“Bee-ing in Love”
 
There were in a tree a girl and boy bee.
Their wings were humming contentedly.
Their love was wondrous, warm, and new
The hands they held were more than two.
While love was what they mooned about,
The boy bee felt a buzz of doubt.
 
“Would you love me if I had no wings?
Or if I could not give you things?
What if I lost my stripes or stinger?
Would you stay or would you linger?”
She softly hummed her buzzed reply:
“I love you bee’cause you always try.
You think you are not brave or strong,
But even so, we get along.
You're sometimes sad, but often funny.
You take the time to call me honey.”
 
The boy bee felt relief, but then
His inner buzz spoke up again.
“But would you love me first or third
Were I a spider, ant, or bird?”
Her buzz was soft as velvet when
She said, “Were you a fox or hen
Or cow or bear or frog or pig
It wouldn’t matter, not one fig.”
“But think of this,” was his reply,
“I’ll grow so old I cannot fly.”
 
She spoke with words of soft confiding,
No small degree of gentle chiding.
“When next to you, I can just bee
Sitting beside you in this tree.
Why do you worry about such things?
When you can’t fly, I’ll be your wings.
Sure as my stripes are gold and black,
You’ll always love. I will love back.
 
His hands withdrew, his wings went still.
He smiled and buzzed, “I know you will.”

​

Dr. Paul “Spike” Wilson is a poet, playwright, stage director, and theatre scholar. He is the Artistic Director of Page & Stage Co. (a theatre-for-literacy organization) and co-founder of the True Names Initiative for Drama Therapy and Social Action. His other works include a cycle of Christian-Zen poems and an anthology of literacy plays called The Peanut Gallery. Visit him at pageandstageco.org.

Bucket in Hand and Hours to Go
Mom’s on the Job
by Marilyn Wolf
 
I’ve been cleaning the rental house all day
so we can get our deposit back.
(No remarks, Dear Readers 😉.
She had to go to work so I’m here alone.)
 
Our names are on the lease,
though there have been several other residents come/go
through the year.
One Mom cleaned ONLY her son’s bedroom today.
Whut: he didn’t walk through the rest of the house?
 
We’re the only ones here cleaning.
I’m tired, dirty, stinky, and in a bad mood.
It’s 10 o’clock at night;
I have a 3-hour drive home.
I have to shower before I go to bed
Then get up at 5 for work.
Maybe I won’t bother sleeping…
 
College:
It’s an education for the parents, too.
 
©2021

​

Marilyn Wolf has been writing since childhood with varying success rates and support. Nonetheless, the writing has continued, and she currently publishes on Medium. Marilyn lives in Indiana, is a member of several writing groups, is surrounded by other writers, and enjoys daily writing and support. Presently, she is editing a second book that will be published soon.
Contact:  https://medium.com/@Wolfen25

The Portal Called The Kitchen Window
 
Cool cool breeze
Gracing this space with the love scent of
Basil
Soil
Lemon  
                     Dancing
Bringing the Moment
         The right here right now
Eternity.
 
Honeybees, butterflies,
          And black ants
Busy on the one side
And, I, chopping fresh, luscious
     Tomatoes & cucumbers & rosemary
On the other
Our work                   Our play
 
Pay attention.
As the sun comes round the
Corner bringing the next
Hour
And the work-play
On both sides.           
                                                                Blessed Be.

​

​A Sojourner. A Poet. A Lover of Life.
Deborah spends her moments seeking the Truth, traveling to other lands, learning the native tongues, uncovering the many stories of the Divine all in celebration of the Sacred Mundane. Her journeys  guide her pen, and, as a conduit, sees her mission as sharing the awe and paying attention.
When not on the road, she can be found in her kitchen, reading cookbooks (her favorites include Lois Rothert’s Soups of France, and MFK Fisher’s How to Cook a Wolf), simmering soups, baking breads, and savoring chocolates. It is said:  Scratch a gourmand – find a poet. These are words that bless her cutting board.
She enjoys her role in this life as the mother to beautiful twin daughters, who teach her and guide her in becoming the best person she can be. They are a source of inspiration and awareness.

Meet Me
by Morgan Galvan
 
Meet me where the horses race
On that dusty path
Lined with weeds
Meet me by the old stables
With chipped paint
Where rubble lays
Meet me by stacks of hay
Where itchy alfalfa lines the walls
And hens nestle in with eggs
Meet me where the smell of earth
Mixes with the scent of mare’s sweat
Meet me where the mountains
Poke holes into the sky
Where desert birds hop
And beetles hide
Meet me there
In clear blue skies
Meet me
For there --
My heart resides
​
 

​Morgan Galvan is a novice poet published in last year’s Poetry Society of Indiana Anthology, Ink to Paper. She enjoys writing short stories, picture books, and especially poetry that point the reader to find the unexpected beauty in sorrow and in the mundane. You can find Morgan on Twitter @MorganGalvan26 and on Instagram @sheawhowrites.

flowers fall on the floor,
but before that
they grew more wise.
 
dream bigger
love stronger
live better
rise farther
 
home is the land
home to the Lady

}
Powerful
Beautiful
Soundful
Joyful
are you led to the land
home to Lady Flora
 
​
– B. Monét & Z. Rose

​Natalie – pen name B. Monét – is your average girl with aspirations and daily obstacles to overcome. Born Californian but raised in Hoosier Indiana, daily life lessons were what kept her on her toes. Questioning and searching for answers, she dove into a sea full of curiosity, hobbies, and passion to find purpose in the meaning of life. From facial cues to verbal expression, American Sign Language propped the door open to connect and communicate with family and friends. Through networking and a passion for creativity, the possibilities for the poet, artist, jeweler, and creator are endless. With countless opportunities, she thrives in her written and artist work in hopes for others to connect.

Z. Rose or Zero, better known as Payge Gillig, is up to everything you can think of. She works on hobbies like sewing and hiking. While following her passion in writing, art, and collaboration. She laughs at herself and wants others to have fun too. Her creative energy takes flight and the production of a lifetime is formed. She works twice as hard to improve, evolve, and be authentically herself every day.

Together, they are Eclectic Sense!
Check out all the thing B. Monét and Z. Rose are up to as Eclectic Sense:
https://www.eclecticby.com/
https://www.instagram.com/eclecticsense/
https://www.facebook.com/mentes.divinas.3​
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp3qLOzDiKsrqfZLOvydYdw/featured

​Break the social taboo
by JAC

A man is meant to show only a few things
Strength, anger, and power
This makes a man weaker

The human condition requires more
To feel is to live
To hurt is to grow
Suppression is the expectation
But the answer is expression
​
 

​Ukraine
by David Allen
 
A man stands alone
in front of a tank,
delaying its deadly mission
for a few minutes
as bombs rain down
on his Ukraine town.
 
A rabid dictator
ordered this war
to rebuild Imperial Russia
and make him its newest Czar.
 
Democracies pass resolutions
to pick Russia’s pockets,
each president lining up
to wear Chamberlain’s old hat.
It’s a repeat of when Hitler
sought to take over land  Germany
lost in the first world war.
 
Now a 40-mile parade of tanks
rumble toward Kyiv, as the people
ironically make Molotov cocktails
to stubbornly resist.
 
I wonder what former
Soviet Bloc country
Czar Putin will invade next.
 
 

​David Allen is a retired journalist with 36 years on newspapers in Virginia, Indiana, and the Far East. He is now a full-time poet, former vice president and contest director for the Poetry Society of Indiana, and host of poetry meetings in Anderson and Chesterfield. He has been published in numerous poetry ezines, journals, and anthologies. David has published four books of poetry available on Amazon at: tinyurl.com/davidallenpoet. Visit his poetry blog at www.davidallenpoet.net.

Living
by Chuck Kellum
 
In honor of my Dad
 
The stroke didn’t stop him.
Before long, he was walking again
With a cane, but not a walker.
 
Then came the crash, him
Suspended upside down in the small, crumpled pickup,
Banged up, brain bleeding in several places,
Until the rescuers arrived to get him free --
An eternity suffered alone
That he cannot remember.
 
And once again, at 90, he must strive
To relearn the basics
Of upright movement
That as a toddler long ago,
And without even realizing it then,
He had quickly discovered is
One of our most natural acts
Of freedom.
 
With that freedom he had become quite athletic
In his youth, unusually tall and excelling
In basketball – as a record-setting scorer,
And baseball – although unable or unwilling
      to advance past playing semi-pro.
 
Now even the simplest movements of feet and legs
Can be quite tedious when working at walking,
    And often frustrating,
        And sometimes discouraging.
 
And yet, as I watch him
Rise slowly from the wheelchair, I’m sure,
Despite the limitations of his current condition,
He is still ready
To shoot that soft jumper from the baseline
Or bound, outstretched and straining,
To field the hard grounder hit to his right.
 
 
©2016 Chuck Kellum
[Inspired by a poem by David Lehman entitled “January 31” presented in The Writer’s Almanac 01/31/16, and begun in prose as a Facebook post that same day.]

Chuck Kellum grew up on a farm southwest of Indianapolis. As a young adult he traveled the world a bit – about twenty countries in all. He eventually settled into a technology-related career primarily as a business applications software developer, got and stayed married, helped raise three children, and has lived in Anderson, Indiana, since 1984. He began writing poetry while a senior in college studying engineering and wrote about 120 poems in the course of a dozen years before getting married, but then was too busy after that with work and family. His writing of poems on a somewhat frequent basis resumed in 2009 after he was no longer working full time. He’s been a member of the Noble Poets club since 2017, and currently serves as Treasurer and Contest Director of the Poetry Society of Indiana.
public contact: crkellum@yahoo.com
​

Whisper
by Marlene Million
 
Angels whisper of mysteries
and secrets of the Universe,
while the cosmos swirls
in tandem of perpetual wonder.
 
The moon, stars, and planets
reflect the spirit of creation.
Cherubim and Seraphim bestow
praises upon Your vastness.
 
Birds migrate, lambs sleep
and human life is conceived . . .
all balancing within
Your Divine Hand.

The Naked In Wonderland Series is also available on Amazon Smile.

Perspectives
selected early artwork by Alys Caviness-Gober

(hardback art book)

Click cover image to go to purchase site.​

​Alys Caviness-Gober is an anthropologist, artist, and writer living in Noblesville, Indiana. Despite lifelong disabilities, she perseveres with her arts creations and nonprofit volunteering. Alys’ artwork, photographs, and poetry have received national and international recognition.
 
Alys came late to the life of a professional creative; after receiving her MA in Anthropology, she taught Anthropology and Women’s Studies at the collegiate level and was a PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics until her disabilities worsened.
 
In 2011, she began selling artwork as Creative Expressions Arts. Alys was juried into the Hamilton County Artists’ Association (HCAA) in both photography (2012) and 2D categories (2013) and served on the HCAA Board for many years.
 
In 2014, along with author Sarah E. Morin, she co-founded an annual literature-based project, the Noblesville Interdisciplinary Creativity Expo (NICE). Also in 2014, Alys founded Community • Education • Arts (CEArts), a 501(c)(3) Arts organization. CEArts offers two annual place-making projects, NICE and The Polk Street Review Project (TPSR), and diverse digital content, including online Arts Showcase exhibit opportunities for creatives of all kinds, and @theroundtable arts podcast and short videos series.
 
Alys is a FY2017 Indiana Arts Commission Individual Artist Project Grant Award recipient, for which she created a series of paintings expressing life with hidden disabilities. She was selected to participate in the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute’s Religion Spirituality, and the Arts 2018/19 seminar class. Alys is a guest film reviewer for Midwest Film Journal, and has been an invited presenter at Poetry Society of Indiana conferences and Monicat Data’s arts and technology Yellow Summit (2019). She is a member poet of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS), and of the Poetry Society of Indiana (PSI) and serves on PSI’s Board.
 
 In 2020, Alys selected to be a Hoosier poet, with poems included in the State of Indiana’s online poetry archive, INVerse. Alys serves on the Noblesville Cultural Arts Council and is active in the local arts scene.