Poetry Performed by Val Cole
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Prelude to “Don Lost”

All maidens, far and fair—beware—
The sadist, Don John has appeared!
So, be woke, kids.
He approaches.

This pimp of prestige,
A truth-twisting tyrant,
The Baron of blackmail;
Democracy’s defilement.

Committer of incalculable
depravities....

Peformed by Val Cole

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the brushfire

if all the injuries were just words of smoke,
dawn could falter but still would come before
you’d have the timber from the fallen oak.

the sputter of the mourning land and folk
who cry and burn, lament and then deplore,
if all the injuries were just w...

Performed by Val Cole

Poetry reading performed by Val Cole

Performed by Val Cole

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POEM:

Not the first couple
for there is no guilt
but not the last
for there is no guilt
alone in the world
and there is no world
only two on this raft
riding the sea
with no sail
no continent
no destination
no direction
but each other
plumbing the depth
of being
look...

Performed by Val Cole

Performed by Val Cole

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POEM:

My Storm in a Bottle

She rises over my house,
like the sun, or the moon.
The stars have tried to tell her,
but she won’t listen.

Just as she rises,
She calls my name like thunder
rolling slow
through every inch of my house.

Even if I am sleep,
I wake up and ...

Performed by Val Cole

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Bean Point Requiem

For Abhigyan Patel

I stand waist deep, bobbing in the undulation, half blinded by the sun.
Royal terns glide swiftly by – blurs of white against a background of lapis lazuli.

They shriek, as if possessed. Further out, a rescue boat returns, slowl...

Performed by Val Cole

Performed by Val Cole

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POEM:

FOOTSTEPS, by J. Amber Griffin

Footsteps beneath the branches
lead to
a descension into deepness

A haze of heaviness clears
revealing
contemplative consciousness

Sensations of fervor
writing
the beginning of the story

Noting the colors, textures, shapes
inv...

Voice Over: Val Cole

Voice Over: Val Cole

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POEM:

On the streets,
Paved in gold,
Is where she roams.

She’s waiting...
Waiting to be.

Into the arms,
Of the cold,
Lies an unknown home.

A blissful place...
That can never be.

Forgotten thoughts,
And memories,
Of what could have been.

Branches out...
Like a bro...

Poetry Reading by Val Cole

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Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?
How the creative process works, and how the different factors – inspiration, tradition, beauty and in particular melody – all work together and relate.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

I had b...

Poetry by Val Cole
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POEM:

you sometimes said.

We knew about your aneurysm for the last
twenty-five years, that bulge in your heart

and chest that could swell with blood,
and like a balloon, burst at any time,

killing you in less than nine minutes, you explained.
They told us it was inop...

Performed by Val Cole

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POEM:

written after the Syrian crisis

It doesn’t matter where we go
Or even where we stay,
We are all immigrants

Some leave home
To arrive as immigrants
Some stay in place
But feel displaced

Who is Turkish these days?
Who is American?
What is a Londoner?

i visit...

Voice Over by Val Cole

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POEM:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The theme of Where Dreams Sit and They Soak is about pausing long enough to appreciate the moment with someone you love and not wanting that moment to end. Not many things in life are promised, and nothing lasts forever. Ev...

Voice Over by Val Cole

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POEM:

Impossible.

And yet, quite real.

No power, no barrier relevant
when eyes lock
and deep waters move

with landscapes ever-changing,
fortunes good and none.
The candle never to fall

or flicker.

Impossible.

And yet, rooms with light
and music.

Smell of boo...

Voice Over by Val Cole

Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The poem "Safety" explores the deteriorating mental state of a man struggling with isolation, delusion, and suicidal ideation. Throughout the piece, the speaker experiences persistent discomfort in his surroundin...

Voice Over: Val Cole

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Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

It's about my paternal grandfather. I wanted to write a poem "to" him and to "honor" him in a way, to make up a dialogue where I'm communicating with him.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

I do...

Voice Over by Val Cole

Voice Over by Val Cole

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POEM:

She leaves for the south
never to see home again.
The winds are at her back.
Red rock valleys roll and release
into the unfurled fields and flowers
The Great Plains stretch out to define
the sawtooth Appalachian Mountains.
Her message has a mighty meaning.
S...