a music lover and a retired KXLU deejay. A certified yoga instructor, she enjoys teaching Kids Yoga as well as Yoga Basics and Vinyasa Flow at local studios in her community. In her free time, she enjoys practicing yoga, reading, gardening, listening to music, drinking good beer, and most of all spending time with her husband, son, and their two rescued pups, Nom-Nom and Lucy. You can find Yoli on tumblr or on Facebook.

End of the Week, poem by Ivon Prefontaine

END OF THE WEEK

by Ivon Prefontaine

Turn the soil

Plant the seeds

Offer precious food

Sustaining liquid

Nourish the spirit

 A soul grows,

Buoyed –

A light shines

Reveals the path

With each step taken.

Breathe

Barely audible

Life giving

End of week arrives

I wait quietly,

I pause patiently,

I till tenderly,

Turn the soil

Plant the seeds

Take care.

SOURCE: “End of the Week” and other poetry by Ivon Prefontaine appears in the Silver Birch Press Green Anthology — a collection of poetry and prose by over 70 authors living in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Europe, and Africa — available at Amazon.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ivon Prefontaine is a junior high teacher in a small satellite community of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He regained an appreciation for poetry and found his way back to it after many years. Poetry has reemerged as an integral aspect of his personal expression and complements a growing meditative practice.

Visit Ivon Prefontaine at his blog, Teacher as Transformer here.

The Heart’s Green Bough, Chinese Proverb

“If I keep a green bough in my heart, then the singing bird will come.”

CHINESE PROVERB

Painting: Vintage Chinese silk painting for sale on Etsy.

the luck of the word, poem by Charles Bukowski

THE LUCK OF THE WORD (Excerpt)
by Charles Bukowski

throughout the years
I have gotten letters
from men
who say
that reading my
books 
has helped them
get through,
go on.
this is high praise 
indeed
and I know what
they mean;
my nerve to go 
on was helped
by reading
Fante, Dostoevsky,
Lawrence, Celine, Hamsun
and others…
a good book
can make an almost
impossible
existence,
livable
for the reader
and
the writer.

SOURCE: “The Luck of the Word” appears in Charles Bukowski’s collection Betting on the Muse: Poems & Stories, available at Amazon.com.

Illustration: “Mr. Chinaski as seen by The Art Warriors” (theartwarriors.com) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED — featured in the Silver Birch Press Bukowski Anthology.

Thoughts for the New Year, quote by Rainer Maria Rilke

“And now let us believe in a long year that is given to us, new, untouched, full of things that have never been.” RAINER MARIA RILKE

Photo: Ben Hur

End of the Week, poem by Ivon Prefontaine

END OF THE WEEK

by Ivon Prefontaine

Turn the soil

Plant the seeds

Offer precious food

Sustaining liquid

Nourish the spirit

 A soul grows,

Buoyed –

A light shines

Reveals the path

With each step taken.

Breathe

Barely audible

Life giving

End of week arrives

I wait quietly,

I pause patiently,

I till tenderly,

Turn the soil

Plant the seeds

Take care.

“End of the Week” and other poetry by Ivon Prefontaine appears in the Silver Birch Press Green Anthology — a collection of poetry and prose by over 70 authors living in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Europe, and Africa — available at Amazon.com (Kindle version free until 12/21/13).

Visit Ivon Prefontaine at his blog, Teacher as Transformer here.

The Heart’s Green Bough, Chinese Proverb

“If I keep a green bough in my heart, then the singing bird will come.”

CHINESE PROVERB

Painting: Vintage Chinese silk painting for sale on Etsy.

The Luck of the Word, poem by Charles Bukowski

THE LUCK OF THE WORD (Excerpt)
Poem by Charles Bukowski

throughout the years
I have gotten letters
from men
who say
that reading my
books 
has helped them
get through,
go on.
this is high praise 
indeed
and I know what
they mean;
my nerve to go 
on was helped
by reading
Fante, Dostoevsky,
Lawrence, Celine, Hamsun
and others…
a good book
can make an almost
impossible
existence,
livable
for the reader
and
the writer.

***
“The Luck of the Word” appears in Charles Bukowski’s collection Betting on the Muse: Poems & Stories.

Illustration: “Mr. Chinaski as seen by The Art Warriors” (theartwarriors.com) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED — featured in the Silver Birch Press Bukowski Anthology (2013).