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

beautiful afternoon

I search for you
in tears

raining
in the afternoon

a complex
land of emotion, are tides
of becoming, and of unbecoming

something far more than
before

a heart
filled with choice

a powerful feeling
empowermentโ€™s
scope

shining
in the noontime sky

glistening
like so many bells
sounding

itโ€™s their time

to move on
leaving behind

a ghost
of what once was

to learn more about
all that is

this
beautiful afternoon


Photo by MenielDM, Pixabay


I would like to thank Barbara Leonhard, and the team at MasticadoresUSA for publishing my poem, Twilight State. If youโ€™ve not yet read it, you can find it here. Thank you!


A quick update on me; all is well. As I write this, I am currently in Bend, Oregon, at the Oregon Workforce Partnership (OWP) Conference, which has been educational, and fun. Next week, I will travel to Yachats at the Oregon Coast for some rest and rejuvenation. I love to visit the Oregon Coast in the winter, itโ€™s less crowded, and always so beautiful. Iโ€™ll share some pictures with you upon my return.

Wishing you all a gorgeous coming week.

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 Pres


#poetry, #awareness, #beautiful-afternoon, #contemplation, #emotion, #empowerment, #growth, #life, #love, #nature, #poem, #reality, #realization, #senses, #truth

dancing magic

leaves turn and bend
a winter scheme

inside my heart

dancing magic
in the sky, and in the wind

natureโ€™s purveyor
and plenitude
of love

weaved
with delicate hands

a gift
beyond the scope
of mind

where
it remains lost
and

is only found
when we realize
itโ€™s been there all along


Photo by bugent, Pixabay


I would like to thank Barbara Leonhard, and the team at MasticadoresUSA for publishing my poem, Starburst Pattern. If youโ€™ve not yet read it, you can find it here. Thank you.


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, #contemplation, #found, #heart, #introspection, #life, #lost, #love, #magic, #mind, #nature, #poem, #realization, #reflection, #solitude, #winter

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

tears of gold

residing within
this skin
and the textiles of the night

a call from you
brings on a metamorphosis
in feeling, and in

contemplation

desiring more than is known
while

sitting at the center of the
unknown

I listen
to the wind
and take account of the person Iโ€™ve
been

and am becoming
harsh words leek from walls
and

crumble
until they fall

over a road, developed
out of tears of gold


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


Photo by Joshgmit, Pixabay


#poetry, #becoming, #connection, #conteplation, #grief, #healing, #known, #life, #love, #metamorphosis, #nature, #pain, #poem, #realization, #tears, #transformation, #unknown

ink-petalled darkness

I see you in my heart
of

molten desires
where

embers

cascade
towards the cliff
edge

an abyss
of ink-petalled
darkness

where light conspires to
rise

from ashes of the past

an indomitable
conjuring

for the love of humanity
instead


Photo by Darkmoon_Art, Pixabay

Twitter #vss365 prompt words used: molten, indomitable. Follow me on Twitter 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, #darkness, #desire, #despair, #hope, #ink-petalled-darkness, #insight, #life, #light, #love, #nature, #poem, #unknown

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

apocalyptic sun

I see you in my dreams, you
speak in tounges
about

an apocalyptic sun
rising

over fields of wheat and ash
where

we last danced, and

flowers
have black heads of sand

a land of love
with skies of blood, and

rivers, our veins
connecting two worlds
into one


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, #apocalyptic-sun, #awareness, #connection, #dreams, #flowers, #life, #love, #nature, #poem, #reality, #realization, #sky, #worlds

featherlight

breathing into the sky
and into the red kites sitting
in my heart

reminiscence
of days gone by, and of days
yet to come

lingering
in love

while also experiencing the pain
of the tallest mountain tops

where
air becomes thin
and you

are unfolded
in

the celestialness of my dismay

a feather

as light as the wind
sits

underneath the texture of
my skin

dripping, with a love
which never materialized within


celestial dismay was inspired by the poem Flint and Feathers by, Lisa Walker.

Photo by artyangel, Pixabay


#NatureSpeaks: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration

This post officially concludes the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration. Thank you to all of the exceptional writers and friends that took part in this collaboration. It was an honor to write with you.

And, thank you to everyone that participated in the 30/30 collaboration by reading, liking, and commenting on the poems shared. I still have some poetic responses to share, and will share them in the weeks to come.

Announcements

I am excited to announce that I am working on a new collaborative project for 2023. I will begin to communicate the details of this new project in the next two months, with more being shared when we enter the new year. Please stay tuned to this site for more information about this new initiative.

I am also going to begin a weekly prompt sometime in the next month, once I rest and recuperate from the 30/30 collaboration, which means that my blogging schedule will reduce to 3 to 4 posts a week going forward.

Have a gorgeous Sunday, and the coming week.


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, #dismay, #featherlight, #healing, #hope, #life, #love, #nature, #pain, #poem, #reminiscence, #unloved