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Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 1

Halcyon Days 2021—Issue 24
Founder, Monique Berry | Hamilton On Canada
Contributors
Bruce Levine
Winter Images 10
Winter Winds 11
The Palm of Destiny 12
Duane Anderson
Winter’s Voice 6
Gaiyle J. Connolly
Dough Ornaments 4
Christmas Star 5
Ivanka Fear
I Believe In Christmas 7
Jane Ellen Glasser
Be Still 8
Praise Be 9
My Quiet Place 14
Late Afternoon 15
Nolo Segundo
Ode to Mrs. Miller 13
Cover Image: zffoto—stock.adobe.com
Inside photo: romankosolapov—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days Magazine
ISSN: 2291-0255
Frequency: Quarterly
Publisher | Designer: Monique Berry
Contact Info
http://halcyondaysmagazine.blogspot.ca
Twitter: @1websurfer
monique.editor@gmail.com
Special Notices
Halcyon Days has one time rights.
See website for subscription details.
No photocopies allowed.
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 2

Contributor Bios
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
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.
Duane Anderson currently lives in La Vista, NE. He has had poems published in Fine Lines,
Cholla Needles, and several other publications. He is the author of ‘Yes, I Must Admit We Are
Neighbors’ (Cyberwit.net - 2021) and ‘On the Corner of Walk and Don’t Walk’ (Pacific Poetry
Press -2021).
Ivanka Fear is a Canadian writer. Her poems and stories appear in numerous publications,
including The Sirens Call, Scarlet Leaf Review, Mystery Tribune, October Hill, Close to the Bone,
and elsewhere. The debut novel of her mystery series is scheduled for release by Level Best Books
in January 2023.
Jane Ellen Glasser’s poetry has
appeared in numerous journals,
such as The Hudson Review, The
Southern Review, The Virginia
Quarterly Review, and The
Georgia Review. In the past she
served as the poetry critic for The
Virginian-Pilot, poetry editor for
the Ghent Quarterly and Lady
Jane’s Miscellany, and cofounder
of the nonprofit arts
organization and journal New
Virginia Review. She won the Tampa Review Prize for
Poetry for Light Persists (2006), and the Poetica Publishing
Chapbook Contest for The Long Life (2011). Jane Ellen
Glasser: Selected Poems(2019) and Staying Afloat during a
Plague (2021) are her recent collections. To learn more
about the poet and her work, visit
www.janeellenglasser.com.
Nolo Segundo pen name of L.J.
Carber, 74, in his 8th decade
became a published poet in 54
online/in print literary journals and
anthologies in the US, UK,
Canada, Romania, India and Italy;
in 2020 a trade publisher released a
book length collection, THE
ENORMITY OF EXISTENCE,
and in 2021 a 2nd book, OF
ETHER AND EARTH. Both titles
(as do many of his poems) reflect
the awareness he's had for 50 years since having an NDE
whilst almost drowning that he has a consciousness that
predates birth and survives the death of the body--what
poets once called the soul. A retired teacher (America,
Japan, Taiwan, Cambodia), he has been married 41 years to
a smart and beautiful Taiwanese woman.
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 3

“This special devotion
eclipses by far
all other masses;
a true Christmas star.”
Christmas Star
Gaiyle J. Connolly
Fat snowflakes fall.
We stroll to the chapel
for Midnight Mass
in rustic Quebec.
The choir sings carols
en francais.
No need for translation,
a warming sensation;
my heart knows the words.
I thought I would miss
the city Cathedral
but this special devotion
eclipses by far
all other masses;
a true Christmas star.
jkgabbert—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 4

Dough Ornaments
Gaiyle J. Connolly
4 cups flour (all purpose)
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cups water
Knead 4 to 6 minutes. Use cookie cutters to shape into candy cane, Christmas trees, stars, wreaths or characters
or whatever you'd like to create by hand.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour (until hard and golden brown).
Painted details or collage items may be added.
Brebca—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 5

Winter’s Voice
Duane Anderson
In the mountains
songs of snowflakes flow
over boulders that have lain
still for many suns.
Winter’s voice touches my hand
and covers it with notes
as I listen to its song.
I stand still like the boulders.
Sergey Nivens—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 6

I Believe in Christmas
(previously published in Spillwords Press December 2019)
Ivanka Fear
In the innocence of my childhood
I believed in Christmas.
Now another year has come and gone,
in the blink of an eye it seems.
Things have changed but things are the same.
In the innocence I believed.
I believed in the magic of Christmas,
in the bright twinkling lights
bringing colour to the darkness,
in the sparkle of the tinsel
glistening amongst the lights and bulbs,
in the snowflakes kissing my face
swirling down from the sky onto my lashes.
In the wisdom of my golden years
I questioned Christmas.
Then the memories of Christmases past
came flooding through,
and erased the doubts of the present.
Things have changed but things stay the same.
In the golden years I still believe.
Laura Pashkevich—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 7

Be Still
Jane Ellen Glasser
as an egret
midstream
on one leg
as a boat
in dry storage
during a storm
as a lamp
relieved
to be unplugged
as a cat
curled up
in a patch of sun
as a packet
of marigold seeds
during a frost
as butterfly wings
spread and pinned
on a board
as a pond
on a calm night
where stars float
as a meditation—
thoughts drifting—
blossoms in the wind
CoreyOHara—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 8

Praise Be
Jane Ellen Glasser
Praise be for the uplifting
arms of dawn,
praise be for the thrown-down
shade of trees,
praise be for a day’s doing
that is never done,
praise be for butterflies
hosted by milkweed,
praise be for wheat fields
bowed by the wind,
praise be for kind words
scattered like seed,
praise be for dragonflies
supping on wasps,
praise be for the pollinations
of bees,
praise be for sunlight
seeping through fog,
praise be for the old man
repairing his roof,
praise be for the child
who rescued an old dog,
praise be for a rocking chair
on a front porch,
praise be for a village
of unlocked doors,
praise be for the mockingbird
serenading the night,
praise be for the lullaby
lapping the shore,
praise be for the forgiveness
of turned-down lights,
praise be for the unchartered
seas of dreams,
praise be for the benediction
of sleep.
Jasmin Merdan—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 9

Winter Images
By Bruce Levine
Winter winds
and icicles at dawn
Parades of snowmen
in family groupings
Wrapped in scarves
and derby hats
Holiday grog
and festive evenings
As carolers serenade
the yuletide season
Flasks hidden
in inside coat pockets
A nip against
the cold winter chill
Frozen lakes
filed with boats and skaters
And fishing huts in rows
haphazardly defined
Twinkling lights
draped over reindeer
And chimneys readied
for Santa’s descent
As milk and cookies
laid out in dreamland
And letters are written
with crayons and pens
Cold weather breathing
clouded with breath
Happiness abounding
filled with children’s laughter
As skiers descend mountains
and sleigh rides race to the
end
Winter coats and mittens
bring warmth through the day
And cozy fires and hot chocolate
prepare for the night
The joyous winter season
together just right
Springfield Gallery—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 10

Winter Winds
Bruce Levine
Winter winds across the horizon
challenging the season to prepare
Squirrels checking their cache of nuts
and bears seeking dens to hibernate
Women adorning themselves
in long tweed skirts
and turtlenecks and boots
Preparations for cooler temperatures
adding pleasure to the eye
and warmth to the body
As the days grow shorter
and dreams of winter games prevail
children prepare for sleigh rides
and costumes for snowmen
Festivals of light and food tempt the senses
as mittens and down coats come out of storage
and hand-made scarves wrap against the winter winds
Gift-wrapped packages filled with the joy of the season
piled high in evergreen forests
Icicles hang from bare tree limbs
refracting in the sun and casting rainbows
like ribbons to remind us of the beauty of winter
byrdyak—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 11

The Palm of Destiny
Bruce Levine
Borne on the wings of destiny
A new chapter begins
A telephone call
Igniting a chain reaction
As complex as nuclear fusion
Yet as simple as a robin
Bringing the dawn of spring
Seasons fade one into another
And calendar pages tick off days
As fate holds hands with new beginnings
A new landscape to be painted
On a new canvass readied with gesso
As bright as the future
Held in the palm of destiny
eshma—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 12

Ode to Mrs. Miller
Nolo Segundo
I did not know how brave she was—
Ninety-two and I, seventy less,
So young that old age
Was textbook stuff:
A fact of life,
But not mine.
I was alive and free
To stride the world,
A colossus of youth—
Whereas she had ate
Almost a century.
And all her friends
And all her family
Lay dead somewhere—
Except in her mind,
Still crisp, poignant
In its memories
Of a wealthy husband,
A daughter dead young.
Her own youth and beauty
Remaining lonely in a
Silver-framed photo.
She never complained,
This old lady—
Never once did I hear
Lamentations, a bewailing
For the richness of life:
The ripe fullness she once felt
As a wife, a mother, a woman
Of grace and beauty.
She lived alone
In a basement flat,
Barely five feet tall—
Yet I’ve never known
Any being braver—
Yet it is only now,
That I am become old,
I envy such courage.
sv production—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 13

Looking
My Quiet Place
Jane Ellen Glasser
Outside my glassed-in patio,
one hand opened in his lap,
the other resting on his knee,
Buddha sits in barren dirt.
No bodhi tree for shading,
I planted horsetail grass
at his back. In front,
a path of grey rocks leads
to a simple wooden bench
where I daily sit, studying
the sealed mouth, the eyes
rolled back, as if to measure
a serenity my life lacks.
If I close my eyes, focus
on my breath, inhaling a
cleansing wash, exhaling
my distressing thoughts
some days, for a while,
the misbegotten world recedes
and I become the stillness.
Pixabay.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 14

Forward...
Late Afternoon
Jane Ellen Glasser
In a frayed patch of shade
old women sit and talk.
Like dolls, their eyes roll back.
“See,” says this one,
holding up a faded print.
“Remember,” says this one,
touching up the past.
Beneath the spread arms
of a magnolia tree, they nod
and nod like leaves in the wind.
Dusk brings them in.
ichizhe—stock.adobe.com
Halcyon Days - 2021 Issue 24 | 15

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