(published in Heliosparrow Poetry Journal)
Collaborative Poems
(published in Heliosparrow Poetry Journal)
clear water rises
on the other side of shadow
the reflection CB
cows idle home for milking
under herringbone clouds HT
about to burst
with bells and whistles
plum blossoms JB
the wind slowly strips
paint from the fence CB
on her phone
the tweenie moons over
a boy band HT
beyond a reasonable doubt
his paramour's ring tone JB
articles of a faith
overrun with brambles
chapel swallows CB
flies swarm across my timeline
in the heat of the moment HT
on the gridiron
a streaker
trips and falls JB
honkytonk sunset
the drifter sips his rye CB
russet tones
gather at the edges
of ripeness HT
hooked on opioids
fish pond moon JB
the tide's withdrawal
reveals
a lifeless reef CB
a dot hangs about
without an i HT
watch your Ps and Qs
on that first date
#metoo JB
a single drop of blood
adorns the cactus spine CB
beauty sleeps
deep under the mud
ashen rose HT
departing geese
muddy streaks across the sky JB
a trail of ants
Coltrane's solo flies
off the page CB
apple blossoms fall upon
a serpentine advent HT
resting in the shade
of a rock pool
crab skeletons
daylight reflections caught
by a pincer movement
just beyond
the scorpion’s claws
a new moon
scissored
between starry streams
a dark somewhere
shears covered with cobwebs
in the gloom of dad’s shed
sharper than silk
the strands of belonging
to our origins
(published in Otata 45)
anhedonia in blossom—
the warmth of the sun
only skin deep
an iceberg lies submerged
somewhere yet-to-be-seen
while her secrets
rest quietly
others fester
sap oozes from scars
long left by carved hearts
counting the rings
on a transneptunian
moonshadow
the still point
between pleasure and pain
becomes a gem
glistening on petals
as the surf subsides
a sudden storm
in a butterfly dream
of chaos
i return to the center
and awaken as myself
the snake's tail
circles out of
its mouth
Clayton Beach / Stephen Bailey
(published in Vines #3)
a tulip waits
in the silence
before daylight
a river's roar rises
from the heart of darkness
the yellowed keys
of a vintage steinway
gather dust
songs of yesteryear
seep through cracked windows
a sparrow feather
stays aloft
in the summer sun
barely a breath
the stillness
of a deer
child lying slain
by a father's gun
the echo
of an ancient tale
now so real
from the belly of leviathan
he slouches toward ninevah
sunset fire
its hour comes round
in the end
Clayton Beach
Stephen Bailey
(published in Presence #61)
a sparrow alights
on the wind blown wire
natural harmonics
another day teased out
to a single note
beluga clouds
the icy moon sets
into the sea
a hermit crab scuttles
its crumbling shell
discarded plastic
in the postmortem
of a forgotten evening
an old salt
spins a yarn or two
into open wounds
and what of the plowshares?
we'll learn to love 'the bomb'
sickle moon
a spy dome deflates
at Waihopai
a thousand times reflected
in the eyes of a fly
in alpine snow
only the radar ping
of a blackbird
Clayton Beach / Stephen Bailey
(published in Vines #1)
in memoriam Johnny Baranski
Folsom prison blues—
every man guilty of some
kind of innocence
a worm twists and turns
at the heart of a rose
see? with the beads
of glass I can show you
your rainbow
revenants of yesteryear
in her sleight of hand
now the mirror's empty
but for the stupid smile
of moonlight
a bolt-gun rings in the stockyard
poppies Hafiz, oh the poppies...
day after day
the quiet American
soldiers on
a chalk window on the wall
there's your escape
the goldfish stares through me
two blue-bottle flies
gather dust in the corner
a breath makes to softly leave
through a split infinitive
hand-to-brow
in one movement
mensch
mother's approval proves
the relationship's final blow
dead sea scroll
a caterpillar
of its end
OMG! there's a dog
trying to get into her ear!
and yet no one pays any mind
as the ground erodes
underfoot
unheard of 'til now
footfall on water
first snowdrops
a certain whiteness in
A Love Supreme
refracted through my third eye
the moon scents whisper
images strewn
across the underbelly
of experience
quietly dusk leaves
the fields wide open
Clayton Beach, Stephen Bailey, and Johannes S. H. Bjerg
(published in Otata 27)
autumn sunset
before the siren
the flash of lights
deeper into night
a bedside vigil
leg twitches
the ragged snores
of an old hound
a breath of wind escapes
the sanctuary of light
Clayton Beach / Stephen Bailey
golden midges
circle in and out
of existence
around the moon
a halo widens
mackerel skin
patterns in the wet sand
become strato cirrus
the familiar becomes
the imprint of dreams
Clayton Beach / Hansha Teki
(published in Otata 24)
moon glimpses—
death seems not so far
out of reach
dust blows around me
an ancient sea bed
the mogul
is hitting
rock bottom
traceries of a mosque
in the parhelion
Hansha Teki / Clayton Beach
clear water rises
on the other side of shadow
the reflection CB
cows idle home for milking
under herringbone clouds HT
about to burst
with bells and whistles
plum blossoms JB
the wind slowly strips
paint from the fence CB
on her phone
the tweenie moons over
a boy band HT
beyond a reasonable doubt
his paramour's ring tone JB
articles of a faith
overrun with brambles
chapel swallows CB
flies swarm across my timeline
in the heat of the moment HT
on the gridiron
a streaker
trips and falls JB
honkytonk sunset
the drifter sips his rye CB
russet tones
gather at the edges
of ripeness HT
hooked on opioids
fish pond moon JB
the tide's withdrawal
reveals
a lifeless reef CB
a dot hangs about
without an i HT
watch your Ps and Qs
on that first date
#metoo JB
a single drop of blood
adorns the cactus spine CB
beauty sleeps
deep under the mud
ashen rose HT
departing geese
muddy streaks across the sky JB
a trail of ants
Coltrane's solo flies
off the page CB
apple blossoms fall upon
a serpentine advent HT
War and Peace
|
the other |
brutal |
|
i think |
a slice each |
|
alone |
coolness: |
|
postfixes |
the writing |
