National Poetry Month

Tedium fizzles
into nothing
no consequence,
no concern
while waiting in Mexico.

While waiting in Mexico
easy-going, bone-tired women
stand on one foot
then the other
in a broken line

They shift parcels, clutch pesos
Balance stacks of steaming tortillas
on one palm
hablan rapido in hushed tones
while waiting in Mexico.

While waiting in Mexico
I observe fellow humans
reflect on life
speak small words in español
and listen.

I embody patience,
sense serenity
know peacefulness
while waiting in Mexico.
Unlike waiting at home.

—Annis Cassells

Annis Cassells is a teacher, poet, and writer who added “life coach” and “speaker” to her resume after retiring from teaching middle school. She is a long-time member of Writers of Kern whose poems have been published in several online ‘zines and print anthologies. A lover of travel, she’s always planning her next trip.

A Prayer

I wrote this prayer
To remind us of our responsibility
as Humans.
The important roles we play
as professionals and parents.
The role we play impacts our future generations
and thus the progression of the Human race.

Frequent reminders of the purpose
of our job helps us focus on the purpose.
Thus all self-created daily stresses become trivial.

—Your Obstetrician

 

Your Obstetrician’s Prayer

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your life’s special moment.
I thank God for giving me the direction and purpose to do what I do.

My purpose is to facilitate the safe entry of a new life into the life cycle.
And help make special life time memories for many families.

God please provide an environment for this baby
so that we give him or her a chance to grow to full potential.

Please bless the parents, family, friends, professionals, teachers and society
to positively contribute to his or her complete growth.

physical, mental, emotional, intellectual and spiritual,
so this child is nurtured in abundant unconditional love and support.

Let this child grow into a loving, giving, fair human being,
contributing to society in his or her own capacity.

Together, may all these babies grow up and collectively
make our world a beautiful safe place for future generations to come.

❤️ SR

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. Sudha is a new member of WOK.

Won’t you shake me free of these moldings
Vibrate me into feeling
Something more
Than beaten down and torn
Let the moon pull loose
These entwined roots of regret
As darkness gives way to dawn
Let the wind carry me on

—Terry McGhee

Terry McGhee was born and raised in Bakersfield, CA. He began pecking at an old typewriter in 1992 at the age of thirteen and quickly found that words had a way of releasing emotions that otherwise would never have seen the light of day. Currently working with Bakersfield’s own indie film company Hectic Films Productions, he now splits his time between movies, madness, prose, and poetry.

A worn, wooden fence
Stands firm. A boundary between
Myself and life unnoticed
Before today. I wonder –

What lies beyond, concealed,
Behind the steadfast obstruction?
Perhaps an acquaintance or friendly face –
Maybe a kindred soul.

I search the peeled planks for
Ways to peer past my
Gnarled barrier, and to my surprise I spy
A tiny, insignificant knothole.

Has it been there all along?
Secreted from sight – a reality –
A continuation of activity
Hidden long ago from view.

My pulse quickens as I peer through
Discovering a tinge of color –
Not from a face but a garden,
Paused and prepared to rest.

There stand faded flowers held fast
To spent stalks and stems. They wait –
For summer’s end, and
Fall’s signal to slumber.

I turn from the emotionless barricade,
My curiosity satisfied. My heart
In harmony from a new
Perspective of life within my view.

—Joan Raymond

Joan Raymond, a member of WOK since January 2012, completed her BA in English/Creative Writing in Fall 2014 and MA in English/Creative Writing in early 2017. She writes women’s fiction, creative non-fiction, and children’s picture books and dabbles in poetry.

I realize it’s quite late – most people are in bed.
The quiet time is best for me to write what’s in my head
(what’s truly in my heart).

So during the night I start.
I want to put it all down
on paper, black on white.
It’s crucial that I find the right
adjective for each noun,
the accurate definition,
the proper words that rhyme.
If I could quit my full-time job,
I’d write poetry all the time.

I began to write as a youngster – it was cosmic destiny!
My Mom named me after the British poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.
All to God I owe it
because I am a poet.
Mom asked me if I know it;
she said that my feet show it –
they’re long fellows!

(The crowd bellows.)
But I don’t really care,
I will write anyway.
For my own aspiration
I write ‘most every day.

(So there!)
I don’t need congratulations
to affirm my imaginations.
Life’s full of inspirations
for poetic revelations –
they’re everywhere!

—Shelley Evans

Shelley Evans started writing poetry when she was a young girl, and several of her poems have been published. She is working on her dream to publish a book of poetry. Shelley is also a legal secretary, wife, and mother of three daughters. She is an active member of WOK.