EXIT AUTUMN
by Carolyn Wolfe
In the woods
I saw a lady
made of leaves.
Soft brown earth became her hair
highlighted by shimmering red maple.
Her eyes
though half closed
were bright with wisdom.
Silently
she sat there
wrapped in a cocoon of age
and the dreaming sentience
of a softer
change of Season.
As I was leaving the woods
wondering at such a vision
I saw her rustle
very slowly,
and turn
gently giving to me
her powdered
smile.
Bio:Carolyn Wolfe is a free lance writer, poet, and author of six books including her collections of poetry, short stories and bedtime stories for children. In May 2012 her sixth book, the illustrated children's book "The Unhappy Little Dragon, Lessons Learned" will be on a Virtual Book Tour, and featured on many children's author blogs, complete with interviews and reviews of her book which reveals the story of Happy, and unhappy little dragon, who, while trying to understand how to master his uncontrollable gift of fire, has an exciting adventure in the woods and discovers he is a very special dragon after all. Carolyn also hosts a poetry group, "The Downtown Poets of Winchester" a monthly meetup group that also does performances of their poetry throughout the area. Ms. Wolfe lives in the Shenandoah Valley with her Photographer, husband Scott, and her houseful of animal companions. For more information, please visit her website at: www.whenthemoonspeaks.com.
Autumn in the Valley of the Moon
by Arlene Mandell
Rain sluices down dry creek gullies
churning dust into fertile mud
hemlocks scent green air
in hazy morning light
silvery sounds echo
through the woods
a red fox darts
under my fence.
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Bio: Arlene L. Mandell, a retired English professor, who lives in Santa Rosa, CA, was formerly on the staff of Good Housekeeping magazine. She has published more than 500 poems, essays and short stories in newspapers and literary journals, and in 24 anthologies, including The New York Times, Tiny Lights and Wild Violet.
poetry 101
by Richard Lighthouse
how do i look so far?
i am as alive as you.
possessing consciousness and purpose.
we are structures that
seek others.
i exist that you might study yourself
and creativity’s nature.
i am a bookmark in time
holding frozen emotion
gifting students
with self-fragments and meaning.
i live in volumes of intensity.
expressing mankind’s ideals,
and gathering the mental children
we nurture and grow.
bring me close. smell the ink.
tell me what you feel.
Bio: Richard Lighthouse is a writer and artist. He has been published in numerous journals worldwide
and resides in Houston, Texas.
