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Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 1
Halcyon Days 2021—Issue 23
Founder, Monique Berry | Hamilton On Canada
Cover Image by cecilia—stock.adobe.com; Inside photo is Susan Vineyard—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days Magazine
ISSN: 2291-0255
Frequency: Quarterly
Contact Info
http://halcyondaysmagazine.blogspot.ca
Twitter: @1websurfer
Special Notices
Halcyon Days has one time rights.
See website for subscription details.
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 2
Inside
Bios
Alan Cohen
Monterey Morning .......................................................... 13
Home .............................................................................. 13
Bruce Levine
The River of Time ............................................................. 6
A Harmonious Day ........................................................... 7
Waiting for Fall ................................................................ 7
A Fall Reflection ............................................................... 8
Carol Barrett
Daisy 4
Crabapple Medley ............................................................ 5
Sky Harbor Haiku ............................................................. 8
Leaving My House for a Wooded Retreat ....................... 10
Carolyn Chilton Casas
A Desire to be Coffee Beans ........................................... 24
This Poem ....................................................................... 25
Words ............................................................................. 30
Gaiyle J. Connolly
Breakfast Close-Up......................................................... 14
Bliss ................................................................................ 16
Joan McNerney
Autumn Notes.................................................................. 17
Janice Canerdy
Autumn Meditation ......................................................... 11
On Rainy Nights ............................................................. 12
Beauty in Isolation .......................................................... 22
John Delaney
Hush ................................................................................. 4
Point Hudson Café.......................................................... 27
Companions .................................................................... 28
Whaling .......................................................................... 29
Matthew Peluso
Small Pleasures .............................................................. 26
Sharon Lask Munson
First Tree ........................................................................ 18
Camouflage .................................................................... 20
Early Frost ..................................................................... 21
Stella Mazur Preda
Baked Pumpkin Custard ................................................. 15
A Woodland Odyssey ...................................................... 23
Vandana Kumar
The Poem That Sleeps ..................................................... 31
Bruce Levine has spent his life as a writer
of fiction and poetry and as a music and
theatre professional. A 2019 Pushcart
Prize Poetry nominee, a 2021 Spillwords
Press Awards winner, the Featured
Writer in WestWard Quarterly Summer
2021 and his bio is featured in “Who’s
Who of Emerging Writers 2020.” Bruce has over three
hundred works published on over twenty-five on-line
journals including Ariel Chart, Spillwords, The Drabble;
nearly seventy print books including Poetry Quarterly,
Haiku Journal, Tipton Poetry Journal; Halcyon Days and
Founder’s Favourites (on-line and print) and his shows
have been produced in New York and around the
country. His work is dedicated to the loving memory of
his late wife, Lydia Franklin. A native Manhattanite,
Bruce now lives and writes in Maine. Visit him
at www.brucelevine.com
Carol Barrett teaches Poetry and
Healing courses for two universities. She
has published two volumes of poetry and
one of creative nonfiction. Her poems
appear both in literary magazines, and in
places one does not typically expect to
find poetry: Journal of the American
Medical Association, Oregon Birds, The Climbing Art,
Christian Century, and American Bee Journal.
Carolyn Chilton Casas is a Reiki Master
and teacher. Her favorite themes to write
about are healing, awareness, and the life
journey. Carolyn’s stories and poems
have appeared in Energy, Odyssey, Reiki
News Magazine, The Art of Healing,
Touch, and in other publications. You can read more of
Carolyn’s work on Instagram at mindfulpoet_ or in her
first collection of poems titled Our Shared Breath.
Joan McNerney’s poetry has been
included in numerous literary magazines
such as Seven Circle Press, Dinner with
the Muse, Moonlight Dreamers of Yellow
Haze, Blueline, and Halcyon Days. She
has four Best of the Net nominations and
her latest titles are The Muse in
Miniature and Love Poems for Michael, both available
on Amazon.com.
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 3
Hush
By John Delaney
The fawn stood in the middle of the trail,
stiffly scanning its surroundings,
having just emerged from ferns
under trees that were thick and lush,
into the spotlight of the sun,
where all were alerted to each other.
We stopped, and with a gentle call
brought it homing towards us in a rush.
But it stopped, too, some yards away.
Clearly, we were not what it expected,
and no name could draw it any closer.
Soon it sought the embrace of the brush.
Moral: when innocence approaches, seeking
signs of recognition, nature cries ‘hush’.
Photo Credit: John Delaney
In 2016, John moved out to Port Townsend, WA, after retiring as curator of historic maps at Princeton University. He’s
traveled widely, preferring remote, natural settings, and is addicted to kayaking and hiking. In 2017, he published
Waypoints, a collection of place poems. Twenty Questions, a chapbook, appeared in 2019, and Delicate Arch, poems and
photographs of national parks and monuments, is forthcoming next year.
Daisy
By Carol Barrett
buttons line
the walkway, tight
thimbles intent on summer
light, bobbing in the breeze, almost
ready to burst, like a tea kettle whispering
before that high-pitched whistle, announcing a
multi-pettled world for the jay in the pine, the rabbit
rustling in ferns, asking as I pass by, for what do you wait,
what unfolding witness, deer bounding beyond the soul’s horizon?
Camera Nation—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 4
_L_W—Pixabay.com
Crabapple Medley
By Carol Barrett
Such a pitiful name assigned them, crabby
and without particular charm, mere tabby
wandering streets, ravines on rainy days
ducking from the sleek Persian’s window gaze.
Deer feed on oval leaves in perfect canopy.
October, red jewels hang like cranberry
on hickory pine. Neighboring tumbleweed
nudge a swollen horizon. November, peach
hued leaves drape tips of branches. Squirrels
adore the mini globes that twist and twirl
when nibbled. They will not drop of easy accord,
even when a flock descends, and, sated, soars,
when wind has wrestled the last leaves loose,
snow dons its merry caps. Not till winter stoops
to plaintive pleas will they let go succourous
cords. The pulp of crabapples, sumptuous
bread pudding makes, or almond coffee cake.
A most transparent culinary art, jelly takes
pint jars with creamy paraffin lids. For dashing
trim to wild turkey: chutney, with a stash
of cashews, apricot wine swirled above the stem.
Seed catalogues feature crabapples, named
by blossom, not by leaf: Cardinal, Prairifire, Scarlet
Brandywine, Weeping Candied Apple. Harlot
petals dance in dark red velvet, or ivory lace.
A flicker woodpecker can tilt a limb out of place,
so tender the dark tapestry of narrow
twigs beyond bearing season. But sparrow,
no movement ampler than the slightest breeze.
Crabapples bask in sun. Shade will seize,
offend their nature. Let glory bloom. Let flute
rustle high branches, and deep bassoon
encircle trunk. Invite dear friends who portend
unhurried history, whose syllables lend
a dotted parlance. Offer a sprig of mint. Savor
the tart crabapple, its wild and wanton grace.
Shelley—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 5
The River of Time
By Bruce Levine
The journey awakens
Moving forward on the current
Of the river of time
New horizons painted
Against a backdrop of tomorrow
Open vistas looking outward
Across mountains and valleys
Aglow in the warmth of a sunset
As the journey goes onward
On the river of time
Hakan Eliacik—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 6
A Harmonious Day
By Bruce Levine
Waves of cool breezes
Forecasting fall
As the leaves shimmer
In the afternoon sun
Of a waning August day
Seasonal flowers
Still in full bloom
In multi-colored splendor
On the patio awaiting fall leaves
To clothe it in a new palette
Walking along a beach
At low tide
Searching for driftwood
Formed by the tides
Into natural sculptures
As the day recedes
In the glow of the sunset
And the star filled sky
Transforms the hours
Into the tranquility of night
Waiting for Fall
By Bruce Levine
Waiting for fall
The cool brisk days
Filled with transparent skies
The bounty of the harvest
Blanketed with the silken threads
Of fallen leaves
Colored from nature’s paint box
The fall wardrobe
Of cozy cashmere
Hidden away during the summer’s heat
Tweeds in a herringbone pattern
Jackets and long skirts
Adorning men and women
Wrapping body and soul
In luxurious warmth
Waiting for fall
When music fills the air
As birds in flight migrate
And the downbeat of a symphony orchestra
Marks the beginning of the new season
Waiting for fall
To heighten the senses
With the aromas of cooking
And the satisfied palate
Of comfort foods
Blended in the glory of fall days
Filled with beauty
And the sights and sounds
Of fall
Teuvo Uusitalo—Pixabay.com
Svitlana—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 7
A Fall Reflection
By Bruce Levine
Fall leaves and pine needles
blanket the ground
Shades of ochre
nestled against a crimson backdrop
Orange berries fill a tree
punctuating the landscape
As if the metamorphosis
needs defining
An October chill
a presentiment of days to come
Winter poking its head
out of hibernation
Yet the days hold fast
to the glories of fall
And still linger a little longer
before succumbing
A time for reflection
and exploration
Uncharted pathways
set down by nature’s cartographer
In forests transformed
into stereoscopic slideshows
Of heightened expressions
engraved on the mind
Татьяна—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 8
Sky Harbor Haiku
by Carol Barrett
One leaf flutters past.
Somewhere close, coyotes prowl,
unlearning instincts.
amenohi—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 9
Leaving My House for a Wooded Retreat
By Carol Barrett
I have told the cats who is coming.
Seven deer lope through the backyard,
one scratching his hind quarter with a hoof.
The sprinklers have begun, greening
the grass cut just last night at dusk.
Dandelion fluff floats on a light breeze.
Inside, the cactus my mother nursed
for fifty years. The cherrywood floor
gleams in dark splendor, my table set
with quilted mats, their print tumbling
blackberries, peaches, melon. The pantry,
laden with jars of plum jam, pear honey.
In the bedroom, trusty Singer beckons,
spools of lime and raspberry thread,
iridescent fabric for someone’s daughter.
Bathroom mirror glints, catching the guest
soap, stylized wings of a dragonfly.
My desk, clear of lists. Bouquet of pencils.
Why am I leaving? Why not just tell the world
I am away, gone as the night sky at noon.
Photographee.eu—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 10
Autumn Meditation
By Janice Canerdy
Each season comes with unique challenges
and blessings that affect me countless ways.
I’ve found that autumn woos my pensive side
the most. I seek an isolated place
where only nature makes a welcome sound—
the rustle of the boldly colored leaves
as they descend, embellishing the path;
the breeze that makes my flannel shirt feel good,
the woodland creatures, unaware of me
but livening the setting that inspires
the inkling of a poem yet to be.
Makupix Photos—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 11
On Rainy Nights
By Janice Canerdy
On rainy nights, in pensive thought,
I claim the respite I have sought
but seldom found on sunny days.
Cool drops soothe more than brightest rays
in times when life's with trouble fraught.
These introspective times have brought
sweet peace and comfort when I've fought
a heated battle with malaise
on rainy nights.
Sweet peace of mind cannot be caught
like raindrops. Nor can it be bought
with tears; but when life, like a maze,
confounds me, at the flow I gaze
and praise the joys by nature wrought
on rainy nights.
oktay—stock.adobe.com
Janice Canerdy is a retired high-school English teacher from Potts Camp, Mississippi. She has been writing poetry for decades.
Her poems have appeared in numerous publications, including Halcyon (November 2014), Lyric Magazine, Parody, Lighten Up
Online, the Society of Classical Poets Journals, and the contest journals of the Mississippi Poetry Society and the National
Federation of State Poetry Societies. She has had one book published, Expressions of Faith (Christian Faith Publishing, 2016).
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 12
Home
By Alan Cohen
When arms sting
under the influence
of wind, chill, and sun
and streams sing
a sweet, steely song
in their rush downhill
and profligate trees
carpet steep hillsides
how can a young man
hiking even once here
among the bright vociferous flowers
help feeling possessive
And then
because he owns the alpine canyons
he is at home
whenever he returns
as he never is in whatever house
he lives, furnishes, cherishes
close by his work
Snow will close the passes
and he will sleep
lifetimes away
but bright flowers will blossom from his pen
and mountain streams will run in his sleep
Monterey Morning
By Alan Cohen
The restlessness of these birds
Seagulls, pigeons
Their white droppings on rooftops
The way their excursions
Define to our eyes
Better than flags
The inclinations of the air
Their raucous voices, haunting
In their repetition, the way they echo
In the greater air
In under the fog
In on land, out at sea
Sitting on roofs, on posts
On the sand
Serve as the city’s anchor
Sleeker, more uncompromising
More at home than we are
pattierstock—stock.adobe.com
Jeremy—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 13
Breakfast Close-Up
By Gaiyle J. Connolly
They come to the table
side by side
in sleep-rumpled wear
with bed-headed hair
each thinking the other
looks like a film star.
He grunts oh
almost orgasmic
at eggs and fried tomatoes.
She seeks his lap for sticky kisses
sweetened by desire
and rhubarb jam.
He grunts oh
almost orgasmic
at eggs and fried tomatoes.
Yevhenii Kukulka—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 14
Baked Pumpkin Custard*
Submitted by Stella Mazur Preda
Yield: 8 servings
1½ cups canned or mashed cooked pumpkin
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated skim milk
1¾ cups fat-free egg substitute
1/3 cup orange juice
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup light brown sugar
1½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
*Recipe taken from “ Fat-Free Holiday
Recipes” by Sandra Woodruff, RD
1. Place all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor, and
process until smooth.
2. Coat a 2-quart soufflé dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Pour the mixture into the dish, and place the dish in a pan filled
with 1 inch of hot water.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or
until a sharp knife inserted in the centre of the custard comes
out clean.
Chill for at least 8 hours or overnight and serve.
** DO NOT USE CANNED PUMPKIN PIE FILLING!
USE ONLY REGULAR CANNED PUMPKIN.
______________________________________________________
NUTRITIONAL FACTS ( PER 2/3-CUP SERVING)
Calories: 131 Fat: 0.2 g Protein: 8.6
Cholesterol: 0 mg Fiber:0.9 g Sodium: 131 mg
______________________________________________________
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 15
Bliss
By Gaiyle J. Connolly
Perpetual carnation
white
feathered red
smells faintly of
Christmas candy canes.
First appears
for a sweet sixteen,
a gift
from a boy
with sapphire eyes.
Reappears
graduations
bridal bouquet
anniversaries
monumental birthdays.
Dianthus Bliss
botanical name
expresses joy remembered;
making a comeback
horticulturalists claim.
This frilly beauty
never left.
Nor did the boy
with the sapphire eyes.
Pixamio—Pixabay.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 16
Autumn Notes
By Joan McNerney
Four sparkling maples
sashay in autumn winds.
dressed in yellow lace.
Half moon hiding in old
oak tree on top of hillside.
Children kicking up leaves
shouting while jumping
over mounds of foliage.
Bright leaves gleaming
in sunshine tumbling
through an Alice blue sky.
Carpets of red yellow brown
foliage unfurls before us.
Walking through trails of trees
becoming spellbound by
leafy giants towering over us.
lydia—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 17
First Tree
By Sharon Lask Munson
He trudges down from the hills
through knee deep snow
dragging our first Christmas tree
positions the tall fir
by the front window
where the pale light
of a winter’s day
illuminates a bird nest
hidden deep in its branches.
Speechless, we stare at the gift
aware of the legend
luck, health, and happiness
brought to those
who are so fortunate.
Val Weston—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 18
Alan Cohen’s first publication as
a poet was in the PTA Newsletter
when he was 10 years old. He
graduated Farmingdale High
School (where he was Poetry
Editor of the magazine, The
Bard), Vassar College (with a BA
in English) and University of
California at Davis Medical
School, did his internship in
Boston and his residency in
Hawaii, and was then a Primary
Care physician, teacher, and
Chief of Primary Care at the VA,
first in Fresno, CA and later in
Roseburg, OR. He was nominated for his performance in
Fresno for the 2012 VA Mark Wolcott Award for Excellence
in Clinical Care Leadership. He has gone on writing poems
for 60 years and, now retired from medicine, is beginning to
share some of his discoveries. He has had a poem
(“Autopsy”) and a medical letter to the editor in the New
England Journal of Medicine and, more recently, an article
called “Annals of Communication: Giving a Patient a
Diagnosis and Other Idioms In Development” in the
American Journal of Medicine; and has had poems published
in various publications. He had an honorable mention in
Ninth Annual Mississippi Valley Poetry Contest; and has had
letters to the editor in the New Yorker and Poetry
Magazine. He’s been married to Anita for 41 years, and
they’ve lived in Eugene, OR these past 11.
Gaiyle J. Connolly, a poet and
artist from Hamilton, Ontario,
Canada, has numerous
publications to her credit, some
of them prize-winning. They
appear in local and international
periodicals and journals. Her
collection of poetry, Lifelines,
which she also illustrated, was
published in 2015. Her
background of several ethnicities,
love of art and travel and
devotion to social justice are
reflected in her work. Her
readership includes Canada, the
United States, Mexico and India. She is Past President of
the Tower Poetry Society in Hamilton and has been
active in poetry groups in Mexico. She is at the moment
working on her second book of poetry for which once
again she will provide illustrations. As a change of pace,
she is trying her hand at short story writing inspired by
her childhood years spent in rural Quebec.
Sharon Lask Munson was
born and raised in Detroit,
Michigan. She taught school in
England, Germany, Okinawa,
and Puerto Rico before driving
to Anchorage, Alaska and staying
for the next twenty years.
She is a retired teacher, poet,
coffee addict, old movie enthusiast,
lover of road trips—with
many published poems, two
chapbooks, and two full-length
books of poetry. She now lives
and writes in Eugene, Oregon. She says many things
motivate her to write: a mood, a memory, the smell of
cooking, burning leaves, a windy day, rain, fog, something
observed or overheard—and of course, imagination.
She has a pin that says, “I Make Things Up.” You
can find her at www.sharonlaskmunson.com
Stella Mazur Preda is a resident
of Waterdown, Ontario, Canada.
Having retired from elementary
teaching in Toronto, she is owner
and publisher of Serengeti Press,
a small press publishing
company, located in the
Hamilton area. Since its opening
in 2003, Serengeti Press has
published 43 Canadian books.
Serengeti Press is now
temporarily on hiatus. Stella
Mazur Preda has been published
in numerous Canadian
anthologies and some US, most notably the purchase of
her poem My Mother’s Kitchen by Penguin Books, New
York. Stella has released four previous books, Butterfly
Dreams (Serengeti Press, 2003); Witness, Anthology of
Poetry (Serengeti Press, 2004), edited by John B.
Lee; From Rainbow Bridge to Catnip Fields (Serengeti
Press, 2007) The Fourth Dimension, (Serengeti Press,
2012). She is a current member of Tower Poetry Society
in Hamilton, Ontario and The Ontario Poetry Society.
Stella is currently working on her fifth book, Tapestry,
based on the life of her aunt and written completely in
poetic form.
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 19
Camouflage
By Sharon Lask Munson
Flocks of ptarmigan
approach by the hundreds
fill tundra skies, descend
grayish-brown in summer
they merge into plants
hide among rocks, bushes.
*
In frigid December
these arctic birds blend
into the snow covered earth
like brides
on their wedding day
dressed in their best winter white.
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 20
Early Frost
By Sharon Lask Munson
The expected snowfall
failed to arrive
and as the silent dawn unfolds
the child sees
mosaic patterns
of silvery feathers
angel wings
had come to rest
on the window overnight.
_L_W—Pixabay.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 21
The Beauty in Isolation
By Janice Canerdy
I've spread my blanket on the ground close to
the trunk of a majestic willow tree.
I relish how its long, green, wispy leaves,
which almost touch the ground, envelop me.
I watch them swaying in the gentle breeze
as I sit--silent, lost in pensive thought.
As one who feels that solitude can lead
to peace, I've found the perfect spot I sought.
I brought my pen and paper just in case . . .
but suddenly I’m nodding and my eyes
are closing. For a little while, I'll sleep.
Perhaps I’ll write a poem when I rise.
Jakub Luksch—Pixabay.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 22
A Woodland Odyssey
By Stella Mazur Preda
Foliage stripped, barren skeletons
defy the forces of nature
proudly exhibit their nakedness.
Others, leaves trembling
in autumn breezes
perch precariously atop boulders
as if the aged rocks themselves
had given birth.
Evergreens stand tall,
towering peaks mirror reflections
in still translucent waters below.
Harald—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 23
A Desire to be Coffee Beans
By Carolyn Chilton Casas
In the hour after dawn breaks
and before the sun rises
over an eastern hill,
I want to be a bag of coffee beans,
dark, wafting a fragrance
that motivates nations to action,
cured with sunlight
and rotated by human hands
in a far-off tropic land,
beloved as they are
to those of us who dream
of the perfect cup,
mine with a dash of sugar
and frothy milk stirred in.
To be sought after that way,
to be tenderly held and desired,
to provide warmth,
finding that perfect place to belong.
Artem—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 24
This Poem
by Carolyn Chilton Casas
I have lost control of this poem.
The reins have fallen from my hands,
the horse I am riding galloping
toward a steep cliff.
I hang on to his mane,
lean my bobbing head
to his ear, softly whisper,
Stay calm, we can do this together.
But the horse has other ideas.
He’s frightened, determined
to go his own way, wondering
why I am still on his back.
At the precipice, his temperament
settles, he slows, allows me to
reach down to pick up the reins
and turn him finally toward home.
olgagomenyuk—stock.adobe.com
Ilshat—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 25
Small Pleasures
By Matthew Peluso
Soft, warm winter mornings on the Key
Enjoying a café con leche and empanada de carne
Followed by a fresh, hand-rolled cigarillo
Just bought on Calle Ocho the day before
Leaning on a shelf at my favorite local bodega
Listening to Celia Cruz coming from a small
Ancient radio stuck between photos of Pope John Paul II
Draped in rosary beads and a black-and-white of Luis Tiant
Watching my young kids letting out of school early on a snow-day
Their laughing, slipping, snowball throwing awkwardness
While I wait curbside, in line, with the buses, per pick-up protocol
The pleasure of winter fun and play that awaits their day ahead
Trying to vicariously share their innocent joy in the accumulation
But gladly resigned to failure caused by the weight of experience
And deference to their complete and sole ownership of the moment
Sitting in an Adirondack on the wrap-around porch of an old-house
Early spring morning, with the sounds of a soft, misty rain
Gently tapping on the overhang, and moistening hungry, young buds
Nestled deep in my favorite broke-in, plaid-lined denim jacket
A hot cup of strong, black coffee on the armrest, steam slowly rising
Re-reading a favorite novel that always confirms how the very few
Can capture the complexity of existence with extraordinary insight
Louisen—stock.adobe.com
Matthew Peluso is a civil rights attorney and poet, whose work is inspired by the discriminated and marginalized people
he represents. He has a B.A. in Philosophy from George Washington University and a J.D. from the University of Miami
School of Law. His poems have appeared in the Opiate Magazine, Global Poemic, Roanoke Review, Waterways: Poetry
In The Mainstream, the Wilderness House Literary Review and Stoneboat Literary Journal.
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 26
Point Hudson Café
By John Delaney
After I order, I look at the boats
in the marina from my window seat,
undulating like white piano keys
in a light wind across the water.
Gulls hover high above their masts like notes.
The breakfast chatter is just loud enough
to render words into laughs. A buzzing peace.
We’re a sun-up, chow-down crowd,
mostly seniors and regulars from town
or Retirement Vehicle residents.
The sun is blinding, so some blinds come down.
I examine the chart of my placemat,
showing in nautical exactitude
the range of anchorages in Puget Sound,
the fathomed depths of each channel.
Somehow, with our Good Place Sense, we found
our way here. And now comes the food
and my attention turns more practical
to an egg, a pancake, and one piece of bacon:
the chef’s special from the chalkboard menu.
Leashed to schedules, some are led away,
but there’s nowhere I need yet to go.
I am moored in thought, idling my spoon
in a cup of coffee, while today
sends an RSVP to tomorrow.
Eifel Kreutz—stock.adobe.com
Jasmin Merdan—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 27
Companions
By John Delaney
My old car drove by me this afternoon.
I recognized the quirky rear dent,
that is its birthmark, in the side mirror.
Twenty years old! And two since I sold it.
But there it went: someone else at the wheel.
I was surprised, of course, but solaced, too.
So much time we had spent together,
running trips and errands, commuting years,
ready to go, like a dog for a walk,
when I turned the key. Best of companions.
Then I thought of all the mortal others
who shared with me a term of days: hopeful
that they survive somewhere on this planet,
that those I loved now ride with someone else,
no worse for wear—all heading places still.
Miroslava brandon—stock.adobe.com
Arnaudova—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 28
Whaling
By John Delaney
At the first blow, someone shouts.
By the second, we’ve rushed the windows
to catch a glimpse of this spouting off.
There’s another, and another—just
enough to keep our rapture growing.
In front, the Olympic Mountains loom
over Port Angeles where we’re heading.
The whale, or whales—we’re assuming now
a mother and her sportive calf
have hooked the narrative thread—
herald their way down the Strait
of Juan de Fuca to the ocean,
crossing the ferry’s path, baiting our thoughts
with these firework displays
jetting out of the motioning water:
puffs and exhalations we take as signs
of mighty, sentient beings
ascending from imponderable depths,
as we, too, loose our pent-up prayers
in praise of faith and wonder.
annepowell1956—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 29
okalinichenko—stock.adobe.com
Words
By Carolyn Chilton Casas
Words give the tongue wings.
Consider spangled, calabash, chiseled—
their pipelines vibrating
through your body.
Say enigma, Osage, interwoven,
cobalt, concentric, lodestone—
they take you to an imaginative
place far from the small
space you inhabit.
Think nouns—lullaby, spark
kernel, Pismo; adjectives—
secret, crisp, lucid, ethereal,
verbs—preen and praise.
Words can save you;
they are rafts
on a rolling sea.
Putting them together is a marvel.
Taste the word pozole—
how it makes your mouth water,
bursts of tones like shooting stars.
Words can save you;
they are rafts
on a rolling sea.
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 30
The Poem That Sleeps
By Vandana Kumar
Not every poem
jumps out of bed.
with sunshine in its eyes
Poems have travelled eons
Yours and mine
The last emperor’s
My neighbor’s
Poems carry the weight
Of their own weary feet
It’s okay now and then
to find some summer shade
A cool river flows
The poem unpacks its words
and falls asleep
Poems carry the weight
of their own feet
The poem unpacks its words
and falls asleep
rolffimages—stock.adobe.com
Vandana Kumar is a Middle School French teacher in New Delhi, India. An educator with over 20 years of experience,
she is also a French translator and recruitment consultant. Her poems have been published in various national and
international journals and websites like ‘Mad Swirl’, Toronto based ‘Scarlet Leaf Review’, Philadelphia based ‘North of
Oxford’, Saint Paul, Minnesota based ‘Grey Sparrow Journal’, UK based ‘Destiny Poets’, ‘Lothlorien Poetry Journal’,
‘Madras Courier’, Glomag etc. She has featured in anthologies like Houston, Texas based – ‘Harbinger Asylum’, US
based ‘Kali Project’ of Indie Blu(e) Publishing etc. She has been part of two projects of the World literature series on
Post-modern voices and critical thought. She also writes articles on cinema that have appeared on websites and journals
like ‘Just-cinema’, ‘Daily Eye’, ‘The Free Press Journal’, Boloji.com and The Artamour.
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 31
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 23 | 32