After receiving submissions of both images and poems, Scars has released the 2010 Poetry Wall Calendar that looks phenomenal! Most of the images in this collection are of writer-supplied images, and only a few months have artwork from Scars Publications. A few of the months have two poems on the page, and when it came to December, we added film negatives of prints of a number of writers that are a part of the Scars Publications world.
Look below to see the images that appear with each month, and check out the authors who have writing in the Scars Publications 2010 “Sexy Poets” Poetry Wall Calendar...
The cover image is of a more sensual fabric (even though the dark teal and blue underscores the true sexiness of the poets at Scars Publicaions...)
the January: poem by John Yotko (image of ice on trees in Urbana, Illinois)
the February: poem by Jill L. Ferguson (image of Jill L. Ferguson)
the March: poem by R. N. Taber (image of R. N. Taber)
the April: poem by Adam Henry (image of dolphins in the Pacific Ocean in 2007 near the Galapagos Islands)
the May: poem by Chad Newbill (image of Chad Newbill)
the June: poem by Michael Lee Johnson (image of an old upturned small boat near a retention pond in Naples, Florida)
the July: poem by Michael Dubé (2 images of Michael Dubé)
the August: poem by Anthony Hall (image of Anthony Hall)
the September: poems by Jessica Reidy and Patricia Carragon (image of Jessica Reidy)
the October: poem by Sam Brown (image of Sam Brown)
the November: poems by Rachel Mehl and Joey Connelly (image of Rachel Mehl)
and December: poems by Kevin Michael Wehle and Rose E. Grier (image of snow on a trees from Grunee, Illinois in the background, with two images of a camera for the poems taken by John Yotko, with two film negative collages of: Iliana Vasquez, Rose E. Grier, Charlie Newman and John Yotko, and LLL-Phoenix, “Dionysus Don” Mathis, and A.J. Chilson & Miles)
Once, I wrote because I had to.
Words sped from me like a .22,
not stopping until they hit
their mark and formed a cluster
of poetic heart or opinionated brain.
Now, trapped between life’s
fervor and each day’s chaos,
I can barely pull the trigger.
watch the YouTube video of Janet Kuypers
reading this poem live at the Cafe 11/10/09:
Lines of beauty, emerging sunset;
sometimes red, pink or yellow;
stronger even than with first light,
I bond with the sun’s last rays;
clouds may steal its glory but not
the immortality of its poetry
No sunset is ever quite the same,
nor any poem on a like theme;
thesky, like the earth, taking pride
in its subtle variations;
more of us would to well to mull
over lines of beauty in a sunset
April
Rhododendrons of the Sea
Adam Henry Carriere
The waves break in small modesty
trailing tear-like
from his closed eyes, aglow
in the evening Pacific.
Inside the blue-grey salt
are feather-like red petals
harvested from the window shelves
of ships lost long ago;
in their luminescence
the sea feels without a stranger in the world and the left-over pearls smart in jealousy.
May
Stepping on my Toes
Chad Newbill
Sitting just inside the shade.
Relaxed with legs stretched
I became distracted by nothing
for twenty minutes or so.
I gradually noticed
my toes were beginning to warm.
The screaming sun was following its daily route
and innocently changed it’s trajectory to
invade the shadow where I hid from him.
The sunlight was stepping on my toes.
My planned geography was being patiently invaded.
Maybe the sun was bored
and drained from its own monotonous heat.
Maybe he was feeling the pressure
from the spectators
and their impossible expectations.
Maybe the sun was in desperate need of shade.
Around and around-
Up and down.
The life of a common laborer.
June
Lost in a Distant Harbor
Michael Lee Johnson
Love,
once beside me
now
lost in a
distant harbor
calls out into the night
crawls back into the fog.
July
Speechless
Michael Dubé
Sometimes I am on fire inside
My words burn up before they reach my tongue
And all you get is the silence
watch the YouTube video of John Yotko
reading this poem live at the Cafe 11/10/09:
Watching violets dance and laughing
skipping rocks across the water
happy August Spirit daydreams
while playing in a Summer pasture
But Time is always comet racing
bringing clouds of angry Winter
in the darkness, violets slumber
August Spirit in blizzard freezes
Unhappy snowman, Soul of Autumn
misery falls in orange and yellow
heavy coats of woolen worry
despair paints sidewalks and porches
Elms and Maples, hearts stripped naked
icicle hands, chilling caresses
tiny sparks of August Spirit
in every chimney roars defiance
September
poem #1
Ash
Jessica Reidy
Here I find the Palace
of Reason is closed for repairs
and I know myself as other.
I make my dress a flame,
my body something material.
Staying in the river, sliding by transcending
palazzi: I am exhausted. I take
my walk by Padova’s water but all
places are made of earth and persecution.
poem #2
Prayers and Wishes
Patricia Carragon
prayers cover the earth trees stripped of leaves
wishes sit in a well a rain cloud leaves
October
Reading Material
Sam Brown
I peel through its pages
like the skin of an apple.
Slice through its flesh
with my butter knife teeth.
Bite down on its spine,
and let the sweet juices
settle under my tongue.
The taste lingers long after
all the morsels are consumed.
watch the YouTube video of Janet Kuypers
reading this poem live at the Cafe 11/10/09:
We write what lies
under our blue ribs,
that space that always feels loss.
We fear those inbred gerbils
dying with their arms flung out,
wild-eyed, pink cocks erect.
Our Saturn is heavy. We are short
on money. This is not our country.
The university shakes us.
poem #2
December Carnation
Joey Connelly
All I see is hardened snow,
stubborn drifts I shape
to match your imaginary figure.
Tonight the white will reflect the moon.
With the light through my window
I will know he isn’t you.
December
poem #1
Home
Kevin Michael Wehle
Glass half full
No longer on empty
The poets applaud
Living above the firing line of
Bullies, fools, and wombats
Finally I belong
watch the YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading the poem
“Doctors, Breast Implants and Huge Pectoral Muscles”
then reading this poem live at the Cafe 11/10/09:
