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The cobbler in the basement.
his ghost flickers in and out of my imagination.
A cobbler shop once existed in what we called our basement.
Gone long before we moved in.

i heard him some nights
rustling among the attic’s blankets, lamps and boxes,
perhaps looking for his tools among
stored and forgotten items.
what dreams and secrets did he learn watching
me, my brother, my sister?

must be he followed me to california.
may be ghosts get cold.

some nights fresh-worked leather’s scent
pulls my dreams back to boyhood.
his soft steps cross the room,
this specter from my past.

—Terry Redman

My card says, “Mystery Fan, Bibliophile, Writer, Raconteur.” I have published in non-fiction, fiction and poetry. Reading or viewing TV have always been a part of my life, tending toward suspense, character-driven fiction, biographies, mysteries and biographical non-fiction. Add seasonal NFL games and the Warriors to complete the menu. Currently I enjoy writing creative blank verse poetry.

You carried me today.
Never known to me what form of life
Shall walk through my door
And bid me out from behind
These four walls.
To take my place among the stars
And look and see what has never
Been seen before.
I cannot return,
For who can unsee
Such indescribable captivations.
I shall never speak again
That you may be heard, clearly
As you carry me, today.

—Lily Hobbs, 10/22/15

Recently retired, Lily is a late-blooming independent writer, just getting her feet wet. As a member of the Writers of Kern in Bakersfield, California, she’s getting the support, encouragement and guidance needed. In addition to her love of non-fiction and all things Spiritual – both reading and writing – she discovered a love for poetry through an interview with Mary Oliver by On Being Studios. For the first time in her life, Lily began hearing life in poetic lyrics and occasionally tries her hand at it.  Find out more about Lily at www.justonething.site.

(Doctors Day was March 30th.)

White Coats

Duty first before self
Often her/his needs neglected
Counts on honesty and integrity
True to self and to the world around
Outstanding perfectionist
Relationships are sacred to Humanity

DOCTORS are committed to making life-long human relationships.

If and when you are fortunate to have experienced such a relationship,
please pause and appreciate it.

Sudha Reddy is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology. She is a life-long seeker and learner whose parents taught her true happiness is in helping and sharing. Her life purpose is to decrease suffering in the world, in every possible way. Writing is one of her many activities for staying healthy.

Dressed in red and black

Anita Hill took the stage

Humble amid the thunder

Of full-house applause.

“We are not bystanders anymore,”

She said,

Urging us to act

Like we are brave

And smart

And know a thing or two

About crushing

Inequality

Injustice

Urging us to use our voices

“Break the culture of silence.”

Insist

Act

Use our votes

Stand up

Speak up

Reimagine equality.

—Annis Cassells

 

Annis Cassells is a writer, poet, life coach, and teacher.  She divides her time between Bakersfield, California and Coos Bay, Oregon. She has been a member of Writers of Kern for more than a dozen years.

No one can convince me
that the oak has no memory.
Whenever I’m willing to listen,
it reminisces about winds
that shook its confidence
before I was born,
saturating rains I can’t imagine,
and droughts worse than this one.

The trick is to translate
murmurs and creaks of sap and solid wood
into dialects of blood and bone,
the cackling of neurons we call thought.

But the birds gossiping among its leaves
have no interest
in how much time it took
or what the oak had to endure
to make the shade
that shelters them in in the hot afternoon.
Now will always be enough for them.

—Don E. Thompson

In A Journal of the Drought Year ©2016,
Encircle Publications, LLC, Farmington, Maine, USA

Don Thompson, Kern County’s first Poet Laureate, was born and raised in Bakersfield, and has lived in the southern San Joaquin Valley for most of his life. In his term as Poet Laureate, he has held readings, given presentations, and promoted poetry throughout the county. During National Poetry Month 2018, he will present at the Kern County Board of Supervisors meeting (April 10) and the Bakersfield City Council meeting (April 11).