Two More Poems in Three Line Poetry

I just had two more poems accepted by Three Line Poetry, this time for inclusion in Issue 6.  This brings the total up to four (had one in Issue 3 and one in Issue 4).  Not sure if that makes a regular contributor, but it kind of feels that way.  Also makes me wonder about the rigor of the selection process, although they have rejected a couple poems I submitted.  Anyways, I'm not going to worry about that too much-- I'm just having fun.

The poems are included below.  The first was written originally as a three line poem.  The second started as a five line poem; I removed the fourth line and combined the third and fifth.  I think that's also part of what I like about the three line poems-- taking a slightly longer poem and modifying it to work in only three lines. 

Mourning dove, do you notice me
as you alight upon the patio?
I wonder, who is in whose space?

Ten thousand blossoms
have bloomed and fallen again.
Will we ever walk among the cherry trees?

Three poems in the Copperfield Review

Three of my poems from the Skimino Cycle were just published in The Copperfield Review, Summer 2011 issue:  "The Mountains Were My Meetinghouse," "The Glass," and "The Wheat Field."  All three are in the voice of Mary Townsend Ratcliffe, my great-great grandmother.  These are the first of my "Skimino Cycle" poems to be published.

Another poem published in Three Line Poetry

Just had another poem published in Three Line Poetry:


I sit on the pier;
the river flows slowly past.
So much like my life.

Three Line Poetry

The following poem was just published by Three Line Poetry for inclusion in Issue 3:

So long had it been
Since I held a spring blossom--
I had forgotten.

Five poems published in The Beatnik

This year is turning out to be a good year for publication for me!  In addition to having a poem ("Thoughts While Viewing Van Gogh's 'Fishing Boats...'") published in the journal Do Not Look at the Sun, five poems of mine were published in the on-line journal, The Beatnik.  The poems are:  "Claudia Greets Me in the Morning," "Dead Roses," "Rain Falls from a Somber Sky," "Reading Li Po on a Winter Day," and "Age Pares the Fruit of Life."  Both journals are on-line; both provided links to my blog page, which has resulted in more traffic on this site.  Thank you to the journal editors, and to readers for following those links.

The poems in The Beatnik are available here:  http://whollycommunion.blogspot.com/2011/03/michael-ratcliffe-five-poems.html

I've currently got poems out for review at Little Patuxent Review and You Are Here:  the Journal of Creative Geography, both journals in which I've published previously.  Keeping my fingers crossed for a few more published poems.

January 14, 2012 Update:  the poems out for review at the Little Patuxent Review and You Are Here were not accepted for publication.

CLAUDIA GREETS ME IN THE MORNING

[Published in The Beatnik, March 26, 2011, on-line at http://whollycommunion.blogspot.com/]

CLAUDIA GREETS ME IN THE MORNING


Claudia greets me in the morning
with coffee and half a smile,
eyes downcast somewhere
between sadness and a different place.
I am there also,
only closer to sadness,
knowing no other place to be.


I stare out the café window,
at all the purposeful people
on their way to purposeful days;
it hurts to look at them
in the morning sun's glare,
so I follow Claudia
as she shuttles between tables and kitchen,
taking orders, pouring coffee,
delivering food,
while the manager shouts her round the restaurant—
"Claudia, pick up!"
"Claudia, new customer!"
"Claudia, clear that table over there!"


Claudia looks my way.
I sense a glance that says
take me away from here,
take me to another place,
and I want the same from her,
but neither of us says a word
as Claudia pours me another cup of coffee.

ODDS AND ENDS

(various haiku and tanka and a few deviations from strict form)



End of day, and now
the sound of rushing water
as I sat creek-side,
the warm sun and peaceful breeze--
just a cold night memory.
__________________________

Lavender and teal--
the colors of the dawn sky.
You are still asleep.
__________________________

Peach and blue today.
You are still asleep, while I
enjoy dawn alone.
__________________________

I sit on the pier;
the river flows slowly past.
So much like my life.
__________________________

River laps on shore,
a light breeze cools my body.
I don't want to leave.
__________________________

Calm water, light breeze;
quiet morning on the pier
writing simple lines
of haiku and tanka
while everyone else sleeps.
__________________________

Gray fisherman wading along our beach
how awkward you look,
and yet a certain majesty
as you stand motionless
Observing.
___________________________

Walking Columbus,
I think I may have taken
a wrong direction.

(written after walking along Columbus Street in San Francisco)
___________________________

She leaned against me,
then turned slowly in my arms
and kissed me softly.
I could not force my mind
to remain within the dream.
__________________________

White snow on green grass;
clouds obscure the dawning sun--
a New Year begins.
__________________________

Clouds part; sun lights way.
I resolve to not resolve.
A New Year begins.
__________________________

Dead roses lie on the table,
still bundled as they came from the store.
For want of water, they withered.
__________________________