EPIPHANY by Max Reif

EPIPHANY
by Max Reif

I like to read a short story
not so much for the theme or plot,
but for when in the middle of it all
the character, whoever he or she
happens to be, takes
a moment and just looks out
over the landscape, toward the horizon.
That’s when, all stories forgotten,
I can feel myself, too:
simply here.

Max Reif was first surprised to pull his car over and give birth to a poem in 1968 at age 20, not even knowing he was pregnant! He continues to seek, (in the words of Meher Baba) “to penetrate into the essence of all being and significance, and to release the fragrance of that inner attainment for the guidance and benefit of others…” Some of his stories, poems, jokes, reviews etc are at www.REALnothings.com

LA-based Street Poets

With the motto of “One Street, One Heartbeat, One Love,” LA-based Street Poets teaches young people how to develop their poetic voice and share their feelings about life on the street, in schools, and in juvenile detention facilities. By giving them an artistic outlet for expression, Street Poets empowers Los Angeles County youth to transcend self-destructive lifestyles and creatively transform both lives and communities.

explore™ (http://explore.org) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others.

Distributed by Tubemogul.

Spoken Word Poetry “The Girl” Official Video

Performed by Kristine Juntura
Directed & Produced by Kenneth Camara

Spider by Barbara Cogswell

Spider
by Barbara Cogswell

Repeatedly
my gardener blows away
her fragile web stretched
on the prickles of a cactus
and in less than a day
she silently spins another
the tensility of the filament
she secrets, in relation to her size
is beyond any engineering
feat divined as yet, by a human mind

Phoenix Rises by Paula Tohline Calhoun

Phoenix Rises
by Paula Tohline Calhoun

The phoenix rises, dispersing ash as she extends
her reborn wings to dry beneath the sun.
She lifts her eyes, pondering the expanse of sky,
marveling at each cloud, discerning from their shapes
her once and future soul,
each moving forward, shape-shifting
as they are propelled, like wayward children,
toward the horizon.

She rediscovers her power to fly,
in mimicking the movement
of the strange and familiar,
those wind-swept creatures
that capture her gaze,
that leave no wake, yet
cast their shadows on the earth below.

With a burst of clarity, she knows
that she is but a cloud herself,
some shadow of her former life
transformed, reshaped, assembled,
and gathered again and again, reborn to fly
above herself and beyond,
chasing the distant horizon
leaving nothing in her wake
but the weightless and gray
remnant ashes of yesterday.

Paula Tohline Calhoun is a 61 years old, and a life-long lover and writer of poetry – as long as she has been able to read and write, that is. She started at age 4 when her Dad first read to her from Ogden Nash’s collection. She is currently working on a collection in which she is collaborating with a poet from South Africa. This collection (untitled as yet) is her first publishing effort. Her poetry interests are very eclectic, and she employs a number of styles – whatever strikes her fancy.

POETRY READING BY JANE HIRSHFIELD — Poetry Center at Smith College

POETRY READING BY JANE HIRSHFIELD — Poetry Center at Smith College

Jane Hirshfield is the author of seven collections of poetry, most recently Come, Thief (2011).

The Glass Pond by James G. Piatt

The Glass Pond
by James G. Piatt

The opalescence, soundless pond,
Like smooth glass rests peacefully
Inside my morning thoughts,

The downy breathe of serenity floating
Atop soft currents of summer’s heated
Voice, opens happy memories in my, heart.

Dr. Piatt has two books of poetry forthcoming this year by Broken
Publications. Unbound Content will publish a third poetry book, in
2013. He has had over 230 poems published in over three-dozen
magazines and anthologies. He spends his summers along side a stream,
reading, listening to jazz, penning poetry, and writing short stories
and novels.

CBC Archives: Leonard Cohen Considers the Poetic Mind, 1966

1966 – A young Leonard Cohen explores the roots of his poetry with CBC-TV host Adrienne Clarkson. In this excerpt from Take 30, Cohen rejects the notion of artistic posterity and says, Im not interested in an insurance plan for my work.

DESERT MIRACLE by Max Reif

DESERT MIRACLE
by Max Reif

Whose hand has washed the desert sand
and polished every leaf on every bush?

Who cleaned the sky
and brushed the distant hills,

and placed each pebble
where it needs to be?

And how
did he leave
so fast?

Max Reif was first surprised to pull his car over and give birth to a poem in 1968 at age 20, not even knowing he was pregnant! He continues to seek, (in the words of Meher Baba) “to penetrate into the essence of all being and significance, and to release the fragrance of that inner attainment for the guidance and benefit of others…” Some of his stories, poems, jokes, reviews etc are at www.REALnothings.com

Rare Film Clips Of The Poet Anne Sexton Reading Her Poems

Rare Film Clips Of The Poet Reading Her Poems