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

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

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

Blood Sky, Published at Spillwords Press

I am excited to announce that my poem, Glowing Sunrise 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.

Blood Sky

I sit with my mind
realizing

the names and forms

dawning
like the sun, were given to me
as a child

conditioning for saleโ€ฆ

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


Photo by LN_Photoart, 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, #awareness, #healing, #knowledge, #love, #mental-health-awareness-month, #mind, #names, #nature, #pain, #poem, #publication, #reality, #realization, #spillwords-press, #trauma, #understanding

paradoxical serenade

I walk through flower fields
feeling of
home

where we once met

long ago

the cattail tops, and butterflies
float in air

transfixed, and
in awe

I compare
the blood running through veins

and the nature
of name

this

a paradoxical serenade


paradoxical serenade was inspired by the poem My Blood, by Eunice Aformanor.


Photo by ArtTower, 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


#awareness, #consciousness, #emotion, #feelings, #flower-fields, #home, #illusion, #life, #love, #nature, #naturespeaks, #paradoxical-serenade, #reality, #self

the nexus

dark and light
a playful design

and entrance
into

a world seen, and unseen
where heart and mind

create the nature of reality

a savior

in between
the play of consciousness
and the depths of the sea

hidden
underneath the nexus of humanity


Photo by tommyvideo, Pixabay


Twitter #vss365 prompt words used: dark, entrance, play, savior. Follow me on Twitter here.


Submissions are open for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration, and will remain open until September 23. The submission details are located here.


#poetry, #consciousness, #darkness, #heart, #life, #light, #love, #mind, #nature, #nexus-of-humanity, #perception, #poem, #reality, #worlds

Gumdrops and Glitter, Published at MasticadoresUSA

I am pleased to announce that my poem, Gumdrops and Glitter, 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.

Gumdrops and Glitter

the sea rises over my heart
while I lean into love

like a fairytale, made up of gumdrops
and glitter, which never stops

enticing
the senses

even with a skewed perspectiveโ€ฆ

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


Photo by Agnali, Pixabay


Submissions are open for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration, and will remain open until September 23. The submission details are located here.

#poetry, #determination, #fairytale, #growth, #healing, #heart, #joy, #life, #love, #nature, #pain, #perspective, #poem, #reality, #resilience, #senses

wind chimes

a desolate street feeds
my dreams

with pain and hope both
donโ€™t you know

itโ€™s part of the mystery hidden
inside the love we show

to the sky, and to the people walking by
as we learn more about the lights glimmering in the night

they whisper of shadows long and tall
relational aspects of

our drawn out
souls

ready to depart this plane for another
on the winds of time

and the gentleness of the breeze
my grandmotherโ€™s wind chimes, speak to me

of tarnished tears shed over years and years

and of everything you and I hold dear


Iโ€™m excited to let you all know that my debut book manuscript is complete! I would like to thank Ingrid Wilson, from Experiments in Fiction, for many fabulous insights, and wonderful editing work. We are now on to book creation and cover design. Exciting!


Photo by Counselling, Pixabay


#poetry, #chimes, #contemplation, #heart, #hope, #introspection, #life, #love, #mystery, #nature, #pain, #poem, #reality, #reminiscence, #soul, #wind