lonely trails

I walk
along lonely trails
desolate footpaths, where my heart
trades

in an economy of grief
and despair

these two feelings
come without thought or conception

relegating needs to another
mist-covered

field
a place to lay down our weights
and

pick up the threads of love, lingering
in the shade
where

they continue to take shape


Photo by 1162835, Pixabay


My Dearest Friends,

Beginning next week, and continuing for the remainder of this calendar year, I am traveling within and without the country. The travel combined with my ever iterating and changing professional life will demand more of me, which means I will be less active here going forward. I will still visit your sites, and read your beautiful poetry and writings, however, it will be less often. I will also post less often.

I am choosing to pause, possibly indefinitely, the weekly prompt. As to next yearโ€™s collaborative project, I am still very passionate about making this happen, yet at this time, cannot write here, when, or how that will go next year; know that when I know, you will too.

Please know I am very well; all of the changes are positive, and I am very excited about them, though, paradoxically, I am sad about taking more time away from this space. This is how life goes, though, we never know what we will be gifted, and when we are open to all of lifeโ€™s gifts, we walk into them with open arms.

I will update you here as my schedule and professional life continue to take shape in the coming months.

All my love and blessings,

Jeff


Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #connection, #contemplation, #control, #feelings, #grief, #guided, #heart, #letting-go, #life, #lonely, #love, #mind, #nature, #poem, #resolve, #thoughts, #trails

gossamer tree

I mourn you
even though your presence is
near

a mist, cycling on this plane
of ice

thin
and brittle, like a heart
cusped

with love incomplete

the world
sings to you out of fear

while you wander aimlessly
coping

with harsh realities

felt
beneath a toadstool of pain, which
blossoms when least
expected

and stings, just
like the gossamer tree


Photo by A_Werdanย , Pixabay


Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Press



#poetry, #connection, #fear, #gain, #gossamer-tree, #grief, #healing, #heart, #life, #loss, #love, #mourn, #nature, #pain, #poem, #reality

Time’s Ashes, Published at MasticadoresIndia

I am so pleased to announce that my poem, Timeโ€™s Ashes, is now available at MasticadoresIndia. Thank you to Terveen Gill, and the team at MasticadoresIndia for their continued support, and for publishing this piece.

Timeโ€™s Ashes

I drive in circles
manifesting

a purpose

given to me as a child

itโ€™s these coattails of peace and love
I ride

transcending pain, a realizationโ€ฆ

I would be honored if you would go here, and read the rest of my poem. Thank you!


Photo by capturer, Pixabay


Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #awareness, #consciousness, #healing, #heart, #illusion, #life, #love, #masticadoresindia, #nature, #peace, #poem, #reality, #realization, #time, #times-ashes

exhaling love

my heart bleeds my love for you
a reminiscence

and oft felt presence

the touch
of you close, holding memories more than
most

the scent of you filling our room, before
we felt the need to say
adieu

and, upon your return
the sound of your breath

exhaling the words

I love you


exhaling love was inspired by the poem Forevermore, by Kirsten Curcio.


Photo by Engin_Akyurt, Pixabay.



Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #30-poems-in-30-days, #exhaling-love, #gain, #heart, #loss, #love, #memories, #nature, #naturespeaks, #poem, #romance, #scent, #senses

velvet soft

the water flows gently
cascading
over pain and grief
a letter or two is all it takes

bringing me present

to the petals of your love
as soft as velvet

shining
like your smile in winter

snow falls like dandelion fluff
and I find you again in between moments
of despair

opening me up, a shell
traveling without your insistence

yet
the love we shared is more than enough
to stay

grounded

in your contemplative existence


velvet soft was inspired by the poem Scattered Sakura, by C.X. Turner.


Photo by Nancy1730, Pixabay



Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Pres


#poetry, #30-poems-in-30-days, #contemplation, #despair, #existence, #grief, #grounded, #heart, #hope, #human-connection, #life, #love, #nature, #naturespeaks, #pain, #petals, #poem, #velvet-soft

babbling brook

I passed a white oak once
which spoke
about hopes, and
tropes

dished out long ago

an amusing
and configurative challenge
laid out beside

a stream

where
you will always find me

contemplating
the chaos of dreams

and, the world of gravity
holding

me down

even when I want to rise

though, I now realize
itโ€™s up to me to choose another stage

of life, of love

where the sun comes up
inside my heart
and in the veins of the babbling brook


Photo by 12019, Pixabay


babbling brook was inspired by the poem The Origin of Love by, Cassa Bassa.



Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #babbling-brook, #calm, #challenge, #chaos, #dreams, #heart, #hope, #nature, #poem, #reality, #realization, #stream, #white-oak

dancing skies

hearth, and home

the ocean
where I steady my heart

realizing
the salty breeze, and tacky sand
create

hope

in dancing skies

an intangible, yet soul-driven quest
to live

at the cliffโ€™s edge

where anxiety is present
and, you

dwell

in calm
persistence, making
up

the very center of my existence


dancing skies was inspired by the poem By the Ocean by Daphny.


Photo by Andreyะก, Pixabay



Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #30-poems-in-30-days, #anxiety, #bliss, #calm, #dancing-skies, #determination, #existence, #heart, #life, #love, #nature, #naturespeaks, #ocean, #poem, #quest, #salty-breeze, #soul, #tacky-sand

Lilac and Mint, Published at MasticadoresUSA

I am pleased to announce that my poem, Plum Trees, is now available at MasticadoresUSA. Thank you to Gabriela Marie Milton, and the team at MasticadoresUSA for their continued support and for publishing this piece.

Lilac and Mint

I walk toward the moon
lilac and mint waft through the night
a fragrance

bruising my heart, and
hard to define

itโ€™s youโ€ฆ

I would be honored if you would go here, and read the rest of my poem. Thank you!


Photo by LalalaB, Pixabay


Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #connection, #dream, #haunting, #heart, #heartache, #loss, #love, #masticadoresusa, #nature, #poem, #publication, #reminiscence

heartโ€™s home

I look to the east, and west
wondering

when I last saw them

the fireflies

they come out, now and again
instead
I

count the stars in the sky
to remain calm
and

sip from the joy, within
my inner
balm

relinquishing
the fear
residing in my heartโ€™s home


heartโ€™s home was inspired by the poem Fireflies by Punam.


Photo by JoshuaWoroniecki, Pixabay



Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #30-poems-in-30-days, #anxiety, #calm, #fear, #fireflies, #heart, #hearts-home, #life, #love, #nature, #naturespeaks, #poem, #stars, #state-of-mind

beneficence and loam

the desert has a feel
which cascades like water

an essence
pre-manifestation

awaiting
your heart, and mind
to connect

makinging sense
of the known, and unknown

a sensibility, and notion
of mist and tone, saddlebag-brown
bestowed

from the heavens, awashed and attuned
to the gifts

delivered
upon our beneficence
and loam


beneficence and loam was inspired by the poem The Desert Dance by Cindy Georgakas.


Photo by blende12, Pixabay



Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #beneficence-and-loam, #desert, #gifts, #heart, #known, #life, #love, #manifestation, #mind, #nature, #naturespeaks, #poem, #sensability, #sense, #unknown