FOUR FEATHERS PRESS ONLINE EDITION: PANTOUM FESTIVAL Send up to three pantoums on any subject, totaling up to 150 lines in length, in the body of an email message or attached in a Word file to donkingfishercampbell@gmail.com by 11:59 PM PST on December 15th. No PDF's please. Color artwork is also desired. Please send in JPG form. No late submissions accepted. Poets and artists published in Four Feathers Press Online Edition: Pantoum Festival will be published online and will be invited to read at the Saturday Afternoon Poetry Zoom meeting on Saturday, December 16th between 3 and 5 pm PST.

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

CLS Sandoval

Alexandrine Realization 


My greatest accomplishments are behind me 

I once was so young and impressive, beautiful 

Always moving so quickly toward the finish line 

So many people said, “Wow! She’s so very young!” 

 

I once was so young and impressive, beautiful 

I had finished degrees in my early twenties 

So many people said, “Wow! She’s so very young!” 

Champion undergrad speaker and debater  

 

I had finished degrees in my early twenties 

I’m sometimes ashamed I still don’t own my own home 

Champion undergrad speaker and debater  

My greatest accomplishments are behind me 




The Synagogue in Frankfurt am Main, 1919 by Max Beckmann 


The synagogue in Frankfurt stands tall

Constructed over two years, it opened in 1910

Max Beckmann captured his interpretation nine years later

Imagine how much the building survived


Constructed over two years, it opened in 1910

Before World War II, 30,000 Jews lived in the city

Imagine how much the building survived

By the time the US arrived in 1945, only 100 Jews remained


Before World War II, 30,000 Jews lived in the city

Beckmann captured the life and play of the synagogue

By the time the US arrived in 1945 only 100 Jews remained

The artist didn’t imagine the death that lay ahead


Beckmann captured the life and play of the synagogue

And there is a softness, a magic in his perspective

The artist didn’t imagine the death that lay ahead

The synagogue in Frankfurt stands tall 




Tree’s Canopy 

 

Mind crowded with pensive thoughts now released 

The workout with the other moms allows an exhale 

Babies giggle and gurgle on blankets within our circle 

We lie, backs on the grass, eyes taking in filtered sunlight 

 

The workout with the other moms allows an exhale 

The stress from home fades after exercising together 

We lie, backs on the grass, eyes taking in filtered sunlight 

Green leaves frame the clear blue sky above the park 

 

The stress from home fades after exercising together 

There’s a sisterhood here, a common mom-experience 

Green leaves frame the clear blue sky above the park 

Our breaths are deeper, our children calmer 

 

There’s a sisterhood here, a common mom-experience 

My eyes follow the lines of the tiny branches 

Our breaths are deeper, our children calmer 

The tiny branches have layers of full, green leaves 

 

My eyes follow the lines of the tiny branches 

Sunlight peaks through small openings, causing me to squint 

The tiny branches have layers of full, green leaves 

Mind crowded with pensive thoughts now released 


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