Corned Beef and Cabbage, poem by George Bilgere

CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE
by George Bilgere

I can see her in the kitchen,
Cooking up, for the hundredth time,
A little something from her
Limited Midwestern repertoire.
Cigarette going in the ashtray,
The red wine pulsing in its glass,
A warning light meaning
Everything was simmering
Just below the steel lid
Of her smile, as she boiled
The beef into submission,
Chopped her way
Through the vegetable kingdom
With the broken-handled knife
I use tonight, feeling her
Anger rising from the dark
Chambers of the head
Of cabbage I slice through,
Missing her, wanting
To chew things over
With my mother again.

SOURCE: “Corned Beef and Cabbage” appears in George Bilgere’s collection The Good Kiss (The University of Akron Press, 2002), available at Amazon.com.

PHOTO: “Sliced cabbage” by Brian Boyle. Prints available at fineartamerica.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: George Bilgere has published five collections of poetry, most recently The White Museum, awarded the 2009 Autumn House Poetry Prize. His third book, The Good Kiss (2002), was selected by Billy Collins as recipient of the University of Akron Poetry Award. He has won numerous awards, including the Midland Authors Award, the May Swenson Poetry Award for his collection Haywire (2006), and a Pushcart Prize. Bilgere has received grants from the Witter Bynner Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Fulbright Commission, and the Ohio Arts Council.
His poems have appeared in numerous anthologies and journals including Poetry, Ploughshares, the Kenyon Review, Fulcrum, and the Best American Poetry series.
 Bilgere lives in Cleveland, Ohio, where he teaches creative writing at John Carroll University.

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.

Elvis Sings Danny Boy

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Celebrate with Elvis Presley, as he sings “Danny Boy.”

Silver Birch Press Green Anthology Hits #75

Last time we checked, the Kindle version of the Silver Birch Press Green Anthology was #95 on the Poetry Anthologies list for Kindle books — and today we’re happy to report that we’re at #75. But the best part is the company we’re keeping.

We’re right below Kenneth Rexroth (1905-1982) — a poet that Time magazine referred to as “father of the Beats” — and right above the delightful collection Bright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poetry About Birds, a book I recently borrowed from the L.A. Public Library. (I also posted several poems from the book on this blog.)

Thank you to everyone who purchased the Kindle version of the Silver Birch Press GREEN ANTHOLOGY for $2.99 (the lowest price Amazon will allow) — and if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can borrow it for free.

I think we’ve moved from #95 to #75 on the list because people are looking for inexpensive (yet meaningful — at least we think so!) St. Patrick’s Day gifts. The Kindle version of the GREEN ANTHOLOGY — the equivalent of a 262-page paperback — is filled with poetry and prose that revolves around the theme “green.” Our authors approached the subject from many different directions — writing about luck, money, the environment, love, seasons, trees, water, relationships, and much more.

Thank you to everyone who purchased a Kindle (or paperback) version of the Silver Birch Press GREEN ANTHOLOGY. We appreciate your helping us bring new voices in poetry and prose into the world.

Find the book at this link.  Again, thank you!

Looking for an Inexpensive, Unique St. Patrick’s Day Gift?

Silver Birch Press GREEN ANTHOLOGY

Introduction (Excerpt)

Growing up in Chicago, one of the most anticipated events of the year occurred on St. Patrick’s Day, when the Chicago River turned shamrock green. Whether we experienced the “Shannon River”—as the dyed waterway was dubbed for the day—from a downtown bridge, saw it on TV, read about it in the newspaper, or just heard about it from someone who was there, this annual happening was a magical moment that sparked the civic imagination.

I, for one, pictured myself floating down that green river to all kinds of fantastic places—the Emerald City and other amazing locales were around each bend.

Yes, the green river…the flow of imagination—that creative stream that artists ride and then return with the bounty. And part of this bounty appears in the Silver Birch Press Green Anthology, which includes creative explorations from authors in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Europe, and Africa.

We’ve priced the collection as low as Amazon will allow us to sell a 260-page paperback ($10) and Kindle ($2.99). Our goal is to create a platform for up-and-coming writers and bring established authors to a wider audience.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive, yet unique (and we think classy and, dare we say, classic) gift, check out the paperback and Kindle versions of the Silver Birch Press Green Anthology: An Eclectic Anthology of Poetry & Prose. Thank you!