I searched for love in the thrilling nights of the February carnival. Around me scavengers of night. I managed to look like Ophelia dressed in negligees & incapable of understanding my own distress.
An Update on the Anthology Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women
To those of you who already submitted a big thank you.
However, several submissions do not follow the guidelines for submissions. Poetry not submitted according to the guidelines will not be taken in consideration. So please follow the guidelines if you wish to submit or if you already submitted and you did not follow the guidelines please consider to revise and resubmit.
Submit your poems in a Word Document, together with a short bio. You should use Times New Roman 12, double space. No poem should be longer than one page. No bio should be longer than 400 characters.
Please title you submission Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women.
Example of email submission:
Dear Editor,
Attached please find my submission for Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women.
Best,
…..
The deadline for submission is April 15.
The plan is to have the anthology published at the end of May 2022.
Looking forward to your submissions.
Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.
Everyday I work to feature wonderful poetry written by my fellow poets. I will be most grateful if you can read and support these poets. Kindness, generosity, and supporting our community are things that I highly appreciate.
Thank you everyone.
Wishing you a great weekend and a fabulous Valentine’s Day.
I am thrilled that my poem “A Night of Marble and of Gingerbread” was included in Hebe to Hades, A Free Verse Revolution Anthology.
Thank you to Kristiana, the editor of this wonderful volume.
A Night of Marble and of Gingerbread by Gabriela Marie Milton
on the top of the mountain the pines silhouette against the whisper of the rocks the night is cut from marble, and from gingerbread the wind stops on a branch touched by a naked star I take the measure of that which forever youth gives red poppies that never wither seeds that never impregnate the ground a love that still plays with toys, and lights candles in a Christmas tree in the middle of summer the moon is mortal and concerned with trivial matters and so am I Hebe, how many know that you are the bud of incest and patricide? how many know your child’s eyes witnessed so many crimes? filled with pain, you stop growing up, isn’t it so? oh, don’t cry here is my impermanent heart wear it for one day in the morning you will see the old oak dying in the rain at noon butterflies will sit on your hair in the night a Lethean forgetfulness will lecture on the beauty of transitory love kisses will feel like honey on the tongue the breath of love will rest on your skin you will grow up what? you do not want your forever youth back? dream it’s spring
Image: Dante Gabriel Rossetti – Beata Beatrix, Public Domain
Poem by Gabriela Marie Milton
I see you a lost stranger dissimulating grief in the #fall’s shadows I feel you dreams of wild young tigers in the Sahara of my suns the fate plays games I drag you into the lands of spells which crawl passions strike till all is left from us are ashes in a bowl#vss365#poetrypic.twitter.com/FSgZoNHrU4
Richard Westall, “The Artist’s Wife, As Sappho”- Public Domain
Poem by Gabriela Marie Milton
pearls braid themselves onto my dress yesterday’s departure sign I shed sweet tears on the tip of the old oak oh, cross, you burn the skin he so much loved rosy moons turn water into wine she came again tonight the nightingale who sings of Sappho’s suicide
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: | Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton featured in San Francisco Book Review
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton is a touching poetry collection centering on love, philosophy, and heartbreak. Packed with rich imagery and figurative language, Milton’s poems color the pages with beauty, inspiration, and sincerity…
The Penitent Magdalen, Georges de la Tour, Public Domain
A New Poem
(excerpt from my poem You Night to be published in January in an new anthology).
I found the rivers where fish were born & nightingales sang. You night, how beautiful you are crowned with black poppies. Tell me something after I die & let me blossom on the Hill of Slane #starve-d for love. Eyes see no clouds. You night. #vss365#poempic.twitter.com/Car3cQTtOd
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: | Love Poems and Poetic Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton featured in Portland Book Review
In Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: Love Poems and Poetic Prose, author and poet Gabriela Marie Milton takes the reader on a deeply personal journey across the globe and into her heart. The verses delve into themes ranging from love to loss to feminism, all of them clearly inspired by the author’s own experiences. The palpable emotion and unique turns of phrase ensure that this will be a book that will stay with you long after you set it down…
In “The Six O’clock Café,” Milton’s prose takes a turn toward the fictional, combining poetry, magical realism, and mystery to tell a short, impactful story. Once again, loss takes center stage in a highly creative way.
This collection of poetry and poetic prose will be a hit with fans of contemporary poetry looking for something that doesn’t hold back from sharing its innermost emotions and for those who enjoy creative word play.
Samos, perhaps Crete – a poem from my book Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings
Samos, perhaps Crete
on the barren shore you play your mandolin I conjugate “to leave” in the voice of trees the air reverberates expressions of old gods the space changes its mind maybe it is Samos, perhaps it is just Crete traces of death, glimpses of the future your thoughts are cut in marble scratches turn to yellow delineations, conquerors of islands the shore melts in the waters your eyes tell prophesies the time changes its mind perhaps it was just Samos, maybe it was Crete the dying mandolin, the smell of ripened olives an unmade wooden bed solemnity, delirium the names of I, You We
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings was published by Vita Brevis Press in 2020. It is available on Amazonhere.
Updates:
Please do not forget to visit MasticadoresUsa. I have so many beautiful pieces up. Subscribe and follow us.
At the end of the month I will announce the new project I am working on – a project that will hopefully feature numerous poets from our literary community. Please stay tuned for more news.
I learned how to read in the mint forest under a pale October moon. My eyes, blueberries mama gathered in her wicker basket. The unassuaged yearnings of a golden autumn spread under my skin. I found the rivers where fish were born, and nightingales sang. I thought to myself: you, night, how beautiful you are crowned with black poppies and nursing ancient lovers at your chest. A boat sailed straight through my heart. The earth stretched its arms to pick up stars. Then a war started. A bat-eyed wind blew, and the earth turned toward itself. And I thought to myself: you night, how painful you are. Tell me something after I die and before tomorrow’s departure. Let me wear twelve sage leaves on my lips. Let my body blossom on the Hill of Slane when the breath of sleep rises from the empty crypt. You night, how wise you are.
The Anthology
From the publisher:
“From a shaft of sunlight warming the kitchen floor to a lush forest by Walden pond, what is it about experiencing nature that pleases and fulfills us? In the third volume of the Vita Brevis Poetry Anthology, established and emerging poets from around the world show what nature means to them. This is nature poetry at its most precise and moving, continuing the long tradition of Transcendentalism, deciphering ourselves and the world that sustains us — with art.”
Vita Brevis Anthology
Announcements
There is exciting news published in MasticadoresUsa. Please visit the site Here. Like and follow to support our literary community.
On a different note, this month I will features two poetry collections published or to be published by two of your fellow poets. Please stay tuned for more news.
I am thrilled to be included in the most recent anthology published by Kobayaashi Studios: FromOneLine Vol.2.
From the publisher:
The SECOND FromOneLine Anthology is another stunning edition : published as an A5 sized book, featuring 41 prompt lines, 113 authors, and 457 poems and flash fiction.
Stemming from a Twitter-based prompt, the participants of FromOneLine write poetry or very short prose based around a single offered line prompt – and the results have been incredible. A selection of these writings have been gathered into this second volume to be enjoyed at your leisure. Comes with a bookmark.
Paperback : 234 pages Edited by Meghan Dargue Published by Kobayaashi Studios
You can get the anthology hereor on the publisher’s site here.
Don’t turn your back. I am the glue that holds together the baked sands stuck on your skin during endless torrid summers. Sometimes I look like a four-leaf clover sitting on the lapel of your black coat on the 15th of every month. Other times when it is dark, you call me Selena, and you make my twelve fingers knead your ecstasies and plant them in whispering tombs. … Remain.
Claude Monet, Sunset-on-the-seine-at-lavacourt-winter-effect, considered in the Public Domain in the United States
A Twitter Poem
Winter sunsets. Scarcity of orange. Pale blues. Concentrated scents of saffron & roses. I crave sweetness. In one of the upstairs bedrooms the child’s toys #shift places. When I do not cry myself to death, I pretend you are here. Love. My love. #vss365#poem#twitterpoempic.twitter.com/XGNYx9B8hf
I plan to create a newsletter to help our literary community better understand the role of social media in our creative endeavors. At the same time – depending on what you want to showcase – the newsletter will help you understand what social media platform is best for you, and what strategies you should employ to advance your goals and get your work widely noticed.
To that end:
No anecdotal stories will be used. Data will come strictly from rigorous academic research done in Schools of Communications across the world. That ensures the credibility of the conclusions presented to you.
The newsletter will be published once every two months.
You will have the opportunity to sign up for the newsletter on my blog in February 2022.
First issue will come out in March 2022.
I will provide you with more information at the end of January 2022.
Other Announcements
Please do not forget to like and follow the work of our wonderful poets who write for MasticadoresUsa.
Congratulations to those who entered the poetry contest Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: | Love Poems and Poetic Prose and won Honorable Mentions. I am most grateful for your contribution. The beauty of your poems filled me with joy. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
The authors, their sites, and their poetry:
Honorable Mentions – Poetry Contest Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: | Love Poems and Poetic Prose [in no particular order]
Joni Caggiano, inspired by The child to be, You Were The Best of Us
Daylilies and lavender fall from a sky of bright eyes, in the silhouette of a boat, under a quarter moon. Born on the month of the ram with your right fist on your pink cheek. I was twenty, and you were my gift from God and my second love. My milk came like a white river on the third day. Red, your color, dwelling within the passion where fire seared black, my white peasant dress. Burning away the smell of gardenias and honeysuckle, a miracle fashioned within our fervidness. Meeting your father in an arid desert on foreign sand, oh, how I was craving dreams, escape, and freedom. He was to be my savior, but he was only a man. Like the red coral of the sea, our child was the best of him and me.
Cindy Georgakas, Inspired by Self-Indulgence, Chance Meeting
We sat at the coffee shop and chatted, eyes riveted drinking in the rose hips of winter in February, where children run in the snow. We escape from hardships and cold. Electricity between us like thunder of the night. Steam escaping… sent shivers up my spine. Different silhouettes in denseness, yin and yang. worlds apart, but one species. We scan each other; Small-town country to city slicker. Voices echoed, through the caravan of the room. A chance meeting, where tight spaces took distance away. Mountains etched with grooves on either side, sandwiched between the icicle cafe, where bodies collide. Cupid piercing the heart. Sweetness found wrapped In foil like the chocolate waiting at our chairs. We sigh, our coffee cold. Country song on the radio singing “Live like you were dying”
Jeff Flesch, inspired by and…love… and… love… is seen.
is not the end this story may commence like petals on a flowers recompense
and… as love breaks the moon in two I’m reminded of you tranquility among stormy seas the key
you… me….
and… the dreams cast far out into the wild we idly stand by regarding each other for a while
then… what is distant can be seen shapes and figures cut from trees earthly figures caught in a blissful underwater scene as
hope… becomes something familiar caressing the tree tops with delicate fingers made from years of turmoiled laughter transfigured into something adjoined to the hereafter
and… love… is seen.
Karima Hoisan, inspired by Sahara, The Stars of Wadi Rum
After the devoured lamb licking our fingers clean 2 million stars of Wadi Rum pulling our eyes up to the sky You hooked my little pinkie with yours as we lay in the sand hearing the adolescent boy playing the Oud until he made us cry.
Purple mountains pink sand, fake feet fights laughing undercover we muffled our laughter with your sleeve. No-one has the right to be this happy
All I need is you.
Your profile, a Persian princess framed in embers from a dying fire…. My honored one, I trace your nose with my feather, wrap the blanket tighter, those gelid desert nights. are swirling swirling.
“Tomorrow I’ll buy the best gold to adorn us. You always laugh when I am serious. I’m really serious!”
Some masks with silver tooling and hanging coins, We’ll tinkle and impress next time we buy bread, but tonight…. I just need you alone. Cling to me, we are a shipwrecked life raft for each other on this rolling sea of sand.
* * * * * *
“The caves are so beautiful in morning light “Come sleep up above with us” “You’ll miss it all”
Beneath the golden wattle We meet again to read poetry The spring wind pays us a visit I pick yellow out of your tawny locks and brush them off your lips with a kiss Your freckles bloom like pansies
Announcements
The poems of all other finalists will be featured immediately after the New Year.
Thank you once again for entering the poetry contest Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: | Love Poems and Poetic Prose.
A new literary initiative will be announced after Thanksgiving.
