I
this is the moment
before it
begins.
this is the moment
before.
this is the moment.
this is--
breathe
On December 14, 2012, a young man entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and killed 20 children and six adults. As a former preschool teacher and grandmother of small children, I was shocked and horrified. As a poet, I know a poem can be a container for profound emotions, for an attempt at least, of solace and understanding. Most of all, I do not want to forget these lives taken so ruthlessly and senselessly.
Elegy for Newtown is a 26 stanza elegy,
my lamentation and poem of remembrance
$5.00 plus $1 s & h available through poetaluna (at) yahoo.com
All images by Morgan Owens
Ceremonies of the Spirit
love poems sensual and celestial
by Plain View Press
cover art by Helena Nelson-Reed
Ceremonies of the Spirit travels a spiral from infatuation to consecration. Ceremonies has been called "gorgeous", "exquisite", "flirty", and "joyous work that should be celebrated. ...engrossing, vibrant, honest, theatrical, mystical, lyrical, poignant, passionate, expressive, ceremonial, heart-achieving, soul-renewing..."
Here are poems that are living, breathing things; that invite us into them, welcome us into their elegant, ethereal dance, and walk us across the threshold into sanctuary where we look inward, feed the soul's spark, commune with enlightenment, and transform.
--Michael Parker, reviewer for Oranges & Sardines
...news of a book being born ...brings back an image of a poet performing a poem in New Mexico years ago, she wrapped herself in a shawl and spoke of falling in love in the Middle East...That's what Wendy does, she connects us with words and wraps us in the safety of a shawl so we can fall in love with poetry once again.
--Gary Glazner, Founder of the Alzheimer's Poetry Project
Wendy Brown-Baez writes in the heat from ecstatic love, loss, Mexico, and New Mexico. She has the poetry muscles and music for this harsh calling. Quemado, Qué madre! These poems are very powerful!
--Joan Logghe, Founder of Write Action writing workshop and author of Twenty Years in Bed with the Same Man, Sofia, and Rice
Ceremonies of the Spirit takes us on a journey from surrendering the things—and people—we love, to being transformed as a result of that process. The poems in this collection are rich with images that ...remind us what it’s like to be human.--John Medeiros, co-curator of GLBT readings series in MN
$10 plus $ 3 shipping
contact me at poetaluna ( at ) yahoo.com
For multiple copies, bookstores and libraries please contact
Plain View Press
P. O. 42255,
Austin, TX 78704
also available on the websites of
transparencies of light
transparencies of light articulates a woman’s point of view: whether virgin, mother or grandmother, single or in love, hooker or Goth rocker, dancer or dreamer, friends or sisters, from the pueblo or the big city, in troubled places or in quiet solitude, she speaks up with passion and courage. transparencies embraces the terrors and joys of ordinary life and the challenge to live in dignity despite extraordinary circumstances. These women are survivors. From the birth of their children to the birth of themselves, they remove the veils of invisibility to voice their stories and to reveal their destinies.
transparencies of light draws out the universally, transcendently human in the particular (the mother who startles the doctor with the strength of her grip as she demands the birth of her child; the woman whose tears seal the prayer at the Western Wall; the shattered souvenir happening upon the frightened yet determined Israeli soldiers). They reveal the face of the Spiritual in the world as a daily reality --Ned Haggard, author of Weave of the Sea
“I want to be / the one to find the message” Wendy Brown-Báez writes, and in transparencies of light she unfolds a quilt of messages from a host of voices, voices of women imploring or demanding, sorrowing or rejoicing. What impresses me most about this work is its sincerity—its conviction that poetry can reach beyond and broaden our lives, can be made of “rose petals or ash” and yet break stone. --Lightsey Darst, author of Find the Girl
$8 plus $2 shipping contact me at poetaluna ( at) yahoo.com
for your personalized copy
or mail check or MO to
Finishing Line Press
Post Office Box 1626
Georgetown, KY 40324
