mandarin orange and whisky

Here’s the last two lines from “mandarin orange and whisky”, a new poem I’ll read tonight @KingStreetBar open mic:

but I crave leather and black pepper

my mandarin orange wants some whisky

© 5 March 2019

Cindy B. Stevens

#orange #whisky #temptation #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #HillsboroughNC #OpenMic #KingsStreetBar

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am I your enemy?

Here are two lines from a piece I’ve been working with, on and off, for a bit.  When a piece no longer speaks, I put it away for later until it begins to speak to me again. I think its title is “am I your enemy?”

what do I do with our memories

before you were my enemy?

© 15 January 2019

Cindy B. Stevens

#enemy #memory #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

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beyond my bleak midwinter

We are in the bleak midwinter part of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.  Most of this piece is sweeter than my others.  Here’s the first stanza of “beyond my bleak midwinter”:

my town prepares for spring beauty

I drape my own bleak midwinter

across three clothes lines

thrash it with a carpet beater

loosen dust and dirt

© 7 January 2019

Cindy B. Stevens

#bleak #winter #dust #dirt #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

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root bound

I read this piece at an open mic in October 2018, have since changed the name and one word; thought I had shared it here, but can’t find the evidence.  So, here’s the middle stanza of “rootbound”:

my porous stalk, a sponge

my bound roots wallow stagnant water

I loathe this stink

how it snakes

grips the rocks

cracks my terracotta

© 21 January 2019

Cindy B. Stevens

#terracotta #stagnant #crack #bound #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

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chilly passover

Today, I’m sharing the first and last stanzas of “chilly passover”:

 make a rubbing of me, darling

charcoal your fingers

trace me with onion skin paper

smudge my harsh lines

I used to love the smell of a snuffed out candle

I can still hear you

you can’t take a shortcut

you walk towards my open earth

you want to bury yourself in me

but all you can do now is

throw dirt on my casket

© 8 March 2018

Cindy B. Stevens

#charcoal #fingers #OnionSkinPaper #casket #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

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bare naked beauty

I don’t write many sweet poems, or whatever you want to call them:  flowery, sweet, fluffy, soft . . ..  But my poem titled “bare naked beauty” is one of those, so here’s the first stanza:

I Saturday shop on 9^thStreet Durham

Blue Corn serves warmth and food

I watch snow magic cover concrete and dirty cars

© 7 January 2019

Cindy B. Stevens

#snow #magic #Durham #Saturday #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

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Bethlehem's hope

Confession:  I edit a lot. Even when I read poems from my published collection, Naked, I sometimes see things I would change today.  Maybe I wouldn’t on another day.

I’ve worked on the following piece again and again.  Here’s a bit of “Bethlehem’s hope”, which wants to make it into my next book:

a bird’s cry harmonizes piano melody

it comes from an open door

when David sings his blues

he pours out his soul

it sparkles like scotch in a tumbler

I’m an image that stands in sunshine

I’m the fresh smell of rain

I guard the place where the moon decides to make it’s turn

determine when ocean waves lose their pull

but, I’m in the way

© 18 December 2018

Cindy B. Stevens 

#Bethlehem #blues #sing #guard #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

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David's town

This piece has a distinct rhythm to it, sort of rappish. It’s called “David’s town”.  When you read this first stanza, you might think, ringle?, what does ringle mean?  I occasionally have to make up words, because available words sometimes don’t convey a sound or emotion that I hear or feel.  Hence, ringle.

silent night

where are those kings?

the tinkling ringle of camel harness brings music

traveling on the night winds across the plains

while tonight, in Bethlehem the angels sing

© 12 December 2018

Cindy B. Stevens

#camel #angel #Bethlehem #SilentNight #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

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veneer

Oh my; here’s a sweet poem.  As I’ve mentioned before they are scarce in my writing.  My poem, “veneer”, makes me smile and was inspired by an email from an acquaintance who lives in Syracuse, NY.  It has four sweet stanzas and I want to share the first with you:

frozen air wakes me

I creep from my cocoon

downstairs

third and

fourth steps creak

hungry cats

freshly brewed coffee

herald from the kitchen

© 19 January 2019

Cindy B. Stevens

#icicles #crystals #snow #frozen #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

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sharing some of "power washing":

he power washes our home
mossed bricks
tree-pollened windows
it
takes
all
day

I’m trapped behind my plaster wall
my soul pollen chokes my voices
that blow in
and out with the wind
while I watch him as he
power washes our home
it takes all day

© 11 November 2018
Cindy B. Stevens

#powerwash #plaster #wall #voices #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

sharing first and last lines from stanzas of "Adeline's map":

Adeline is a paper travel map
her creases and folds are valleys and ridges

she wants a road trip
broken

there are tea stains on Montana
ghosts surround a black star

the symbols take her everywhere
because she doesn’t know where she is

she folds the map
it won’t fit in her glove box

© 11 November 2018
Cindy B. Stevens

#TravelMap #RoadTrip #GloveBox #ghosts #symbols #BeWriting #AmWriting #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

portions of three stanzas from "my temple floor":

how did I wind up naked
driving on the highway
windows cracked?
I must be cold

my arm reaches to the back floorboard
grabs my discarded bridal veil
I wrap it around me

my refugee feet hum
they trip over my veil
I slip on the polished floor of my temple

© 23 October 2018
Cindy B. Stevens


#naked #bridal #refugee #temple #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

My last post in 2018, the last stanza of another new piece,

"third person":

her daytime nightmare
lasers to his brother who tried
wanted
to break her

© 13 December 2018
Cindy B. Stevens

#Brother #Daytime #Nightmare #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

two stanzas from "it's not about December":

I exhaust me

I hear wind before it reaches my hair

breeze sways my nightgown

trees shadow an orangey pale-pink sky

sunrise at the stable
blue-bright morning star

ice on boughs like crystals and diamonds on firs

shatters to the ground

splits my silence like bagpipes in Brooklyn

I stay, wait, hope

I go back to the manger

© Cindy B. Stevens

18 December 2018

#December #Manger #Bagpipes #Brooklyn #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

home movies and holiday

Our holiday:  Charleston on Thursday, then Tennessee.  We cancelled Charleston, postponed Tennessee.  I've been viral since Sunday.  It's home movies day.  My brother gave me Grandpa's projector, home movies from the early 60s.  Trips, friends, family, flowers; our grandparents LOVED flowers.

Richard set up the screen, projector in our family room; I identify relatives, some flowers.  Rochester's Highland Park, along with my family and my uncle's.  We ride the mower, and the small garden tractor that pulled a cart.  Young, silly, loved.

Couples, grandparents' contemporaries, arrive for a meeting, dinner, something.  Men wear suits, dark fedoras; the women, dresses, pearls.  They look like gangsters with wives.  My grandparents with friends vacation in Florida.  Cypress Gardens, Orchid House, water-skiing acrobats, flamingos, peacocks, tropical birds, Shetland ponies.

My family's Syracuse life, the youngest movie of my brothers and me.  We rollerskate the sidewalk, wave American flags as we skate, Independence Day.  The same skates that Dad mounted to the bottom of curved 24 inch boards to craft our skateboards in Norfolk:  ships,  softball, meals.  We're young; my parents beautiful.  I forgot how beautiful, how they smiled.

Another visit with grandparents; if we watched these reels in chronological order, this would be the last.  I'm in 7th grade, Dale 9th, Grant 10th.  Fifi and Muffin with us, running around the property beside the creek, chasing with my brothers and Dad.

Last reel:  Flowers at Highland; Autumn view at home; Sky divers; Kennedy's funeral proc.; Norfolk Navy Base.  Hot house flowers, friends, family.⠀ Grandpa's cousin was in Naval Intelligence, my grandparents visited him, his family frequently.  JFK's funeral procession, afterwards, no smiles for the camera.

© 22 December 2018

Cindy B. Stevens

#HomeMovies #Memories #Family #Flowers #JFK #HorseDrawnCaisson #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #Bookworm #BookLove #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #Writer #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

is it enough?

There's a scramble in my brain and I have a headache.  The scramble hasn't given me the headache, it's been here for 2 days and I can't seem to get rid of it.  Here's a wee bit of the scramble.

It's the gift season.  Some wrapped in gloss, plain, patterns, some tied with bows, fancy ribbons, string.  Sometimes, I'm all wrapped up in myself or tied in knots.  I want to be unwrapped, untied.

We want gifts; we give gifts; we are gifts; we all have gifts.  We hide, share, hoard, doubt our gifts.  The doubt grabs my brain; it tells my hand to not write or expose my vulnerability.  If I write it, will it tear me apart, make me stronger, can I manage it?  Will it speak, touch?  Will it be too much? Will it be enough?

© 17 December 2018
Cindy B. Stevens

#hide #share #doubt #gift #vulnerable #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #Bookworm #BookLove #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #HillsboroughNC

I never saw him leave

I plan to read and sing at open mic tonight.  Here’s a few lines of a piece I’ve almost “finished”.  Ha.  The title is “I never saw him leave”:

last Thursday, he stopped calling me

because he’s not here to touch
my body rocks to comfort me

© Cindy B. Stevens
29 November 2018

#BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookLove #Bookworm #BookwormForLife #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #Local #HillsboroughNC @kingstreetbarKSB #OpenMic

no salt

I just finished a piece for my next book with this line:  “there is no salt in the pantry”.

© 19 November 2017
Cindy B. Stevens

#bread #salt #pantry #burn #BeWriting #AmWriting #AmEditing #Bookworm #BookLove #Dream #IloveWriting #LoveWriting #Inspiration #IGpoet #IGpoetry #Poet #Poetry #PoetryBlog #PoetLife #PoetryLover #WritersOfInstagram #WritersOfIG #WritersCommunity #WritersCorner #Wordsmith #WritersNetwork #Write #Writing #Local #HillsboroughNC

I've been remiss

I've not posted my last few.  I've posted on Facebook and Instagram, but it's not automatically posted from Buffer to my blog.  I apologize to anyone who checks in on my blog.  My website designer has encouraged me to post regularly on these social media platforms, but sometimes I feel overwhelmed trying to balance what happens in my brain, getting it down on paper, and what to share with you.  So, this evening I will catch you up.  Thank you for reading!