Sunday, March 31, 2013

Happy Easter!

HAPPY EASTER!
I hope You 
have a Wonderful Day 
filled with Sunshine and Joy!
(And chocolate, too!) 

***
I'm going to be participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge in April. I'll tell you about it tomorrow, or you can go HERE and learn more. Talk to you then.

Now get out there and rejoice!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

10 Facts About Me v.3

1. My favorite movie of all time would have to be The Lion In Winter. Fantastic dialogue and characters. Amazing performances from the entire cast, but particularly Katharine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole.

2. My current favorite musical groups are A Great Big World, Imagine Dragons, and Tenth Avenue North.

3. My favorite pin is Uni-Ball, micro point. (Since I write, I get asked this a lot, but actually I do almost all my writing on my computer. I hardly ever write in longhand. Just bits in my idea journal.)

4. My favorite superhero is Superman, followed closely by Wonder Woman. The old versions before the New 52 crapped all over them, particularly Wonder Woman.

5. My favorite musical is Man of La Mancha. It's about the only one I would rewatch. Maybe Hello, Dolly.

6. I don't like dark stories that are dark for the sake of being dark. Yes, there are bad things in the world, and fiction will show them, but sometimes authors get enchanted by the bleak and senseless. I have enough of that in the real world without wanting to read an excess of it in books.

7. I dislike food that takes hours to cook. Not worth it. Fresh ingredients simply and quickly prepared are what I like.
 
8. I don't like chocolate cake unless it has German chocolate frosting.
 
9. I don't like to text. Not at all. I get annoyed when people text at a meal with me. I made sure they know I'm annoyed. They don't usually do it again. (This doesn't apply, of course, if it's an emergency or important news. Otherwise, it's rude. And don't text in church or at funerals. Really.)

10. I don't like writing down what I don't like. Seems rather pointless and mean.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Writer's moon

This is a five minute timed writing about anything at all. I just need the words to flow. I need to break this dam in my mind; I need to release the hounds of the muse to hunt down my story. I need to hear them baying as they corner the elusive narrative. I need to follow them on my computer horse until we corner the story in a box canyon. Then we'll go in, me and my computer with my paper net, and catch the flighty metaphors, the swift similes, the twisty plots, and the tangled tales. Then we'll ride back across the fields of white wheat under the typewritten skies, the victorious writer back from the wild writing hunt, another story to put non-metaphoric food on the table.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Some nights, other days

Some nights, other days

Some nights I think of you
and what we did on other nights.
Some nights I miss your touch
and how you felt on other nights.
Some nights I hunger for your body
and what it gave on other nights.
Some nights I shudder as my empty bed
reminds me of other nights.

Some days I walk happily alone
where we once walked on other days.
Some days I remember the savage fights
and your jealousy on other days.
Some days I recall the lying
and the bitterness on other days.
Some days I don't miss
what we had on other days.

Some days I think it's best we're apart,
but I think different on other nights.

(Copyright 2013 by Stephen B. Bagley. No copying without permission. Thank you for reading.)

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

10 Facts About Me v.2

1. I love old steam trains. Love their look. Love their sound. They were amazing technology pushing at the limits of the knowledge of their time. I wish they still ran.

2. Cupcakes makes me happy. They're like little pastries of sunshine. Lemon, cherry, and strawberry are my favorite flavors.

3. I try to listen to music every day. I also try to sing every day. Life is better oh so much better for having music in it.

4. I try to read 100 books a year. I usually go over that number, but at least a hundred.

5. I am unable to really whistle. Don't know why. Have never been able to.

6. I can eat a whole lemon, peel and all, with salt. Not good for my teeth, but I do love the salty, sour taste.

7. I was unable to master the yo-yo when I was in grade school. I once tried to do that trick where you swing the yo-yo up in huge arc and only succeeded in bouncing it off my head.

8. I like all of the Star Trek series. I miss Kirk, Spock, and Bones, though. A shame that our heroes -- or at least the people who portray them -- get old. The new versions of those three are okay, but not the same.

9. My favorite TV show at the present is Person of Interest, followed by NCIS and White Collar. Oh, I also like the Big Bang Theory, although their scripts seem to be slipping.

10. Archibald MacLeish is my favorite poet. His poetry literally changed my life and kindled a love of poetry in all its forms that burns still today.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Flowers

Several years back, I had a new camera and my first version of Photoshop Elements. These flowers are the result. I always intended to make a calendar out of them, but never did. Enjoy! (But don't copy. I might still make that calendar someday ...)







Saturday, March 23, 2013

Not much to say

As a writer, I'm supposed to have a thousand and one thoughts all the time. Words are supposed to flow out of me, a torrent, a flood, but I have to tell you honestly that sometimes I don't have much to say. When I was younger, I used to think those times were a manifestation of writer's block. Now, I know it can simply be because I'm tired. Or have written a lot of words over the past couple of days, and my well is empty.


Or maybe I'm just lazy. I mention that possibility, but my heart isn't it. Although I do think I'm lazier than I should be. Steven Pressfield wrote a book called The War of Art in which he says the force which keeps us from doing creative things or really any endeavor is an actual universal force known as Resistance.

He equates Resistance to Satan. I'm not sure if I buy the book's main premise totally, but it is an excellent metaphor to describe the creative struggle. Perhaps more warlike than many people would prefer, but creative endeavors -- be they writing or art or sculpture or preaching or teaching or parenting really anything that requires us to reach outside the limitations of our being -- are a struggle. I recommend the book. I think there's a lot of wisdom in it.

My point is I simply don't have much to say today, so I'll close.

Friday, March 22, 2013

And now a brief message from our sponsors ...

EndlesS
By Stephen B. Bagley
Poetry - Enjoy more than 50 sensual & moving poems, including the award winning "Non-Communion," "Torrent," & "Endless."
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Lulu

Floozy & Other Stories
By Stephen B. Bagley
Humor - Laugh at more than 80 hilarious tales from the author's decidedly different life.
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes & Noble
Buy on Lulu

Murder by the Acre (Second Edition)
By Stephen B. Bagley
Mystery - Who killed the ladies man? Bernard, Lisa & the chief are back! New expanded edition. 2nd in Measurements of Murder series.
Buy on Lulu
Buy on Amazon

Murder by the Acre (First Edition)
By Stephen B. Bagley
Mystery - Who killed the ladies man? Bernard, Lisa & the chief are back! 2nd in Measurements of Murder series.
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes & Noble

Murder by Dewey Decimal
By Stephen B. Bagley
Mystery - Who killed the librarian? 1st in Measurements of Murder series.
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes & Noble
Buy on Lulu

Tales from Bethlehem
By Stephen B. Bagley
Inspirational - Have you ever wondered about everyone else in Bethlehem on the night of the Nativity? These charming and touching Tales will tell you their stories.
Buy on Lulu

Thursday, March 21, 2013

"The Struggle" by Tenth Avenue North

Another great song from this group.

 

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Hutch

I carved a writing office out of my living room years ago. It's a small space and was never organized. Here's what it looked like:


Amazing, eh? Yet, somehow I produced five books and countless years of newsletters and other publications from that mess. But the plastic boxes that had functioned as book shelves were giving way after twenty years. So I decided to buy a hutch.

First, I had to clear the desk of 20 years of books, papers, letters, bills, etc. Here's what the clean desk looked like:


The last time that desktop was clean was when I moved into my current home. More than twenty years ago.

And here's the new hutch:


Nice, isn't it. I almost hated to put anything on it, but it's meant to work, and to do that, it needed a few things.

Here's my writing space with the hutch and all nicely organized and clean:


And there you go! I'm very pleased with it. It was a lot of work, but I threw away a bunch of stuff and organized the remaining. It's efficient and clean. 

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Author of the Month Laura Eckroat!


My friend Laura Eckroat is the Author of the Month at Karen's Art & Framing, 108 East Main, downtown Ada. Her charming and whimsical children books – The Life of BudA Simpler Time, and Went Out For A DONUT - Came Home With A MUFFIN – are available in signed editions at Karen’s throughout the month. A reception is planned for later this year as soon as Laura's schedule permit.

I met Laura at the Chisholm Trail Book Festival in Duncan one year. She was a joy to be around. Positive, funny, sweet. We stayed in touch by email after the festival and then connected on Facebook. At that festival, she only had one book out, but now she has three, and her fourth book comes out this summer in June.  


Her book, The Life of Bud, won 2010 Best Children's Book at the North Texas Book Festival, and Went Out For A DONUT - Came Home With A MUFFIN was featured and reviewed in Fort Worth, Texas Magazine. An Amazon review says The Life of Bud is "...beautifully illustrated and wonderfully written."

These sweet little books are perfect to read to your children or grandchildren. Visit Laura’s website HERE. When you buy one of Laura’s books, you get a code where you can download an free audio version of the books. How cool is that!

Monday, March 18, 2013

"Worn" by Tenth Avenue North

One of my new favorite songs. Thanks to Wendy for sharing it on Facebook.

 

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Titles

In my writing corner, I have several outstanding writing books and references that help me immensely. Thought I'd share a few of these with you.

The Lively Art of Writing by Lucile Vaughan Payne. One of the clearest and best writing books. A bit dated now, but worth reading. She practices what she preaches.

The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White. A little classic on writing well. Also, a bit dated, but loaded with good advice.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. Inspirational and stirring. "DO THE WORK!" When I feel I can't write, I read a few pages of this book. 

Plot by Ansen Dibell. Covers exactly what you'd expect from the title and does it well.

Roget's College Thesaurus and The New Merriam-Webster Thesaurus. I know there are online thesauri by the dozens, but I prefer these two. They give me enough choices without overwhelming me.

Baby Names From Around the World by Maxine Fields. Helps me name my characters. Invaluable when I'm looking for the perfect name for a character.

The New Merriam-Webster Dictionary and The American Heritage Dictionary. Once again, although there are many dictionaries online, these do right by me.

The Random House Handbook and The St. Martin's Handbook. These can answer any grammar and punctuation question I have. I like both, but Random House seems better organized.

Barlett's Familiar Quotations by John Bartlett. I never trust online quotes. 

Those are the books I reach for time after time. What writing books are on your shelves?

Friday, March 15, 2013

Sitting

I've been asked many times, "What's the hardest thing about writing?" The answer varies depending on what I'm having to do that day, but today the answer is ... sitting in this chair hour after hour struggling with the words. I do take breaks. More than I should, but sometimes I feel if I don't get up and walk around a bit, get some sun, do something else ... I'm going to go bonkers.

It's a weird pressure when I write like this. I can feel the tension build. When the writing is going well, I'm relaxed and can even forget to eat. You won't think it to look at me, but I often forget meals when the writing is going well. But when it's going like it is lately -- when every word is hard won -- then the tension builds in my neck and shoulders, sometimes triggering a nasty headache.

But still I slog on. The book will be finished. These hard won words are often better than the easy ones. So it's worth the struggle. But I have to get up and walk around a bit now.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

The ending we don't know

      This is the story whose ending we don't know.
      It's nearly midnight in a suburb of a city. Rows of nearly identical houses line the streets. Streetlights pour out circles of light. Far off a siren sounds.
      The front door of one of those houses opens, and a man with a broken heart walks out. He leaves his door open, his TV showing the late night news. An envelope on the coffee table is addressed to his estranged wife. The note is blank except for his name and a simple "Sorry."
      He walks to the end of his driveway and then pauses. He stands there a long time. A dog barks and finally gets bored with this nocturnal visitor. Mrs. Higgins opens the curtain of her bedroom window from across the street and sees him. She starts to wake her husband, but then recognizes her neighbor and decides he must be going on a walk. She goes to bed.
      The man steps onto the empty street and walks down the middle of it.
      A few times, cars pass him and slow down, but he doesn't seem lost. He doesn't seem confused. His steps are steady. He's walking with purpose. So the cars continue, but the drivers will remember him later.
      He reaches the woods on the edge of town. He stops briefly. If someone were watching him, they would see the momentary hesitation, the brief flash of something like regret. But he moves forward, leaving regret behind. He doesn't look back even though what he's leaving pulls at him. The farther he walks, the less hold it has.
      He walks through the woods, following a path that his feet seem to know well. He passes by a young couple making love. The boy is startled and runs away. When the boy returns, the girl is clothed now and it is so not going to happen. It will be three days before they admit they saw the man.
      He passes through the woods, only leaving a few signs that he was ever there. The wind in the trees sounds like a river.
      He reaches the mountain. He begins to climb. It's not a hard climb, but it makes him breathe hard, makes the sweat glisten on his forehead in the moonlight. Twice he slips, but only falls a couple of feet before he catches himself.
      Finally on a gentle slope, he walks to the top of a cliff. He stops and turns back toward what he left. He sees the town in which he lived and loved and lost. He sees his life. He sees what he loved and what loved him and what remains. He sees what's broken and can't be fixed. He doesn't turn into a pillar of salt.
      He turns the other direction and takes a few steps. He's at the edge of a cliff. Below there is a river. Beyond the river is a dark wilderness, the beginning of a national park. He removes all of his clothing and leaves it in a pile. He stands there in the rising wind and the uncaring moonlight.
      And then he spreads his arms, runs three steps, and leaps into the void.

      This is the ending we don't know. His body hasn't been found. It's been six years.
      Some believe he fell into the river and it carried his lifeless form to the ocean. Some say that he didn't jump at all, but actually met a secret lover (there had been rumors of such) and went off to start a new life. Others say the wild animals scattered his body as if bears or wolves still stalk the park. At Crazy Eddie's Comic shop, the boys talk of aliens and strange lights.
      There is a story, though, which some of us choose to quietly believe: That when he jumped, the winds caught him, bore him up and carried him away into the endless starry sky.

© 2013 by Stephen B. Bagley. All rights reserved. No copying without permission. Thank you for reading.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Anything

"Anything can happen," he happily said
as visions of angels danced in his head
and aliens in a gold and sliver ship
landed as clowns tumble and skip
past all his broken dreams tossed
while his childhood teddy bossed
all the perfect dreams he once held
and lost when his mind melted.

Me? I just stood there and hoped
he would understand and not mope
when we adjusted his meds
to fix the problems in his head
even though he laughed and beamed
when he forgot the pills blue and green.
Not my job to make him happy, you see.
I'm his doctor; I give pills and take my fee.

Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. No copying without permission. Thank you for reading.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Bagley's Happy Acres

By Stephen B. Bagley

I have a farm now. I have over 30 productive animals, including goats, cows, chickens, and even a rabbit or two. I have a small orchard where I have apples, oranges, lemons, mangos, and pecans. In my field, I raise wheat, corn, eggplants, and other staples. I never lose a crop to bad weather. A banker never forecloses on me. Of course, I’m talking about playing the game Farmville 2 on Facebook.

While Farmville is fine, it in no way approaches the grief, heartache, and sheer unending work and frustration of a real farm. By this, you can guess that I am not a fan of farming. You would be correct.

Mind you, I think farmers deserve every bit of support we can give them. I’d much rather send money to them to keep food prices low than sending the money overseas to build gold-plated toilets. Which, according to the news, is how some of our money sent to foreign countries was spent. Of course, when you have billions to spend, it becomes difficult to know what to do with the money. You can’t just let money lie around your palace in piles. It looks so untidy.

Little family farms are almost a thing of the past. Big corporations have taken over the farming world. They’re busy doing everything they can to make a lot of money from farming, including spicing the gene stock of plants in ways that Dr. Frankenstein could only dream of. These corporations make up what is now called ‘agribusiness.’ You can even buy shares in the companies on the stock market, thus paying for your food twice. We’ve come a long way, baby, down a road we probably shouldn’t have.

But back at Bagley's Happy Acres, everything is great. My cute, lively goats jump around happily and never get sick or lost. They even produce goat cheese all by themselves. That’s nothing compared to my cows who produce milk, cheese, AND yogurt. My sheep actually produce bolts of wool and fleece. If only they knitted, too, they would be perfect. And all my animals produce non-stinky fertilizer that I put on my crops with just a click of a mouse button. Did I mention my crops grow in just hours, some in only minutes? If farming really was this easy, everyone would be doing it.

As a friend pointed out, Farmville 2 is a game, not a simulation. If it were a simulation, it would throw in tornadoes  hail, floods, drought, insects, the National Farm Bill, hunters who mistake prize bulls for deer (actually happened on my dad’s farm), disease, tractors and balers that cost more than houses, brush fires, the National Farm Bill, livestock theft, freak snow-storms, broken irrigation pumps, ravenous deer and rabid raccoons and skunks, the National Farm Bill, and all those other calamities that make farm boys desperate to become city folk. Naturally, no one sane would play a game like that where the odds were totally against you — although I guess Vegas does okay.

I’ve always thought farmers were a bit crazy to pour their hearts and souls into such a hard life. Even mighty agribusiness finds it difficult to make a profit. Though we all need food, it’s funny that society don’t value the farmers who produce it. And by funny, I mean sad and short-sighted. (I can make funny mean all sorts of things. Isn’t that funny?)

Visit Bagley's Happy Acres — not your forefather’s farm. Thankfully.

From Return of the Floozy. Copyright 2013 by Stephen B. Bagley. All rights reserved. No copying permitted of any kind without permission. Thank you for reading. 

Monday, March 11, 2013

Hardest

The hardest thing you
ever asked me to do
was to let you go.
Even now I struggle
with the loss, the place
inside me that no one
has been able to fill.

Are all first loves like this?
Burned so deep we can't
forget the nights of wicked
love and fierce passion?
We only get one first love;
why were you mine?
What god cursed me?

I've had others since you,
those I loved as best I could.
You didn't figure into why
we didn't last. I only remember
you when they're gone, when
the silence fills the room like
your scent once did.

Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. No copying without permission. Thanks for reading.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

A message from our sponsors

EndlesS
By Stephen B. Bagley
Poetry - Enjoy more than 50 sensual & moving poems, including the award winning "Non-Communion," "Torrent," & "Endless."
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Lulu

Floozy & Other Stories
By Stephen B. Bagley
Humor - Laugh at more than 80 hilarious tales from the author's decidedly different life.
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes & Noble
Buy on Lulu

Murder by the Acre (Second Edition)
By Stephen B. Bagley
Mystery - Who killed the ladies man? Bernard, Lisa & the chief are back! New expanded edition. 2nd in Measurements of Murder series.
Buy on Lulu
Buy on Amazon

Murder by the Acre (First Edition)
By Stephen B. Bagley
Mystery - Who killed the ladies man? Bernard, Lisa & the chief are back! 2nd in Measurements of Murder series.
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes & Noble

Murder by Dewey Decimal
By Stephen B. Bagley
Mystery - Who killed the librarian? 1st in Measurements of Murder series.
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes & Noble
Buy on Lulu

Tales from Bethlehem
By Stephen B. Bagley
Inspirational - Have you ever wondered about everyone else in Bethlehem on the night of the Nativity? These charming and touching Tales will tell you their stories.
Buy on Lulu

Saturday, March 09, 2013

Spring


FIVE MINUTE TIMED WRITING ON SPRING

I make resolutions in January. Have for years, but by the time March rolls around, I’m ready to change them or renew them. And Spring inspires me. Something about the green and the rain and storms, I get restless and find myself willing to embark on journeys to new lands, places inside my soul that I’ve never been and, if I were wise instead of foolhardy, wouldn’t go.

In Spring, I understand the song of the Janus, gazing both at the past and the future. I worship God and look for new deities, I rejoice in current lovers and look for new ones, I breathe in the sunshine and seek the new shadows of the woods. The dark of winter gives way to the unsettling southern winds that call my name and promise new experiences. Spring never promises the experiences will be good, just that they will be unknown and new.

In Spring, my year begins again.

Friday, March 08, 2013

Room of Her Own

Room of Her Own

She wanted a room of her own
so he mindlessly gave her
a designer bedroom next to
a nursery in pink and blue
which became a sewing room
later made into craft room
and then into a parlor
to read books when he
was away where she waited
for years until she left.
Walking through the empty house
finally he understood
when she said
a room of her own
she meant
one without him.

Copyright 2013 by Stephen B. Bagley. All rights reserved. No copying without express written permission. Thank you for reading.

Thursday, March 07, 2013

Hero

We're doing timed writings and paragraphs in my writing groups as a way to open up our creativity. Here's one of my paragraphs.

50-75 WORDS ON ONE OF MY HEROES

One of my heroes is Benjamin Franklin. He lived a full life. He explored every mystery he could from science to naughty women to religion. He was not afraid of what he found and often adjusted his viewpoints as experiments showed him that he was wrong. He was ambitious and not afraid of where it could take him. And his energy was boundless. If I could choose one hero to meet, it would be him.

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Hutch

Thinking of getting a hutch for my desk. Currently I use these plastic boxes two stacked up on each side of my computer and monitor with a board stretched across the top. I’ve been intending to do something better – better looking and more functional – for the past 20 years, which is about how long the boxes have lasted.

Alas, the plastic boxes are beginning to sag and crack. They’ve held long and in a task they weren’t designed for. Strange how temporary things can easily become permanent.

Since I’m going to have to replace the plastic boxes, I think it’s time to buy an actual hutch. And if all the books, CDs, DVDs, pens, pencils, paperclips, computer programs, paper, other office supplies, etc., won’t fit on the hutch, then it’s time to discard them.

Or more likely to find them another home. What? Me discard office supplies? You must be out of your mind.

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Pressure

I have so much to do today. I'm behind on everything. Well, nothing like pressure to gear me up. Tally ho!




Monday, March 04, 2013

Found!

The issue of ByLine has been found! Thanks to everyone who looked. I appreciate your efforts.

Sunday, March 03, 2013

10 Facts About Me v.1

1. I've lived in Oklahoma my whole life. I don't know if the state has warped me or I've warped the state, but we're definitely warped.

2. My father had eight siblings. Seven sisters and one brother. I think he would have liked to have a family that large on his own.

3. My favorite fruit is grapes. I also like strawberries, bananas, kiwis, watermelon, and blueberries. And fresh pineapple. Just so you know should you want to send a fruit bouquet.

4. I had two brothers and two sisters. My youngest brother passed away when he was a baby. I would liked to have known him. My other siblings are still with me.

5. My favorite author -- besides me, of course -- is Terry Pratchett. I buy him in hard cover books, and when I'm feeling particularly blue or overwhelmed by the cruelties of this world, I reread one of his funny, wise books.

6. I typically read three or four books at a time. I've always done this. I've been told that it's a symptom of Adult ADHD (Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). I doubt this. It just takes a lot to feed my brain.

7. I am a Type 2 diabetic. Food is my drug, sugar is my meth, but I'm trying to get clean. Some days I do better than others. It's a day by day thing.

8. When I read a really great book, I find myself taking it apart to find out how the author did it. This enhances the experience sometimes. Other times, it ruins the book for me.

9. Mexican food is my favorite food.

10. I like to write books that I'd like to read. If I'm not interested in it, then I can't force myself to write it.

Saturday, March 02, 2013

A commercial message!

EndlesS
By Stephen B. Bagley
Poetry - Enjoy more than 50 sensual & moving poems, including the award winning "Non-Communion," "Torrent," & "Endless."
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Lulu

Floozy & Other Stories
By Stephen B. Bagley
Humor - Laugh at more than 80 hilarious tales from the author's decidedly different life.
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes & Noble
Buy on Lulu

Murder by the Acre (Second Edition)
By Stephen B. Bagley
Mystery - Who killed the ladies man? Bernard, Lisa & the chief are back! New expanded edition. 2nd in Measurements of Murder series.
Buy on Lulu
Buy on Amazon

Murder by the Acre (First Edition)
By Stephen B. Bagley
Mystery - Who killed the ladies man? Bernard, Lisa & the chief are back! 2nd in Measurements of Murder series.
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes & Noble

Murder by Dewey Decimal
By Stephen B. Bagley
Mystery - Who killed the librarian? 1st in Measurements of Murder series.
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes & Noble
Buy on Lulu

Tales from Bethlehem
By Stephen B. Bagley
Inspirational - Have you ever wondered about everyone else in Bethlehem on the night of the Nativity? These charming and touching Tales will tell you their stories.
Buy on Lulu

Friday, March 01, 2013

The power of the Net

I'm attempting to find a 1993 February issue of Byline magazine. The magazine is now out of business. In that issue, they published my poem "Passion." Because of lost box during a move, my copies were lost. The box has never been found. I'd like a chance to get that issue or even a scan or photocopy of the page that had my poem on it. Other magazines published the poem, and I eventually collected it in my chapbook EndlesS, but that particular credit meant a lot to me. Can the power of the Net -- you -- help?

Here's the poem:

Passion

If I could, I would seduce you
into poetry. I would run
feathery words over the bare
shoulders of your muse, touch gently
the moist secret places of your
metaphors, delicately brush
your lips with similes and plunge
rhythm and rhyme into your soul.

I would take you past the threshold
where passion and structure meet, where
one image means the difference
between indifference and glory.
If I could, I would do these things
and do them long and do them well
until when you heard poetry,
you would gasp, don't stop oh don't stop.

From EndlesS. Copyright 2008 by Stephen B. Bagley. All rights reserved. No copying without express permission. Thank you for reading.