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TABLE OF CONTENTS

XIX:2 June,  2004

LYNX  
A Journal for Linking Poets   
 
   
 

SYMBIOTIC
POETRY:
 
TIME OUT
Edward Baranosky & Melisa Fauceglia

SUGGESTED ENDLESS FRAGMENTS
John M. Bennett
found in Ivan Arguelles' “Suggested and Endless Fragments”

RAIN
John M. Bennett &
Stacey Allam

G NAWS SUN
John M. Bennett & Jim Leftwich

A LILAC BREEZE
Michael L. Evans &
Connie Donleycott

CHOCOLATE FINGERPRINTS
Betty Kaplan
Max Verhart

MARRY ME ALICE
Betty Kaplan
Max Verhart
 

JEWEL-BEETLE
Larry Kimmel
Ron Moss

PICK-UP-STICKS
Karina Klesko
Cindy Tebo
 

'TALK DIRTY'
Marlene Mountain
Suhni Bell

THE PRISONER’S BLACKBIRD
Dick Pettit (Denmark)
Francis Attard (Malta)

LANDSCAPE
Patricia Prime
Catherine Mair
 

MORNING SONG
Patricia Prime
Catherine Mair

AOTEAROA
Patricia Prime
Ron Moss
 

PLACE WHERE NAMES ARE LOST
Yuri Runov &             Karina Klesko &      CindyTebo

THE FRAGRANCE OF SUNLIGHT
Maria Steyn (South Africa)
Marjorie Buettner (USA)

SPRING RAIN
zhanna p. rader
karina klesko

A LEAF FLOATS TO EARTH
by john white UK
and karina klesko USA

PUTTING ON THE DOG
Max Verhart
Betty Kaplan

   


TIME OUT
Edward Baranosky
Melisa Fauceglia

The day was now departing ; the dark air
Released the living beings of the earth
 From work and weariness; and I myself
Alone prepared to undergo the battle

Inferno; Canto II, 1-4 Dante

 

Sooner or later, we all have to face it,
One eye on the declining light,
And a suddenly conscious loss
Of unconscious senses, care
Gradually muting extension and influence.
Cautiously we weighed every dare;
We didn't run from the wind,
But before it, pushing the way toward release,
Into the depths of the earth or the sea; the fair
Day was now departing; the dark air 

As an arrow, follows the links of my marks.
A student of human consciousness,
I study my hands, the vessels form forth.
The cloaked figure points toward stage right
Where shadowed curtains and subtle bodies pull up,
Up. Leaches heal the black widow's bite;
Collapsing demons hit the ground,
Harder than a frozen lake,
As they slam through light doors of birth
Releasing the living beings of earth.

Lightning strikes through the rain.
Salted mud flows out of primordial ice,
Inhales before breath; bleeds before blood.
Having tasted air, every infant elf
Cries for food, disturbing
The peace of sleeping giants.
Into the breech
Our real dream begins
The timed stroke of metronome Delft
 From work and weariness; and I myself 

Scour the dunes of this empty planet.
My mystery walker prevails camouflaged
By twisting smoke from shrinking wax towers;
Leadership does not know men without combat.
Thy naked sword is a compass that pulls
Toward the traces of worthy rivals.
Memory is fixed, any book can be a bible.
My sheath is empty, cold steel
Leaning on the last open saddle,

Alone, prepared to undergo the battle.

 

SUGGESTED ENDLESS FRAGMENTS
John M. Bennett
found in Ivan Arguelles' “Suggested and Endless Fragments”

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RAIN
John M. Bennett
Stacey Allam 

She put her face in the rain
careful
to place her nose
in the spot
where it wouldn't touch her eye
when flattened with a spatula

 

G NAWS SUN
John M. Bennett 
Jim Leftwich

 g naw s lab you clunking
ame thy st strobe alche my
m ade an hopping b urner
jade cougar spared tongues
c lungs par id sugar p age
sp urn ed s hop ping me dean
ah my stroked camera !
sun king lab yrinth thaws

 

  

A LILAC BREEZE
Michael L. Evans
    Connie Donleycott

broccoli buds
that small lavender splotch
takes wing

     sprouts of moss
    on the stone hedgehog

 plum blossoms
shadow the temple wall. . .
children's whispers 

    new birdbath -
    placing a bell
    on the cat's collar
 

a lilac breeze
wood chimes . . . and tree frogs! 

     moonlit ball field
    a boy plays catch
    with a boomerang

 

 


CHOCOLATE FINGERPRINTS
Betty Kaplan
Max Verhart

kindergarten
her first valentine
the smell of paste                   

chocolate fingerprints
all over the room     
                    

playing hide-n-go-seek
poor little Johnny left
under a desk                              

dominoes
he lets his father
win this one               
                     

 saved in the piano bench
 "yellow polka-dot bikini"       

before he opens
the pink envelope
scent of roses    
                         

 February 9-10, 2004
#11 in the Max & Betty Rengay Marathon

 

 

MARRY ME ALICE
Betty Kaplan
Max Verhart
 

no snow on the ground
       but white powder puff mountains
               floating by                         

the hot air balloon
slowly loses height           
                     

a yellow kite
 sails away, a little boy
  drops the string                              

dazzling free fall
then one short pull and
the chute opens

the plane tows a banner
      Marry Me Alice                        

flapping wings
the stork is heading
for the cottage


january 6-7, 2004

 

 

JEWEL-BEETLE
Larry Kimmel
Ron Moss

blizzard warning 
the dog coming home
looks like a sheep 

tea-tree blossoms 
a jewel-beetle in the rain
 

catching chubs 
with earthworms on bent pins 
shade of the oak

early frost 
in heavy footprints 
a crushed snail

the cat hides behind 
dusty ragweed, almost

fork lightning 
a stick-insect vibrates 
into view

 

  

PICK-UP-STICKS
Karina Klesko
Cindy Tebo
 

rolling hills heightened
in twilight's glow
the baying of dogs
within her eyes a tempest
hunts the night 

if pain
could be slept away
I would join the 3-toed sloth
high in the treetops
dreaming of other sloths 

a cradle swings
to an old lullaby
round and round
the mobile's blue planes
move slower and slower 

in the odds and ends
of make believe
the clay knight
off to battle
with a penny for its shield 

throwaway children
living in cardboard cities
until the rain. . . .
they pick-up-sticks
to build a fire of hope 

hoarding sweet rolls
under his pillow
the dementia patient
tells the nurse
he's a wealthy man 

scissors, paper, rock
we try to decide;
is there a "u" in color?
those white-haired men
preparing our meds 

on the floor
of a teenager's room
a Jimi Hendrix CD
how close do you have to be
to kiss the sky? 

one more
for the long wet road
the Cutty Sark sails on
leaving behind an unborn sun
and a note in a bottle 

Easter breakfast
without Mom
my sister orders
Eggs Benedict
for the first and last time 

out from the basement
those little dust bunnies
growing fangs
too big for peter rabbit
the torn jacket
hung on a fence post

 

  

'TALK DIRTY'
Marlene Mountain
Suhni Bell

 1m    talk dirty to me the last spring morning with its last drizzle

2s    hush money exchanged in the confessional

3m    outlook for red falls on pink shoulders of a spider plant

4s    hospice worker ribbons for every occasion

5m    a breeze floats in floats back into the oblivion of tomorrow

6s    across the darkest dream a flutter of zen

 

7s    sweetgrass woven into her baskets into her prayer songs

8m    everyone's god on everyone's side everyone's lost

9s    war supplies i wonder who orders body bags for children

10m    shut in with a good case of humidity

11s    sunrise desert palette twisting its way thru juniper & shale

12m    50 percent chance for separated brains gone

13s    wishing well the koi swim away from both sides of the coin

14m    'hunting for bambi' ie naked women by 'wimps'

15s    in the blues of dusk a wild thought barely escape us

16m    just perfect a fresh garlic alone

17s    unemployed every stray cat in the neighborhood named & fed

18m    muggy day a box turtle in the squishy part

 

19m    rain flaps through the window into poems of a thunderstorm

20s    sidewalk chalk we hop over dried blood

21m   an old priest murdered in prison if only hell weren't a figment

22s    summer's end the heat still clings

23m    male oil of yet another male country that's what they crave

24s    adopted my heart is full of not knowing

25m    even this second her thumbprint heavy on the minutes left of me

26s    i hate indecision wait no i don't

27m    eyes now on pampas as heads undo themselves toward winter

28s    debating the debate before & after the debate

29m    doctor visit & fast food all the patriarchy i can stand for one day

30s    the date twice my age becomes an issue

 

31s    new year's raking up loose change to turn over new leaves

32m   before the happy ending i teared at the sad part

33s    raped she looks the other way for reasons to blame the victim

34m    how much of the world digs dug-in dubya

35s    suiseki uncovers an old word for an old rock collection

36m    bed-ridden beneath the snow the iris patch

 

notes
12m    iranian twins ladan and laleh bijani
14m    las vegas paint-ball safari tho considered a pr hoax by some is
nonetheless in the culture's consciousness
21m    child molester john geoghan
28s    california governor recall debate
35s    the japanese art of collecting & displaying naturally formed rocks 

june 20, 2003 - january 29, 2004

 

 

 

THE PRISONER’S BLACKBIRD
Dick Pettit (Denmark)
Francis Attard (Malta)

the moon's turned            its rough edge over         overnight 

inside a crater       measuring time

the prisoner's blackbird      walks like a gaoler    on a patch of lawn

knowing well which side         bread is buttered on

a regular guest          goes straight to the kitchen        to wash the dishes

twilight in the garden      the cat's first litter

a couple come out       arm in gentle arm        and fall silent

carob tree pods        do as  wind chimes

 

out on errands      a boy runs his stick      along the railings

spinning top     scarlet and crimson mixing

a seer concentrates         all else excluded         from the still centre

under a spring umbrella        blue, its border indigo

the manufacturer       walks the promenade        without a friend

stars the sky's fire-folk        moon's smouldering loveliness

she takes two hours         for hair, dress and make-up        feeling better

wig off, he mumbles         in the wings of the stage

not a squeak!        we shan't know how they take it        until the Synod

padded patchwork a smirk        back on scarecrow's face


a music critic        notes  the many notes        not in his score

supercalifragilistic             expialidocious

a  socio-   ixi-  palific-   irregisal-   speculid

in the parlour mirror        who is talking back?

the substitute        re-arranges himself after      the impersonation

returned to props       glove spoonbill stitched and sober

the boss has spoken        and that's the end of it.        Any comments?

boardroom's polished glass -        beyond the skylight, a language

miles away        the town lights clear        without a glow

fireworks on the agenda       the man in the moon watches

 

the girls giggle       at an attic window over       Mummy and her friend

in the magician's hand        a pack of cards, one dog-eared


an odd question      the speaker s warmth reveals     human feeling

unreproved fancy, mottled      painter s varied brushstrokes

two figures        gesticulate into        an animated landscape

Punch & Judy bump heads     Side by side.

drinkers partying    under the cherry trees      are near to bliss

a solo on the tuba         brass sheen and tone

 

 

 

LANDSCAPE
Patricia Prime
Catherine Mair
 

the desk lamp's glow
on notebook, house plants, poems,
the ageing woman
writing of present tense sex
desires only peace 

the landforms
of her body create
a low horizon
there isn't an invitation
she turns away 

change in the weather
storms follow
early spring
seeing herself in the mirror
she is reminded of her mother 

on the wall
a painting
of the Sounds
her belly folds
like the hills


 

MORNING SONG
Patricia Prime
Catherine Mair

 tui
wake the morning
with their song
fly into the air with a cry
why doesn't my heart take wing? 

wisteria
soaring sparrows
rainbowed waterfalls -
who is left in China
crowing in the rain 

bathing at night
verbena & rosemary
in the water
a good night's sleep
forgetting everything 

another morning -
flooded fields
a child's sandal
hangs on a barbed fence:
a toy panda coated with mud

 

 

 

AOTEAROA
Patricia Prime
Ron Moss
 

grey morning
the sound of rugby boots
on concrete

sunday roast lamb
the smell of mint jelly
in mum’s hair

under the dust
on the old photograph
faded football shirt

pipi gathering
last night’s moon
still on my shoulder

settler cemetery
we count the number of graves
with the same name 

lewis pass ­
the abandoned cobb house
disappears into rain

franz joseph glacier
children sledging
on a plastic sack 

heavy cloud
the gliding albatross
shears the air 

rotorua ­
the smell of geysers
before we arrive 

pie cart ­
the flash of its neon
in the puddle

smoko . . .
the kiwi-fruit pickers
share their stories

heavy dew
a giant flax plant
drips light




PLACE WHERE NAMES ARE LOST
Yuri Runov
            Karina Klesko
                        CindyTebo

the old maple wood
gives the red-carpet treatment
to me and my dog
dry leaves underfoot... they sound
like long-awaited applause

             the liveliness of baby toads
            couples in the park sidestep
            a sudden gust of wind
            brandy and tears blend
            into shades of gold

                         opening the jewel box
                        there's a pair of mom's earrings
                        light and sparkling
                        with the moon's curve
                        but I can't wear them

a slim silver C
the moon's way of saying 'Bye'
to desolate streets
and who needs its ghostly light
to disturb their weary sleep?

             crashing waves
            against the breakers
            captured in a conch shell
           
both my past and future... the same
            rushing of the sea 

                        spinning the globe
                        again and again
                        I live in a place
                        where the names are lost
                        and the land becomes water 

now seen through gray mist
snowy peaks of memory,
their brilliance long lost
those dirty paths of autumn
never take us far from home 

            planting tulip bulbs
            outside the prison fence
            each day nearer to the bloom
            I smile feeling the sun's warmth
            upon my face 

                        to define
                        the manifest destiny
                        two students square off
                        the last one standing
                        wins a chocolate bar

 


THE FRAGRANCE OF SUNLIGHT
Maria Steyn (South Africa)
Marjorie Buettner (USA)

spring meadow
the fragrance of sunlight
in my hands                     

honeybees' dance
pointing the way       
     

two beachcombers
follow the high tide mark
this early morning             

a girl drawing
outside the lines       
         

full moon
sewn into the center
of the crazy quilt                

zig-zag flight of geese
homeward bound           

we pick out our graves
the sudden cessation
of color          

as the music stops
her hair brushes his arm       

this newness of you
when our bodies
meet   
      

whispered secrets
while dawn seeps into night   

that look again
as if you were seeing us
without you                     

collecting feathers
for a dreamcatcher          

how moonlight
casts a silver shadow
on the web              
       

a double rainbow
after the storm                      

high arc
of the arrow
before it hits
                          

farewell letter written
with his old fountain pen       

one by one
petals of  the camellia
open                      
                 

at the tea ceremony
soft folds of her kimono         

 

SPRING RAIN
zhanna p. rader
karina klesko

spring rain -
the beech tree's black branches
through tender green       

open umbrella
a little boy and a frog 
   

misty breeze
the daffodils bow
to the lily shoots     

for days, a slow drip
from clogged roof gutters
moss covered stones      
 

puddles here and there
a luna moth on the brick wall   

wet newsprint
stains the front stoop
the robin snags a worm
   

 

A LEAF FLOATS TO EARTH
john white UK
karina klesko USA

 distant music
greets me through the west wind
echoing applause 

the whimsy of zephyros
a face borne into the rocks 

battles of Sumatra
augmenting discomfort
nature's breath 

palm fronds fan
the orchid's blossom
eco-friendly allies 

avoiding countless boughs
a leaf floats to earth 

hang-gliding
chants of a thousand insects
kasetsukai-tsushin* 

* the valley of winds

 

 


PUTTING ON THE DOG
Max Verhart
Betty Kaplan

umbrella stand
the master's walking cane
full of teeth marks   

          good morning!
          he holds the leash in his mouth  
   

an elderly lady
being pulled down the street
now who's walking who?     

         a run in the park -
         can't keep him away
         from his new love           
    

all along the long lane
not a tree left unsniffed     

         big cardboard box
         with room for them all
         nursing the tiny ones  
       
                

February 14th 2004

   
   
  Submission  Procedures

Who We Are

Deadline for your collaborative poems for the next issue is
September 1, 2004

  Poems and comments Copyright © Designated Authors 2004.
Page Copyright©  Jane Reichhold 2004.

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