The Poetry of Art on the Trails 2017
We are pleased to share with you all of the poetry submissions for the 2017 Art on the Trails program. A PDF version of the Art on the Trails chapbook can be viewed here. This file cannot be printed. If you would like a copy of the chapbook, please support this program and purchase it from The Tishman Review for $15 plus shipping.
Below are poems that were not included in the book.
Thank you to all of the poets who submitted their beautiful poems.
Évoluer
By Chelsea Bradway
Broken
Shattered… little bits sprinkled on the ground
Slivers cutting, ripping, yearning
Wonder
Dreaming…. waiting to be awoken
Soft whispers, guiding, comforting, loving
Breathe
Drinking….. filling the emptiness
Tears smile, kissing, escaping, releasing
Growth
Evolving….reaching towards the sun
Sparkley light, dancing, gliding, embracing
Me
Wandering…..finding home
Sweet surrender of solace, grinning, hugging, revering
Avalonia
By Louis Morrison
As I look
at these odd
hanging creatures,
I begin to wonder
if one still dwells here
If it does,
what’s its name?
Maybe we
would look the same..
But for it to live
so long in this,
an icy pond,
my guess would be
of it he’s very
very fond .
Vertebral
By Carla Schwartz
You want to be straight
but can’t balance
on a line
so you curve,
swerve,
wiggle
and align
with the trees
who swerve
in their own
time
seeking
the light.
Under Weight
By Carla Schwartz
Stories, storage,
sleep, a packed
up life compressed,
piles and piles and
piles of it, sinking
under its own weight.
NNNNNNNNNNNN
XXXXXXXXXXX
NNNNNNNNNNNN
When you go, what
remains? Only stone,
concrete, and piles and
piles of books, folios,
your life’s remnants
collapsing under
their own weight.
Continuum
By Chelsea Bradway
Circling
intertwining
enveloping
You pull me in
Guiding me beyond
Pushing me through to the other side
Exhale
Release
Content
You embrace my every whim
Holding me stead fast
No longer a prisoner
Free
Running
Breathing
A sweet calm surrounds me
Intentional Portal
By Carla Schwartz
Deep in the woods,
through an opening,
light —
a portal,
almost heart-shaped —
a channel,
a nest
that invites
with light,
intentionally invites
you to look,
invites you
into its cradle.
Wagon Wheels
By Keira Akus
The rusty old thing
didn’t seem like
anything
when someone
made it to use
As it gets admired,
it still has
its talent
That is worth
a piece of gold.
Tree Harp
By Campbell Morrison
I see in front of me
a bronze stump
of a tree surrounded
by rocks and up
above me
is a circle of hawks..
While the wind blows
in one direction.
The harp shines
to its perfection.
The Dance in the Woods
By Carla Schwartz
Weave yarn
\/_____________________\/
around a tree,
\/__________________\/
connect two
\/____________\/
who thought they could live separately.
\/___________________________ \/
\/_______________________\/
\/____________________\/
All dressed up,
\/______________\/
the couples entwine.
\/______________________\/
O, the lines that bind them —
\/______________\/
you can see them.
\/____________________ \/
\/_______________\/
\/__________\/
Pendant
By Carla Schwartz
The walnut tree slices
dangle like an earring
or pendant
from the broken arm
of the big old oak.
Beeswax
splatters spring
from each center
and shimmer
even in rain.
Who knows
what one tree
has to say
to another?
Who knows
the language
of trees?
Here, the viburnum
in bloom,
the dainty flowers,
like the centers
of these walnut rings,
burst
from their hearts.