weathered bones

I skirt
and flirt
with dangerous territory
when thinking
of youโ€“
you
remind me of all that was once
true

in life, in love, and in
the texture of weathered bones
drawn closed

like shutters upon my eyes
I

rely upon the truth
to open up
yet, also know the pain of the mountain
tops
call me home

where danger, and safety
resonate as equals

when you are close


Image by Counselling, Pixabay


Courage Resurrects, Published at MasticadoresUSA

I am honored to have my new poem, Courage Resurrects, published at MasticadoresUSA. Thank you Barbara Leonhard for supporting my work, and for all that you do

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

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

May your 2023 be filled with peace, love, and joy, and may all of your dreams come true.


Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller 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, #closed, #connection, #danger, #fear, #healing, #heart, #loss, #love, #masticadoresusa, #mountain-tops, #nature, #open, #pain, #poem, #publication, #realization, #safety, #weathered-bones

cascading horizon

I wake up to you
you remind me of the brilliance
of afternoon sunsets
and

of morning dew
cascading

over a horizon filled
with pain, and with healing

a presence of colors, ambiguous
yet just enough
to

fill the space
left

by the absence of your touch


Photo by me, Oregon Coast


New Publications

I am pleased to announce that my poem, Misty Morning, is now available at MasticadoresIndia. Thank you to Terveen Gill, and the team at MasticadoresIndia for their continued support, and for publishing this piece. You can read the full poem here.

AND

I am also pleased to announce that my poem, Autumn Morning is now available at Spillwords Press. A big thank you to Dagmara K., and the whole team at Spillwords for publishing this piece, and for their continued support. You can read the full poem here.

I would be honored if you would read both poems, thank you!

Photo Gallery

My time at the coast is always precious to me. Early morning walks along the beach provide a space for deep reflection and contemplation. This year, I stayed at a small little motel right on the oceanfront. Amazing views from my room, and easy access to the beach, where walking for miles is possible. Beautiful, invigorating, and peaceful.

Wishing you a wonderful week.

All my love and blessings,

Jeff


Jeff Flesch

#1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

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

Jan/Feb 2022 Author of the Month, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #emotion, #feeling, #healing, #human-connection, #knowledge, #life, #loss, #love, #masticadoresindia, #nature, #oregon-coast, #pain, #poem, #resilience, #romance, #spillwords-press, #sunset, #travel, #understanding

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

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

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

#NatureSpeaks: 30 #Poems in 30 Days โ€“ Day 10: Scattered Sakura, by C.X. Turner

I find you
in the flower
and the water

in tears of late winter
early spring comes true
gently trickling

love
flows softly, intently
rippling between us

yet scattered
sakura petalsโ€ฆ
drift with the current

ceasing to resist
integrating my present
with a smile

I find you, again


Image Credit,ย wallpapers13.com


Scattered Sakura was inspired by the poem Cherry Trees. You can read more of C.X. Turnerโ€™s poetry on Twitter here.


Submissions are still open for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration. The submission details are located here.



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, #awareness, #flow, #found, #healing, #life, #loss, #love, #nature, #naturespeaks, #pain, #poem, #presence, #realization, #scattered-sakura, #sorrow, #tears, #water

rainbow sky

I spell your name
through the stars in the sky
and

with the love
in my

heart

a special place
of hope, and trust

and a single point of light
caressing

the trauma and pain

an allegory, saved
from past days

when your kiss was a rainbow
in the sky

and your embrace filled me with
love

now gone by


Photo by AStoKo, Pixabay


Submissions are still open for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration. The submission details are located here.



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, #embrcae, #healing, #heart, #hope, #life, #loss, #love, #nature, #pain, #poem, #rainbow-sky, #trauma, #trust

Musical Heart, Published at MasticadoresIndia

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

Musical Heart

morning tranquility
broken and crumbled, my part

of ashes spread all over the flower garden
and within the nest of my heart

made out of sticks and stonesโ€ฆ

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


Photo by ArtTower, Pixabay


Iโ€™m also excited to share that my official printed proof of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow arrived this week. Feeling grateful, and super excited about the release on September 1!

#poetry, #connection, #consciousness, #contemplation, #healing, #heart, #life, #loss, #love, #masticadoresindia, #nature, #pain, #poem, #publication, #silence, #time

Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: A Review, by Jaya Avendel

I am honored to share another advanced review with you, of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow, by Jaya Avendel, of Nin Chronicles.

I met Jaya last summer sometime, and have been an avid reader ever since. Jaya uses language in ways that invite the reader to continuously ponder meaning, and the ways in which we construct the realities we hold about life. The poetry and prose are stunning.

I was honored when Jaya agreed to complete an advanced review of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow.

Here are a few excerpts from Jayaโ€™s stunning review.

The poetry of Jeff is undulating and emotional. It explores love and loss and remembrance. It explores the nature of memory and the sweetness of life. Every word is intentional and every line sinks deep into the heart as the imagery of each poem takes hold and bursts into being.

From the moment I started reading this book, I was reminded of a quote by Cicero.

โ€œIf you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.โ€ ~ Cicero

If you have Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow, you will have both a library and nature at your fingertips. You will find the flora and fauna of nature delicate and raw in this book, and the library of written emotions and experiences poignant and healing.

I recommend Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow to any lover of nature and all lovers of poetry. It is a powerful and vivid collection you will enjoy poem by poem again and again.

I would be honored if you would go here, and read the rest of Jayaโ€™s review of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow. Thank you!ย 

I would like to thank Jaya from the bottom of my heart for completing this gorgeous review.


#poetry, #book, #healing, #heart, #jaya-avendel, #life, #loss, #love, #nature, #nature-speaks-of-love-and-sorrow, #poem, #publication, #review

rainbow trim, Published at MasticadoresUSA

I am pleased to announce that my poem, rainbow trim, 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.

rainbow trim

folded end over end, like a piece
of steel

with rainbow trim

a fascinating deluge of colors
vibrant and felt within

my heart

it beats to a steady rhythm, resonatingโ€ฆ

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


Photo by allyartist, Pixbay


#poetry, #healing, #heart, #hope, #loss, #masticadoresusa, #nature, #pain, #poem, #publication, #rainbow, #resonance, #suffering