Attic Melancholy – poetic prose/poem by Gabriela Marie Milton

In this attic, there is no light anymore. Nothing penetrates the small windows from which we used to watch the moonโ€™s rays playing on the chestnut leaves during our first autumn.
In darkness, I sit down and wrap a piece of a burned candle around loves which are born out of pity. How pathetic.
I hear a whisper: perhaps my old toys locked inside the old Spanish chest.  They still talk among themselves, donโ€™t they?
You were right. Iโ€™ve never been what I appeared to be: an ordinary girl walking in the streets and drinking mocktails in bars.

I used to laugh. Yet you did not drown in my laughter. You vanished inside my melancholy; inside the dead world to which Iโ€™ve always aspired. Youโ€™ve remained there forbidding my laughter for fear of not forgetting me.
Oh, that loyalty of yours amid all temptations.  

The night is blessed with darkness, which makes way for light in the morning.

I am the night.

Nobody escapes me.

You knew it. 



My books (Only English)
#1 Amazon bestseller, Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings (Vita Brevis)
#1 Amazon Bestseller, Women: Splendor and Sorrow (Vita Brevis)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Portland Book Review
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Manhattan Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings in San Francisco by Gabriela Marie Milton in San Francisco Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings by Gabriela Marie Milton In Manhattan Book Reviews

Reminder

In August, Literary Revelations is set to unveil a stunning album of fine-art photography by the acclaimed Japanese artist Naoki Kimura. Measuring a refined 8.3 inches wide by 11.7 inches tall, this collection promises to be a visual feast, printed on the finest paper that Amazon offers.

What sets Kimuraโ€™s work apart is his unparalleled mastery of monochrome photography, which exquisitely captures the mesmerizing dance of light and shadowsโ€”transforming each image into a profound experience. The artistโ€™s extraordinary photographic technique has garnered him countless awards and provided him with the opportunity to showcase his fervent dedication to beauty in art at numerous prestigious international exhibitions.

The collection also includes short prose, haiku, and tanka, written by Naoki Kimura.

This album is a collectorโ€™s piece. I hope you will enjoy it.


IDENTITY – POETIC PROSE BY GABRIELA MARIE MILTON

Anything can be said about that city, but one can never say that it lacks a distinct identity.

During the humid autumn evenings, the city looks like a wounded being, nursing her own lacerations. On the sidewalks, the smell of dust overpowers the stench of cigarettes and alcohol coming from her tiny, obscure pubs.

Clandestine rising to power, luxury cars zipping by, casinos filled with shady characters, rats zig-zagging in the basements of old buildings. Plenty of frustrations run through the cityโ€™s blood like thousands of white blood cells through the veins of an infected patient.

A sea of beggars at every street corner: amputated hands, deep lesions, wrinkled faces painted in the colors of dirt. Pain exposed in plain view like art objects in museums: the only difference being that pain is free; the entry in most museums is not.

In that city, our story began: a story in which we created and destroyed loves, trusted and betrayed friendships, invented beauty only to eradicate it at the first sign of dawn.

We tried to satisfy our egos.  We ended up fulfilling the cityโ€™s need to devour us.



My books (Only English)
#1 Amazon bestseller, Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings (Vita Brevis)
#1 Amazon Bestseller, Women: Splendor and Sorrow (Vita Brevis)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Portland Book Review
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Manhattan Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings in San Francisco by Gabriela Marie Milton in San Francisco Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings by Gabriela Marie Milton In Manhattan Book Reviews

โ€œWith lush language and lavish imagery, Gabriela M. evokes a fantastic world ripe with emotion.โ€
Christina Schwarz, the author of the New York Times Bestseller โ€œDrowning Ruth.”


MATADOR – A POEM BY GABRIELA MARIE MILTON

Art: Bullfightย (Spanish:ย Suerte de Varas) is an 1824 oil painting byย Francisco Goyaย 

MATADOR

in Salamancaโ€™s golden square,
Where ancient stones remember pain,
The crimson sun, the dust- my reign

Red is my dress , the crowd ignitesโ€”
A sea of faces, hope and dread.

The bull, a shadow forged in night.

And you, my matador, in shining thread,
The capeโ€”a flick, a whispered prayerโ€”
Red as the roses on the grave.
The dance of deathโ€ฆ

Now I scribble words in lonely Sundays,
Echoes of bull fights in Salamanca โ€ฆ


REMINDER:

Literary Revelations anthologies, including Hidden in Childhood and Petals of Haiku: An Anthology, alongside Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku, are soaring back to the pinnacle of success in the US. These remarkable works have reclaimed their status as #1 Amazon Bestsellers, with one even capturing the incredible #2 position on the charts!

As a heartfelt token of our deepest gratitude for your unwavering loyalty, and recognizing that some of our beloved authors may not have had the means to purchase our cherished books, we are thrilled to offer all three of these literary treasures completely free for a limited time!

Please take a moment to leave a review, if you can. After all, if you donโ€™t, how will our message reach more people? We canโ€™t exactly send carrier pigeons anymore!

LINKS (E-book versions free)




If the links do not work for you please search for the books on Amazon.

My books (Only English)
#1 Amazon bestseller, Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings (Vita Brevis)
#1 Amazon Bestseller, Women: Splendor and Sorrow (Vita Brevis)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Portland Book Review
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Manhattan Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings in San Francisco by Gabriela Marie Milton in San Francisco Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings by Gabriela Marie Milton In Manhattan Book Reviews

โ€œWith lush language and lavish imagery, Gabriela M. evokes a fantastic world ripe with emotion.โ€
Christina Schwarz, the author of the New York Times Bestseller โ€œDrowning Ruth.”


Love in Blue and Black by Gabriela Marie Milton, and Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings featured in Independent Book Review

Wishing all my incredible followers a vibrant week overflowing with joy and boundless happiness!

Love in blue and black

my love,
I speak to you through centuries of pain
trees spin barren branches in the air
when loneliness rains on blue hills
I crush my heart
so yours can still beat

listen
ocean waves embrace the moonโ€™s pale chest
instead of tears
I shed naked pearls
to wash the effigy of your acoustic agony
and mend the painful scratches from your skin


with my imaginary fingers
in blue and black the time I bend
and no matter who I am
a human or a spirit
I swear to you
Iโ€™ll love you till the end

Included in my book Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings


Passions is a collection for the contemplative reader, those who appreciate symbolic
language, mythic references, and emotional depth. Gabriela Marie Milton has crafted
a poetic world where spiritual longing meets sensual reality, and where even the
quietest images pulse with significance. This book is a rewarding experience for
lovers of lyrical, layered, and emotionally intelligent poetry.

Independent Book Review



My books (Only English)
#1 Amazon bestseller, Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings (Vita Brevis)
#1 Amazon Bestseller, Women: Splendor and Sorrow (Vita Brevis)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Portland Book Review
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Manhattan Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings in San Francisco by Gabriela Marie Milton in San Francisco Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings by Gabriela Marie Milton In Manhattan Book Reviews

โ€œWith lush language and lavish imagery, Gabriela M. evokes a fantastic world ripe with emotion.โ€
Christina Schwarz, the author of the New York Times Bestseller โ€œDrowning Ruth.”

In early July, Literary Revelations is set to unveil a stunning album of fine-art photography by the acclaimed Japanese artist Naoki Kimura


First posted in Literary Revelations.


While photography inherently gives the impression of being “real” or “existing in reality,” the essence of monochrome photography lies in creating scenes that do not actually exist. Through this abstraction, the universal characteristics and emotions of the subject are emphasized, bringing out a deeper sense of reality. If color photography can evoke individual emotions and meanings as realism, monochrome photography can be said to enable a universal empathy not influenced by color

Naoki Kimura


Noaki Kimura explored the Renaissance period and produced fantastic work. He paid homage to the beauty of other worlds. Now, he is returning to his Japanese roots to ask the world, “Will you do the same for the beauty of my country?”

Gabriela Marie Milton


Dear Followers

In early July, Literary Revelations is set to unveil a stunning album of fine-art photography by the acclaimed Japanese artist Naoki Kimura. Measuring a refined 8.3 inches wide by 11.7 inches tall, this collection promises to be a visual feast, printed on the best paper that Amazon can offer.

What sets Kimuraโ€™s work apart is his unparalleled mastery of monochrome photography, which exquisitely captures the mesmerizing dance of light and shadowsโ€”transforming each image into a profound experience. The artist’s extraordinary photographic technique has garnered him countless awards and provided him with the opportunity to showcase his fervent dedication to beauty in art at numerous prestigious international exhibitions.

This upcoming album presents Japan in splendor and includes monoku and other forms of short poetry and prose infused with philosophical content and beauty for each photograph. Readers will gain insight into the art behind Kimuraโ€™s photography as he shares his passion for capturing moments that resonate deeply with viewers.

Naoki Kimura’s previous album on Renaissance themes was met with critical acclaim, and this new work promises to be no less impressive.

Donโ€™t let the chance slip away to immerse yourself in Naoki Kimuraโ€™s breathtaking vision; this isnโ€™t merely an albumโ€”itโ€™s a passionate call to discover beauty through the captivating lens of one of todayโ€™s most gifted Japanese artists.

Noaki Kimura explored the Renaissance period and produced fantastic work. He paid homage to the beauty of other worlds. Now, he is returning to his Japanese roots to ask the world, “Will you do the same for the beauty of my country?”


More news about the structure and construction of this album is coming soon.

Please click here to see more art by Naoki Kimura



Have a great week!

My books (Only English)
#1 Amazon bestseller, Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings (Vita Brevis)
#1 Amazon Bestseller, Women: Splendor and Sorrow (Vita Brevis)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Portland Book Review
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Manhattan Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings in San Francisco by Gabriela Marie Milton in San Francisco Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings by Gabriela Marie Milton In Manhattan Book Reviews

Christina Schwarz, the author of the New York Times Bestseller โ€œDrowning Ruth.”

From Woman: Splendor and Sorrow – Who Am I?, a poetic prose by Gabriela Marie Milton

POETIC PROSE BY GABRIELA MARIE MILTON

John William Waterhouse – public domain


Who Am I? published first by Shabd Aaweg and republished in my book Woman: Splendor and Sorrow :I Love Poems and Poetic Prose.

For five times in twenty-four hours, I face in the direction of the sea.

The first time the morning star floats above the water as innocent as the breast of a young girl.  Soon the sun will try to catch her naked and burn her skin. She will escape. Pigeons will carry her across the sea. She will melt into yellow waters. Her last rays will fall in my lap like feathers.

I will rejoice.

The second time, divorced from her night bed, the light disperses itself on the shore. I can see myself washing clothes in the sea. My hair is tied in a ponytail. I am barefoot, and my dress is rolled up. The skin of my lips is cracked. I bleed. The clothes I wash smell cedar and spices. The shadow of a seagull positions itself on my forehead. The sea reflects the twelve signs of the zodiac. I can see no relationship between my destiny and that which I do. I am scared.  

At noon, the sun kneads the waters with rapture. Shells shed pearls on the shore. My own rational thought leaves my body. I delight in the waves like a gazelle in the grasslands. I feel the movement of the water on my skin. Its cyclical quality sends me into a state of ecstasy. No, it is not the ecstasy of Saint Teresa of รvila. It is something similar to a soporific trance. I am dead, and I am alive at the same time. I come from the sea. I return to the sea.

In the afternoon, my rational self awakens. My mind spreads its wings. I get preoccupied with verbs. I set one triangle in the normal position, and I invert the other one. I bind them together. I make myself a dress from pieces of paper inscribed with old symbols. Oh, femininity! You are the goddess of vines, the mother earth, the chalice, the blood, the fertility of the womb. I mull over these desperate efforts to equalize the feminine with the masculine. There is nothing in these symbols that points to the intellect of a woman.

In the evening, the sky stretches itself from blue to dark violet. The silk of the gloves hugs my fingers. I feed my iguana with cookies soaked in champagne. She hisses at me. I open a package of silk stockings. The door opens by itself. You step in. I stare at you. You are in by your own volition.  One kiss and you borrow my tears. One touch, and I borrow your pain. A passage rite. I keep a coffin adorned with lilies in my bedroom. I sleep besides death like Sarah Bernhardt.

Did you hear that noise? A rosary fell from the Spanish chest.

The wind slips between the petals of a rose and opens it.

Who am I? If I knew, I would tell you.

Did you say you love me? The twenty-four hours are up. Nobody is facing in the direction of the sea anymore.

There is no me.


NEWS

Now, more news about Literary Revelations and Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku.

As I write, Tranquility is currently the #1 top release in the US and the most gifted book in Japan.

Literary Revelations is deeply grateful to everyone who bought the book. That helped us to donate to several charities.

You can get the book here:


Literary Revelations and Victoria Onofrei of Bloomsbury Radio (Victoria in Verse Show), UK, will organize a Poetry Festival on Sunday, May 18, 2025 – 5pm London time. The festival will take place via Zoom.

All contributors will be invited, as well as, those who are not contributors but bought the book.

I will come back very soon with more details. Please follow us at Literary Revelations https://literaryrevelations.com/, @gabriela_marie_milton and @lr_publishers.

Thank you,


My books (Only English)
#1 Amazon bestseller, Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings (Vita Brevis)
#1 Amazon Bestseller, Women: Splendor and Sorrow (Vita Brevis)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Portland Book Review
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Manhattan Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings in San Francisco by Gabriela Marie Milton in San Francisco Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings by Gabriela Marie Milton In Manhattan Book Reviews

Christina Schwarz, the author of the New York Times Bestseller โ€œDrowning Ruth.”

Play in the streets – Poem by Gabriela Marie Milton – and more new about Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku

My dear followers. I would like to share a poem that I wrote recently with you, entitled Play in the streets.


POEM

Play in the streets your mandolin for me
The sounds of love and Moorish winds
Born from the womb of the Mediterranean
With our bones, the Phoenix we can see

Shed the music of the mandolin on yellow walls
That meet us every day in hidden places
They bite the flesh of the cold statues, and the sun,
Stones and rays fall from the sky on our skin
Then comes the time when love gets thicker
Stories of the old Granada on your lips
On my breasts and ankles, angels fall
Kiss me my love
Itโ€™s the Apocalypse


NEWS

Now, more news about Literary Revelations and Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku.

Tranquility is currently the #1 top release in the US and the most gifted book in Japan.

Literary Revelations is deeply grateful to everyone who bought the book. That helped us to donate to several charities.

You can get the book here:


Literary Revelations and Victoria Onofrei of Bloomsbury Radio (Victoria in Verse Show), UK, will organize a Poetry Festival on Sunday, May 18, 2025 – 5pm London time. The festival will take place via Zoom.

All contributors will be invited, as well as, those who are not contributors but bought the book.

I will come back very soon with more details. Please follow us at Literary Revelations https://literaryrevelations.com/, @gabriela_marie_milton and @lr_publishers.

Thank you,


My books (Only English)
#1 Amazon bestseller, Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings (Vita Brevis)
#1 Amazon Bestseller, Women: Splendor and Sorrow (Vita Brevis)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Portland Book Review
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Manhattan Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings in San Francisco by Gabriela Marie Milton in San Francisco Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings by Gabriela Marie Milton In Manhattan Book Reviews

Christina Schwarz, the author of the New York Times Bestseller โ€œDrowning Ruth.”

Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku by Literary Revelations Publishing House tops the charts in the US and Japan

An outstanding and dazzling book filled with magic! Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku, published by Literary Revelations.

Immerse yourselves in its charm.

Get it for Mother’s Day!

An outstanding and dazzling book!


Literary Revelations and Victoria Onofrei of Bloomsbury Radio (Victoria in Verse Show), UK, will organize a Poetry Festival on Sunday, May 18, 2025 – 5pm London time. The festival will take place via Zoom.

All contributors will be invited, as well as, those who are not contributors but bought the book.

I will come back very soon with more details. Please follow us at Literary Revelations https://literaryrevelations.com/, @gabriela_marie_milton and @lr_publishers.

Thank you and have a wonderful week!


My books (Only English)
#1 Amazon bestseller, Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings (Vita Brevis)
#1 Amazon Bestseller, Women: Splendor and Sorrow (Vita Brevis)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Portland Book Review
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Manhattan Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings in San Francisco by Gabriela Marie Milton in San Francisco Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings by Gabriela Marie Milton In Manhattan Book Reviews

Christina Schwarz, the author of the New York Times Bestseller โ€œDrowning Ruth.”

Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku, published by Literary Revelations, is now the #1 Bestseller on Amazon [Japanese and Haiku Poetry]

My dear followers,

Literary Revelations is thrilled to let you know that Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku is now the #1 Bestseller on Amazon [Japanese and Haiku Poetry]

Congratulations from the bottom of my heart to all contributors, and thank you to all our followers.

The dedication you show us keeps us going.


If you look at the books we took over, it’s astonishing.

Margaret AtWood who “has won numerous awards and honors for her writing, including two Booker Prizes, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Governor General’s Award, the Franz Kafka Prize, Princess of Asturias Awards, and the National Book Critics and PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Awards. A number of her works have been adapted for film and television.” see Wikipedia

and Basho: The Complete Haiku of Matsuo Basho – Basho stands today as Japanโ€™s most renowned writer, and one of the most revered. Wherever Japanese literature, poetry or Zen are studied, his oeuvre carries weight. Every new student of haiku quickly learns that Basho was the greatest of the Old Japanese Masters [Amazon description].

We take our accomplishments seriously, and we are thrilled and humbled by them.

Thank you again for your support.


Please get our book here


The Six O’clock Cafรฉ – Short Story by Gabriela Marie Milton

The night had too many eyes, too many tears, and too many candles. It left sticky traces of wax in our souls. Escaped from its unbearable seduction, the morning light felt like a benediction: the smell of fresh brewed coffee, the whiteness of the tablecloth, the raspberry cobblers aligned on the window of the freezer, your eyes clearer than any mountain spring ever known.

We finished our coffees. Christina, the waitress, blew us a kiss and then threw her hands in the air. Her high-pitched voice rang in my ears:

“Don’t forget to return to the Six O’clock Cafรฉ, you love birds.”

“We will be back tomorrow.”

I saw the trolley moving like a red sleepwalking worm through the windows. We rushed out.

We watched the city and the sea come to life from our chairs, side by side. It was a bridal time filled with the smell of salt and sweet oranges. Your lips trembled, and you spoke about our wedding.

We were going to get married on a boat. We would leave the shore on a Sunday morning. Behind us, all church bells would toll. I would wear a simple dress made from hemp, and a crown of pink fresh roses gathered the midnight before our marriage when the moon rose from the waters. A huge basket filled with a thousand cherries would be set at our feet to make our marriage as sweet as their flesh. Blue and white threads wrapped around our wrists would protect us forever.

The end of the line.

How did we end up at the Six O’clock Cafรฉ again? The trolley must have gone in a circle. We laughed, got off the trolley, and entered the place.

I thought everything looked strange. The refrigerator was now on the other wall, and the tablecloths were no longer white. A long-faced waiter passed me.

I asked:

“Is Christina here?”

“Christina? Oh, Christina quit working here five years ago.”

Numb, I looked at you. There was something deeper than desperation in your eyes. Something that I could not translate.

Your arms pull me to your chest. I could hear your whisper.

“Please tell me we are married.”

I looked at my fingers. I had no wedding band.


Reminder

Please stay tuned for more updates on Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku. Tentative publication date: late April. Publisher Literary Revelations.

My books (Only English)
#1 Amazon bestseller, Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings (Vita Brevis)
#1 Amazon Bestseller, Women: Splendor and Sorrow (Vita Brevis)

Thank you to all my followers who reviewed my books.
Please read other reviews here:

Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Portland Book Review
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton in Manhattan Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings in San Francisco by Gabriela Marie Milton in San Francisco Book Review
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings by Gabriela Marie Milton In Manhattan Book Reviews

Christina Schwarz, the author of the New York Times Bestseller โ€œDrowning Ruth.”