Sunday, January 1, 2017

STACIA LYNN REYNOLDS

WELCOME
TO
OUR POETRY ARCHIVE

 “Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.”
~Percy Bysshe Shelley~

Literature, during the Modern-Romantic Period, was engulfed in imagination, along with grasping an emotional sense of nature. Poets embarked on spiritual journeys within their minds, as they perceived the world around them. L.P. Smith, in Words and Idioms, states the meaning of “romantic” as, “false and fictitious beings and feelings, without real existence in fact or in human nature…old castles, mountains and forests, pastoral plains, waste and solitary places and a love for wild nature, for mountains and moors.” The concept of reason in earlier literature had moved on to spiritual, individual freedom of expression. Three poets who emerged themselves in nature and beautifully expressed their imagination on paper were: William Wordsworth, John Keats, and Johann Wolfgang Goethe.

William Wordsworth, who was born in 1770, grew up in the world of literature and poetry which was used for instruction and information. Wordsworth did not reject traditional writing, but began writing poetry with simplicity and emotional feeling. He had a great love for nature and found harmony within the setting of suns, oceans and blue skies. In his lyrical, meditative poem “Tintern Abby,” he paints a picture with his words which brings him great joy and serenity. Wordsworth returns five years later after his first visit to Tintern Abby, and writes of the majestic simplicity of the scene:

Five years have past; five summers, with the length/ of five long winters! And again I hear/ these waters, rolling from the mountain-springs/ with a soft inland murmur. –Once again/ do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs/ that on a wild secluded scene impress/ thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect/ the landscape with the quiet sky/ The day is come when I again repose.

Wordsworth found joy and peace in nature, within the midst of hope of social change in England. He was at rest and found tranquility during disagreeable politics, religious practices and social injustice. His approach to life’s turmoil, written in a serene fashion, differed from the Early Age Modern poetry writers. For example, Vittoria Colonna wrote in her poem, “Between harsh rocks and violent wind,” of life’s struggles in a more violent state found in nature. Colonna writes,

Between harsh rocks and violent wind I feel/ the waves of life striking my fragile bark/ which I have neither wit nor art to steer/ All help will come too late to save me now/ In one brief moment bitter death extinguished/ the lodestar of my life, my constant guide/ I have no help against the turbulent sea/ And threatening clouds, Now ever more I fear/ Not the sweet singing of the cruel sirens/ Nor shipwreck here between these lofty cliffs/ nor sinking helplessly in shifting sands/ but to sail on forever in rough waters/ cutting my furrow with no gleam of hope/ for death conceals from me my sheltering pot. 

Colonna finds herself shipwrecked between “lofty cliffs,” where Wordsworth beholds, with a deep connection, the “steep and lofty cliffs” found in nature. Through his imaginative philosophical mind, the cliffs that he observes brings elevated thought of grandeur, while Colonna analyzes the lofty cliffs as a life struggle too hard to overcome, bringing no hope and pending death.  A similar use of words, as Vittoria Colonna, is found in John Keats’ poetry.

John Keats, born in 1795, is also a writer in the Modern-Romantic age. In Keats’ poem “Ode to a Nightingale,” the reader experiences great emotional distress of a man. This distress is found in the evaluation of Keats’ life throughout his poem. Like Wordsworth, Keats uses the power of his imagination and the power of poetry through the struggles of his life:

I cannot see what flowers are at my feet/ nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs/ but, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet/ wherewith the seasonable month endows/ the grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild/ white hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine/ fast fading violets cover’d up in leaves/ and mid-May’s eldest child/ the coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine/ the murmurous haunt of flies on summer’s eve.

Keats’ poetry and his very imaginative scenes in the “Ode to a Nightingale,” is a great example of traditional, classic writing of early periods of literature. Along with Keats’ use of traditional, classic writing, Johann Wolfgang Goethe also has a wide range of writing style in his poem, “Faust.”

Johann Wolfgang Goethe, born in 1749, was also a writer in the Modern-Romantic age. He became a famous writer in Germany. He used a wide range of style in “Faust.” This various use of style included: The Bible, Greek tragedy and comedy, Dante, Shakespeare, sixteenth century German comedy; to name a few. Along with his use of various literature style, he uses the same concept of painting a picture of society through nature.

When a fragrance has descended/ all about the green-girt plain/ richer air with mist-clouds blended/ evening dusk comes down again/ lulls to infant-sweet reposing/ rocks the heart with whispering sighs/ and this wanderer feels it closing/ on his daylight-weary eyes/ Now to night the world surrenders/ sacred love joins star to star/ little sparkles, greater splendors/ glitter in the lake reflecting/ gleam against the clear night sky/ deepest seals of rest protecting/ glows the full moon strong and high. 
    
Goethe places the reader in the midst nature, the cosmos and the essence of mankind. Like Wordsworth and Keats, he brings the power of nature through his words, along with the traditional classic style of writing of many earlier writers.

In the Modern-Romantic age, there was a growing emphasis on an individual’s connection to nature. This emphasis is seen through the writings of William Wordsworth, John Keats and Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Though all three writers had various influences of previous literary periods, the concept of the imagination and spiritual connection to nature is apparent in their work. These concepts are found in the words of Johann Wolfgang Goethe,

“And thus, when with our heart’s whole hope for guide
Towards our goal, we have struggled on unthinking
And find fulfillment’s portals open wide
From those unfathomed depths, a sudden mass.”

Please take time and enjoy the talent Our Poetry Archive has added to the January 2017 General Edition. Those who would like to participate in our upcoming editions, please send three poems and a profile picture, along with the explicit confirmation, of your permission, for publication in OPA well before the 21st of every month. We are also extending an open invitation for our next Continental Edition, which will feature poets from Africa. Please send 3 poems, both in English and your native language. As with the General Editions, please send a profile picture and the explicit confirmation, of your permission, to publish your copyrighted materials to Our Poetry Archive. Please specify, in the subject line of your email, which edition you are submitting to, to avoid any confusion, and to assure your poems are published in the correct edition. Those who are submitting to the Special Continental Edition, please state your country of origin, mother language, nationality, and where you reside. Thank you! Our Poetry Archive’s email address is: ourpoetryarchive@gmail.com

Author Stacia Lynn Reynolds, editor, sincerely thanks each poet, poetess and reader who is actively involved in this wonderful blog and continued support of Our Poetry Archive. Happy New Year!
From The Editorial Desk
OPA

A
WORLDWIDE WRITERS’ WEB
PRESENTATION!

PUBLISHED BY

OPA

OUR
POETRY ARCHIVE
ONLINE MONTHLY POETRY JOURNAL

email us to:

******************************************

ANAHIT ARUSTAMYAN

OUR POETRY ARCHIVE FEATURED
POET OF THE MONTH

ANAHIT ARUSTAMYAN

OPA How long have you been writing Poetry? We would like to know the early stories about your growing up as a poet or writer in general. Who are your favorite Poets? What are some of your favorite genres to read and to write? Had they inspired you a lot, do you believe in inspiration as a guiding force behind writings at all?

ANAHIT  I have been writing Poetry since I was a schoolgirl. My mother was a writer. She was my best teacher and advisor. I have always been inspired by life. Philosophy was the subject of my inspiration. I am interested in reading both classical and modern writers. My husband Philip Dodd is a great writer. His poetry and novels are great pieces of literature. Poetry brought us together. My favorite genres are different. I love both poetry and fiction. I believe in inspiration as it is a powerful force making ink create beautiful pieces of literature.


OPA What has been the toughest criticism given to you as a writer? What was the biggest compliment? Did those change how or what you write?  What has been the strangest thing that a reader has asked you?

ANAHIT I have faced both criticism and compliments in my life. I think it's natural. People have different opinions and tastes. I write what my heart and brain dictates me.


OPA What is your favorite poem you have ever written? Compared to when you first started writing, have you notice any big changes in your writing style or how you write compared from then to now?

ANAHIT  My favorite poem I have writen is A Poet and a Poem. A poet is a poem but who knows this. It's the last line of my poem. My writing style has always been based on metaphors. Allegorical expressions are usually in the lines of my poems.


OPA   What has been your favorite part of being a poet or and author? What has been your least favorite?

ANAHIT My favorite part of being a poetess and author is that I share my creative works with my readers. My least favorite is that most people seldom buy books. In my opinion books are as important as food.


OPA  Did you get to quit your day job and become a writer and or author or do you still have a day job and writing is something you do for fun? If you still have a day job, what is it?

ANAHIT IT   I am a tutor. Most of my students love books. This cheers me up.


OPA   Besides writing and reading, what is your most favorite thing to do? What genre are you most looking forward to explore during your writing career? Why?

ANAHIT   I like listening to music. I am interested in art. I am writing my first novel at present.


OPA Do you think literature or poetry is really essential in our life? If so why? How does it relate to the general history of mankind?

ANAHIT Literature and poetry have always been essential in the general history of mankind. Poetry is the part of literature. Writers and poets have been creating wonderful canvases with ink in different corners of the world for centuries.


OPA   Our readers would like to know your own personal experience regarding the importance of literature and poetry in your life.

ANAHIT  Literature has always played an important role in my life.


OPA Do you think people in general actually bother about literature in general?  Do you think this consumerist world is turning the average man away from serious literature?

ANAHIT  I think serious literature has always attracted educated people.


OPA Do you think society, as a whole, has a factor in shaping you as a poet, or your poetry altogether?

ANAHIT  I think society has a factor in shaping most poets.


OPA We would also like to know; How do you relate the present literary trends with the literary heritage of your own country?

ANAHIT  Armenia is rich in literature, art and music. I have always been inspired by our ancient, classical and modern poets and writers.


OPA Are you a feminist? Can literature play any decisive role in feminism at all?
ANAHIT  I am a humanist.


OPA Do you believe that all writers are by and large the product of their nationality? Is it an incentive or an obstacle in becoming an international writer?

ANAHIT  Literature doesn't have borders. It is global. Translators have been translating so many masterpieces into different languages for centuries.


OPA What 7 words would you use to describe yourself?

ANAHIT Kind,cheerful, honest, happy, friendly, hardworking and romantic.


OPA   Is there anything else that you would like to share or say to those who will read this interview?

ANAHIT  I wish peace and happiness to everyone.

ANAHIT ARUSTAMYAN was born in Yerevan, Armenia, 1963. After graduating the university she published her poems in some of local anthologies. Her first published poem was in the Youth Literary Magazine called ''Garun'' translated into English ''Spring''. Her later works were published in different international anthologies and online magazines. She authored paperback books entitled My Intoxicated Ink, The Queen Of Metaphors and e-books entitled My Wandering Muse, My Lyrical Tongue and The Phantom's Dolphin. Her books are available on Amazon and Lulu.


The editorial staff of this project: Deborah Brooks Langford, Stacia Lynn Reynolds; sincerely thank you for your time and hope we shall have your continued support.

ANAHIT ARUSTAMYAN

ANAHIT
ARUSTAMYAN

THE SAILOR FROM LIVERPOOL

Sir, you said you were a sailor from Liverpool.
Isn't your raised sail for me below the moon?
Your eyes are as blue as the sky at noon.
Goodbye my home town!
My last hugs to you.
My sailor, raise your sail in my life's room.
Though autumn rains are cool
This autumn breeze will join us very soon.
Hello Liverpool!
You sent me a sailor from your magic pool.
Sir, you said a fish once talked to you.
I know, my sailor, it was true.
The fish with my message swam to you.
Let me say goodbye to my home town soon.
Let me say hello to Liverpool.




I WAS REBORN

I didn't know I could be reborn.
I was a phantom.
I was a breathing ghost.
Which miracle changed me for a stork?
I will fly to your land through my life's fog.
You may ask me what I lost.
It was a roof taken by frost.
No, I don't want a mask any more.
The mask found me as I was a ghost.
My dear, this miracle lets me boast.
I can tell you I was reborn.




EARTH!

Earth! Do send your map to my head's mist!
Bind my paths to your remote streets!
I will walk, talk and get some strings to knit.
My knees may hurt so I will probably slip.
I will fall and rise to my feet.
I will talk and talk before my heavenly sleep.
Ah, Earth! Do bind my paths to your remote seas!
I might be unborn for my next trips.
I was just born on this time's lips.
I will beg a plane to give me its wings.
Ah, plane! Let me fly away from my head's mist!
Could a flying seat be the best street?
Earth! I was born to read your saga's scripts.
Neither born nor unborn learns what life is.




DO YOU KNOW?

Do you know you healed my broken knees?
I am no longer lame as I used to be.
Even a street bulb whispers to me.
A night disappears seeing the sun's glimpse.
You are my day light in the world's rhythms.
Do you know you healed my eyes with your warm lips?
I am no longer blind with wrinkled eyelids.
My dreams got thin as I didn't find anything for them to feed.
A wind used to lose its way to my mill.
Did you heal even the wind?
You sailed from the land where Byron lived.
Do you know you brought me such magic remedies?
My dreams will never break their promise.
They are no longer hungry as they used to be.




TIME CLIMBS UP AND DOWN

I talked to the wind through the autumn leaves.
The leaves don't know where time creeps.
Time is never back but where it sits.
No winds know where time kneels.
Old and new, born and unborn don't know where time flees.
I talked to the streams through the autumn streets.
The streams flow but they don't know where time leads its wheels.
Known and unknown may be time's rhythms.
The autumn sun is lazy but not blind to see.
The sun may know time climbs up and down like invented myths.
I asked the autumn rains if they know what time sweeps.
Born and unborn, known and unknown may have the same wings.

ANAHIT




RANDALL K ROGERS

RANDALL K ROGERS

STD PROTECTION

Ah Jesus!
Christ was gay!?
Twelve,
ah, hungry
bottoms
you say?
Jeez,
looks like
everybody
is going
gay today.
What will
we do?
Animals
don't have
guns,
yet.





EX-LAX EX

Wonder
what I'll
do,
when I
die
before
you,
and
you're
stuck
on Earth
and I'm
floating around
and I
haunt
the
shit
out
of
you.




O.D. CAPACITY

Where
is no care
want or need?
Where desire
is free to be.
Where
lost that
yearning
set free
on
Overdose
Capacity.





SPARE NO ONE

“I think all the people
on “Shark Tank” should
be drowned, cut up,
and sold as imitation
crab meat.”




INMATE NO. 69

He became known
as the can-determine-
-when-you're-gonna-die-guy.
He'd give you weeks,
months, or maybe
a few years to live,
and he was more
often right than
wrong.
But if he didn't
like you, he'd
give you hours,
minutes or
mere seconds
to live,
and carry out
the murder
himself!!!




CONVERSION THERAPY

I was undergoing
gay deprogramming
in the deep South
undertaken
by chanting
Baptist preachers
with snakes,
shotguns, a red-hot poker,
and
chamois plaid shirts,
when apparently,
I began speaking
in tongues.
“Damn God”
I told them,
“is 'Mad Dog'
spelled
backwards.”
They seemed
receptive to my
words
but I never
became heterosexual.




EGGS BENEDICT ARNOLD

God ain't coming
down to Earth
because She never
left!!!


RANDALL K ROGERS is from Dakota.  He is one heck of a man.  He too cheated death and death was perfectly okay with it.  He is the ubermensch.  He lives in perpetual glory.  

ZACHAROULA GAITANAKI

ZACHAROULA   GAITANAKI   

THE FESTIVITY OF SNOW
The nature, like a little girl
takes part in the endless
festive atmosphere of snow,
all around, dressed in white
enchantingly, silently, frosty.
While the snow is falling around
I want to lie down
on its white veil
and up there I’ll become
a pure white lily.
As a lily I’ll send out surplus odor
in the field, neighborhoods
and country chapels.
I take part in the endless
festive atmosphere of snow.







POSTSCRIPT
My fried, I wrote a big letter
but I missed to mention this”
I saw in television, a reportage
from a fire in a colors factory.
There was a kitten getting out
of the ruins staring
with curiosity the camera
shooting the destruction.
It seemed to me
like a good omen.
Not the camera,
the kitten I mean.







BLIND GUIDE
Time, guides our life,
taking it where he wants.
Not caring if a child is hurt,
if an adored voice
silences…







MY DEAREST
My dearest, give me
a loving night.
With a clear look
to face the future.
Walking in the course of time
with your laugh only.
My dearest, give me
a tender caress.
With your open arms
give me love
and a tear of joy running
on the corner of my eyes.

ZACHAROULA GAITANAKI   

GREECE