Missing

Life, in its grandeur,
flickers at the corners of my eyes.
Arms screaming wide,
chests heaving to the skies,
the salty smell of warm sweat
threatening to break out;
I hear a buzz,
a hum, an excuse of being.
Life is elsewhere,
some other time, somebody else,
a fantasy of pixels and skin.
Not me—
this doesn’t count.
And yet the ticker never quells.
All that is left is to observe:
elongated moments,
the relentlessness of nightfall,
others living.
The dead recede
into a memory of features
and stories half-recalled,
less vivid than a dream.
Tomorrow I’ll remember you:
your weathered face, your thinning hair
matted with sweat and anger,
sitting on the kitchen sofa,
the paint chipping off its cheap metal frame,
its florid fabric heavy with the weight
of too many tales unfurled.
And the silence you left behind,
echoing cold off the terrazzo floors.

This time I didn’t visit you
because you aren’t there.
I hate to think of you watching
all this and longing.
It’s the longing, always the longing…
Like I long for this smell
antiseptic as a vinyl hospital hallway
under fluorescent light:
brash, ominous and thumping.
At the end of the hallway
a window looks over the parking lot—
this is what you’re missing:
another day coming to an end,
the hazy twilight of an ugly city.
And this—my anger,
always the anger,
at your not being there.

Blend @ Blue Bananas Café

Poetic Arts Performance Project Presents:
Blend @ Blue Bananas Café
(A new series featuring poetry, spoken word, and music;
1st Thursdays of every month)

Ashraf Osman & Brian Markley
May 7th, 2009 @ 7:30 – 9:30 PM
$5 for entry

Blue Bananas Café is located next to the Laff House, 223 South Street, Philadelphia PA. Their website features their tasty menu as well as directions to the restaurant:
www.bluebananascafe.com

Ashraf Osman was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon and has been living in Philadelphia since 2002 where he works as an architect. Ashraf has been engaged in online poetry since 2002: in addition to his award-winning personal poetry blog, arch.memory, Ashraf hosts a website of Philadelphia poetry links and calendars called PhillyPoetry.com. His poetry has been featured in the Mad Poets Review, Comstock Review, Schuylkill Valley Journal and Islamica magazine, and has been selected for inclusion in several anthologies including Queering Language and The Other Voices International Project.

Brian Markley is an emerging song writer and musician from South Jersey. While being classically trained on the trumpet for over twenty years, Brian has studied and explored other instruments such as the guitar, mandolin, piano, and harmonica, as well as various tribal instruments such as the didgeridoo and wooden flute. His musical journey has taken him on both American and European tours and has afforded him opportunities to work with and learn from accomplished musicians such as Frank Foster, Dennis DeBlasio, Maynard Ferguson, Nathan Davis, Toby Lightman, and other rising South Jersey artists. These experiences have inspired him to pursue a very eclectic approach to music incorporating acoustic, funk, spoken word, bluegrass, political folk, hip-hop, reggae, rock, country, blues, and of course jazz.

* To sign up for the open mic, or if you have any questions please email allavilnyanskaya@earthlink.net
* Blue Bananas Café can validate parking at Abbott Square Parking Lot, 3rd & South. ($4.00 to park all night!)

This Sunday: Playgrounds for Palestine's Gala Dinner & Concert for Gaza, featuring sublime Lebanese Singer, May Nasr

What:
Playgrounds for Palestine is hosting a Gala for the benefit of the children of Gaza. The evening will feature a concert by renowned Lebanese singer/songwriter May Nasr. (You can listen to her music online. Her voice is mesmerizing!) Trained by Zaki Nassif, a composer for Fairuz, she is one of the few artists who can truly sing Fairuz songs with their full meaning and liveliness. It was the knowledge of this potential that brought Zaki Nassif out of retirement upon hearing May’s voice.

Why:
Because we want to bring joy to children in Gaza.
Because we believe that they deserve to play.
Because they have suffered what no child should suffer.
Because we have so much to give, even in this economy.
Because building playgrounds is an act of Love.

When:
Sunday, May 3rd @ 4-9pm

Where:
ACE Conference Center
800 Ridge Pike
Lafayette Hill, PA 19444
610-825-8000

How much:
Adults: $85
Children, Seniors, Students: $50

What else:
Dinner, raffles, silent auction, children's activities, music, community, awards, and more.

For more information, go to http://www.playgroundsforpalestine.org/news.php?ID=46 or call 267.391.5386.

And Yet

Just because the stitches in my back are itching
doesn’t mean they want to heal.
You should know better,
you who’s been itching for years
and yet…

It flashed on the screen
in the corner of the room
like the shape of a desire that was.
You almost recognize it,
masked like the face of an old lover
by time.
The room brightened a bit
and everything darkened around,
like silhouettes against a sinking sun.
You stood there, paused in half-turn,
and stared—zipper undone, index finger
on the remote’s “Power” button—
and yet…

The rest of the night packs itself away,
a force of habit:
mugs in the sink, keys in the lock,
phone off and plugged,
the routines of a day ready to turn in.
Gingerly you lift the back of your hand
to your face and inhale.
At that point you don’t care
if it makes you nauseous,
if it smells like spring
or just the soil beneath.
You fill your lungs hoping
—you’re not sure what for—
and yet…

"Scorched" at the Wilma

Today I had the great opportunity to see a preview of the Wilma theater's upcoming East Coast Premiere of Scorched, a tour de force from highly-acclaimed Lebanese-Canadian playwright Wajdi Mouawad. Directed by the Wilma's incomparable co-Artistic Director Blanka Zizka as part of the theater's 30th Anniversary Season, Scorched is a deeply affecting play of mythical proportions. Superbly cast, the production boasts lush original music, a brilliantly minimalist stage set and inspired artistic direction. It's only the second U.S. production of the play, and it will be playing at the Wilma from March 4th till the 29th. And it is a must-see show: if you are to see only one play this year, make it this one!

• The Wilma Presents the East Coast Premiere of SCORCHED 2/25 Thru 3/29

Fabulous Fundraiser for the Courageous People of Gaza

Saturday February 28 from 5-8pm
@ Calvary Church
(48th & Baltimore Streets - Philadelphia, PA)

Featuring: Middle Eastern Food

Presentations: Dr. Labiq Syed & Dr. Labib Syed, brothers out of John Hopkins & members of the Islamic Medical Association of North America, who recently traveled overseas to provide care in war-torn Gaza and will share information about their trip.

Informational Loop Presentation created by Aine Fox

Spoken Word: Poets Aysha El Shamayleh & Ashraf Osman

Music by: Paddy Corcoran (of Paddy and the Hostages)

Tickets:
$10 - General Admission
$25 & Above - Solidarity
$5 for unemployed & students

Call 215-724-1618 or email phillyiac@action-mail.org for ticket information or to make reservations.

All proceeds go to the Emergency Gaza Appeal of the United Palestinian Appeal

Sponsors:
Philadelphia International Action Center
EON (End Oppression Now)
PRAWN (Philadelphia Regional Anti-War Network)
FIST (Fight Imperialism Stand Together)

azure letters

Joe Bolton wrote in Departure:

"And if poetry is a bond between
Two hearts, it is a bond too frail:
That night words failed, I too, was lost--"

Poetry may be a frail bond, but sometimes it is the strongest we have. Which is why, when we are lost, a good friend finds us in a poem...

azure letters
by Katy Acheson

Thank you, dear, again and again...

Mou'sif (poème pathétique)

(give me i'll give you #10):
http://somethingkaty.blogspot.com/2009/01/
mousif-pome-pathtique-give-me-ill-give.html

The Comstock Review

I am thrilled to let you know that, amid all the rejections I garnered this fall, I had one bright spot of good news: my poems Tired and The Coming were chosen by the Comstock Review as Poems of Special Merit in the 2008 Muriel Craft Bailey Award Contest. They were two of the twenty-six poems that were sent on to the final Judge this year, one of my all time favorites, the incomparable Marie Howe!

Here's an excerpt from the e-mail from the Comstock Review's Managing Editor, John M. Bellinger:

We had an outstanding group of poems this year, and to land anywhere near the top of the thousands of entries we received is an accomplishment to be proud of. All of the top poems ranked very closely in overall score, and I am certain Ms. Howe will have a tough decision on her hands in awarding the top three prizes.

As Poems of Special Merit, my poems will be published in issue 22.2 of The Comstock Review, due out in January of 2009. You can find a list of all Winners, Poems of Special Merit, and Finalists on the journal's website at:
http://www.comstockreview.org/contestwinners.html

You can see me read Tired here. Thank you, Comstock Review! Please support the journal by subscribing today.

Reading at Robin's

I will be reading at Robin's Bookstore on Tuesday, November 11 at 6pm. The reading is part of the bookstore's Moonstone Poetry Series, features Hanoch Guy, and is coordinated by Justin Vitiello. An open reading will follow:
http://www.robinsbookstore.com/events/111108.html

Death by Water

"Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead,
Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep sea swell
And the profit and loss.
_________________A current under sea
Picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell
He passed the stages of his age and youth
Entering the whirlpool.
_________________Gentile or Jew
O you who turn the wheel and look to windward,
Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you."

-T. S. Eliot

Mad Poets at the First Friday Main Line

I will be reading tonight, Friday, October 03 2008, between 6:30-10:00 pm, part of the Mad Poets Society at the Main Line First Friday. The reading will be at:
Suburban Office Equipment
49 E. Lancaster Avenue
Ardmore, PA 19003
610.896.7022

I will be reading along with RICHARD S. BANK, DAVID W. WORREL & EILEEN M. D’ANGELO, Editor of the Mad Poets Review and Director of the Mad Poets Society. For more information, see: www.firstfridaymainline.com/events.asp

Mad Poets Festival

I will be reading at the Mad Poets Festival, which is on Sunday, October 5 2008, from 12 pm - 5 pm at the Media Borough Hall (at 3rd & Jackson Streets in Media, PA). I'll be in the last set which features Leonard Gontarek, Richard Bank, Ray Greenblatt, Alison Hicks, Amy Laub, and lots of other great local poets!

Since 1987, the Mad Poets Society has proudly hosted the Festival on the first Sunday in October, in conjunction with the Media Food & Arts Festival (which packs State St. in downtown Media with a wide variety arts, crafts, live music, and fresh food). The Mad Poets Festival features five hours of short readings (approx. 5 minutes) by 40 locally and nationally known poets, followed by a reception.

There will also be munchies. But you can walk up to State Street (only two blocks or so) and be at the Media Food Festival where there's lots of good food, bands in the streets, etc. So come to town early, catch some poetry, run up to the fair, eat yummy stuff, and be back in time to hear me read! It’s a party, get together day.

And if you want to read your work at this special event, contact Eileen D'Angelo at madpoets@comcast.net.