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 Ávila. 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 “Drowning Ruth.”

The Miracle of You – A Poem from Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings and a Review by Fabian Bats

My dear readers,

I wish you a wonderful weekend.

Below is the opening poem from one of my #1 Amazon bestsellers, Passions: Love Poems and Other Writing, and a review by Fabian Bats that, in the beginning, refers to The Miracle of You. Fabian got it!

The Miracle of You

the moon’s right-hand
pours soul into my flesh
pigeons’ wings bring scents of lilac blooms
the air gets drunk with poetry
statuary women of the water
flaunt their hair

within the loneliness of you
my heart
rotates five equinoxes on a wooden spindle
your eyes pour flesh into my soul
my body germinates the sounds of growing leaves
I wash my hands into the waters of Guadalquivir
in the scented night of those who never sleep
I say
I love you
and in one single breath
our wedding is transformed
in an enraptured death

Review by FABIAN_BATS — Passions: Love Poems and Other …

Post by FABIAN_BATS » 05 May 2020, 19:05

[Following is a volunteer review of “Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings” by Gabriela Marie Milton.]

4 out of 4 stars

Share This Review

Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings by Gabriela Marie Milton is a book of 126 poems; 84 love poems, 6 Italian, and 36 others. In the foreword, the author was praised for her ability to pour out passion, from within her creative mind, into her poetry, and this raised my expectations for deep and insightful poems significantly. The author makes good use of the acknowledgments section, by communicating with the reader, which I liked. There is also a responsive table of contents at the start of the book that allows the reader to resume reading with ease.

As the title indicates, love is an overriding theme in this collection of poems, and the book is opened with one of such. The first poem is my favorite in the book; it took a few re-reads to grasp, but when I did, I instantly thought to myself “Genius!”.

After my first read, I had no clue what I had just read, “what is the link between the title and the poem?”, I thought, racking my head and moving on to the next poem, hoping for less murky waters to swim in -at the start of the book, it is humorous, I know. However, when I came back to read it again, and started seeing links, I felt butterflies, I marveled at the beauty of the words chosen and how a particular figure of speech was used here or there, and when the stars aligned in my mind, I saw clearly that the author was referring to the night of a honeymoon (it could mean a host of other things to other readers, simply because poetry is art). From this point onward, it was difficult to put the book down.

Geographical locations are referred to in metaphors and other figures of speech. Landmarks in Spain are mentioned several times in the book, and Spanish history is also referenced. A few other landmarks are also referenced; hence prior knowledge of Geography would make the poems all the more enjoyable.

The Italian translations section also has the English text placed by the side. The poems in Italian were very similar to the poems in the previous chapters, that were centered on love, however, one of the best poems in the book, in my opinion, was in that section, “Languor of love/Languore”. The final section in the book, “Prose poems and flash fiction”, had more understandable content, and two of my favorites from it were “Art” and “Thoughts”. They were written simply and beautifully.

I liked the wordplay very much, the figurative expressions were so well fused, that a wandering mind would be unable to grasp. This book is an advanced work of poetry, with complex rhyming schemes that change per chapter. It must be read with maximum concentration. This is a book of poems so I would recommend this book to those who like poetry, especially the romantic genre, and have at least beginner-level experience in poetry (like myself), also those who want to delve into poetry for the first time, can give it an attempt at their own risk.

The book has no profane language and mild sensual content, which could easily grow within one’s mind whilst reading. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars, for being professionally edited, conveying a series of beautiful messages powerfully, and being a one of a kind book in its genre.

******
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Fabian

LINK

Thank you for reading and enjoy the rest of your day!

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:

Christina Schwarz, the author of the New York Times Bestseller “Drowning Ruth.”

“With lush language and lavish imagery, Gabriela Marie Milton. evokes a fantastic world ripe with emotion.”
Christina Schwartz

Edited Collections:
#1 Amazon Bestseller, Hidden in Childhood (Literary Revelations)
#1 Amazon bestseller,Petals of Haiku (Literary Revelations)
#1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women (EIF)

A Poem From Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings – One of my #1 Amazon Bestseller Poetry Books

I am the one

I am the voice of your past loves
resounding in your wildest fantasies
dressed in roses at the altar of your dreams
I am the one you’ve never had
my soul flows from the tears of the Nile
from the hands of children who still beg
through ruins, darkness, and deep pain
through wars which they will never understand
I am the last who will be saved
for I have sinned under the shadow of His cross
when Spanish fountains cry in the sunset
I am the Desdemona who you’ve never met
today Granada’s just the place
in which García Lorca once was killed
I am the feather of a gold macaw bird
and in the city where bells toll
I am the one whose cries you’ve never heard

Reminder:

Literary Revelations invites you to unleash your poetic prowess and be part of our upcoming poetry collection entitled Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku. With a cover designed by our of award-winning Japanese artist Hikari, and with artistic photos by award-winning Japanese photographer Naoki Kimura included, please do not miss the chance to have your words grace the pages of our anthology.

Submit 5 haiku (s) at literaryrevelations@pm.me
Label your submission: 5 Haiku
Submissions close on February 28.

My books:
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings (Vita Brevis)
Women: Splendor and Sorrow (Vita Brevis)

Edited Collections:
Hidden in Childhood (Literary Revelations)
Petals of Haiku (Literary Revelations)
Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women (EIF)

Autumn with you – Poem by Gabriela Marie Milton

A summer with raspberry lips
born from the bones of the sea and the feathers of winds
on September 20th Pessoa left Lisbon
the autumn brought dead perfumes
and poisoned the crickets with black tongues of fumes

I linger in empty railroad stations
where trains never stop anymore
you, my love,
slept for years on wet cobblestones
the ring on your finger
and under your head
a Stradivarius courting suicidal moons

Delirious I am for I can hear voices
I can see snakes dance on polished parket
dead leaves grow from my arteries like sunrises from seas
I lick from my lips the last pieces of corn
remember, my love, I am the one
who knows where nightingales are born.

Please do not forget that Literary Revelations will publish in December a fabulous book called Greenlandos by Virginia Witch. Please read more here and stay tuned for more news.

Gabriela Marie Milton
2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee
Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author
Books:

Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology (ed.), Literary Revelations, 2023
Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women (ed.), Experiments in Fiction, 2022.
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow :I Love Poems and Poetic Prose, Vita Brevis Press, 2021.
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings, Vita Brevis Press, 2020

I Wanted to Love You – poem by Gabriela Marie Milton included in Woman: Splendor and sorrow.

I Wanted to Love You – poem by Gabriela Marie Milton

each word I write cries on the tunes of spring,
a spring that ends in graveyards and in dreams
the night I abandoned you on that bench and left
snows in my mind the syllable of hell
I bought one ticket from a shaman dressed in red
and flew towards the island of nowhere
and now between the mighty heaven and the hell
I love you and I hate you are the same
and I return to find the pardon of the sands
to kiss your dust left on your mother’s hand
I dress in colored ashes and I speak
the language of the prophets with no tongues
on a new bench, I sit alone at funerals
and wait until the sea closes its eyes
to resurrect the ghost of love that you inscribed
on the red bridge between your spring and mine
I wanted to return
I wanted to love you

Explore

Visit Literary Revelations for more poetry and art

Explore

Gabriela Marie Milton
2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee
Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author
Books:

In the mood for you by Gabriela Marie Milton – poem -poetry

In the mood for you – poem by Gabriela Marie Milton

The richness of the butterscotch sunsets, heated bodies, eyes pregnant with desires, incandescent spaces between the skin & white shirts stiffed with starch, heads turned toward the sea, a rose between your teeth, doors undone, amor, the judgement day is not here, let’s die on the petals of the wind.

featured painting: In the mood for love – MM Ciciovan

Do not forget to visit Literary Revelations, read our journal, and subscribe.

Thank you.

Gabriela Marie Milton
Books:

Collage d’amour – poem by Gabriela Marie Milton #love poem #prose poem

Love Poem

That night, the child – flowery eyes wide open, sweet skin like candy – stole the moon. He squeezed it in his palm and a thousand St. John’s Lanterns fell on the earth. He giggled. A lily of light bloomed on his shoulder. He touched it with his fingers, purred like a cat, and hid in its shadow.

Hushing sea. Latent waves on my body; tears on the cheek of the child. Our first night in Alicante. It was St. John’s Night. Fate was playing dice. Buried in the sand between our naked souls, between our fermenting lips, breasts of broken statues and Miguel Hernández’s Cancionero Y Romancero De Ausencias. We were two ghosts finding each other from afar. He wrote that, didn’t he?

The sky opens. The child continues to sleep, the moon tightly squeezed between his little fingers. In the bathtub my hyacinths, and the aroma of sandalwood invert their positions. I took too many sleeping pills. I fell into the exaltation of my own double. Grabbed by the claws of a bird the loneliness spams. A conch shell releases your voice. Stars and sea salt. My last I love you.

Announcement

Literary Revelations Publishing House will open soon. It will be up and running in early November of this year. Excerpt from its mission:

We publish most poetry genres: epic, lyric, narrative, or prose poetry. We expect work that dazzles the intellect, and delights the soul; work that makes feelings blossom into symphonies of love, beauty, and sorrow. Interpret the silence. Find the place where love was born, and tears are entombed. Be the voice of prophets. Be the soft whisper of Sakura.

September Love by Gabriela Marie Milton #poem #poetic prose #short prose

2022, Somewhere in Southern Europe, photo Gabriela Marie Milton

September Love – poetic

September again, my steps heavier, my hips moving with the same uncertainty they did during the time when the child was conceived. Barefoot I trampled grapes in a red vat, my dress rolled above the knees, my hair in a bun. The crisp smell of broken Gamay Noir penetrates my nostrils. The first release of the fall juices. Echoes muffled by the cracking of corn roasting on the fire.

I hurt. I miss you desperately. Perhaps you’ve never returned from that September when we first met. Sighing leaves, sobbing skies, cold hands looking to ignite fires. A tango coming from nowhere coiling like a snake around our bodies. Sweet forehead kisses. On my neck, somnolent bruises covered by makeup.

I cannot stand anymore Victorian self-righteousness, fake politeness – “I apologize for interrupting, I came to slit your throat” – people who speak about gratitude without practicing it, questionable advisers who have proliferated like false parasol mushrooms after the rain. They make me sick. The tragicomedy of this world. Poetica, Aristotle. Remember?

Here we go again: young, books under our arms, love burning our eyes until we could see beyond the limits of September, philosophy burning our souls, trademarks of Friday afternoons on our skin. Roman columns reaching the sky at the exact hour when we interlinked our consciousnesses. Pears ripening in trees, branches burying themselves in the earth. Spread at the base of the columns our heated bodies ready to fly. We were not supposed to ever come back.

Why did we, my love?

I steal words from September’s iconostasis. I sew them in a field of dahlias. I wash my hands and my feet. You take the corn from the fire. The child plays. Blue and white awnings murmur in the wind. The child. The sunrise of the first I love you.

Summer Love by Gabriela Marie Milton – from the book Woman: Splendor and Sorrow #poem #poetry

Image: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner – Liebespaar (Die Hembusse), public domain

Summer Love By Gabriela Marie Milton – from Woman: Splendor and Sorrow:I Love Poems and Poetic Prose

That summer love burned us until our skin became tranquilized.
We were ready to receive.
None of us cared about the danger of the thousand apples from which we bit.
Poetry?
Oh, poetry was too good to be read.
We tasted it and ate it with silver spoons.
All filtrations of the mind and senses hid in small apple bites and scented flowers.
By dusk, we exhausted everything with our breath.
The children’s voices vanished into the dark.
The doubt of too much spilled between us like ashes from a broken urn.
Summer love.

Updates

Please do not forget our Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women Party, June 18, 3pm London time. I emailed the Zoom link to all authors. The event will be live-streamed via YouTube. See you at the party.
I was interviewed by Victoria Onofrei of Radio Bloomsbury. I spoke about my poetry, our upcoming anthology Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women, and many other things. The interview will be broadcasted Sunday, June 19, 6pm London time. I will share the link on my blog and Twitter account on June 19.
If you submitted poetry for MasticadoresUsa and did not receive a reply from me please resubmit.

Thank you!

Gabriela Marie Milton
#1 Amazon Bestselling Author
Books:
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow :I Love Poems and Poetic Prose
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings

Poem by Gabriela Marie Milton #poetry

Poem

If only I could put my palm into yours for one single sunset
when the autumn smells like corn
& the eyelids of the sea cast spells on the cheeks of the stars
At the end of the shore milk foam washes the feet of the children

I miss you#Expatriate-d #vss365 #WritingCommunity pic.twitter.com/wrXtXJh94R
— Gabriela Marie Milton (@shortprose1) March 4, 2022