A Poem by Masha Hamilton

FINE LINES

by Masha Hamilton

(A New York City poem-in-progress,

Written by The Street)

I’m feeling dizzier than I was
a week ago.
Hustle! Hustle!
They make
me sick.

I don’t think you would really slash
anyone’s tires.
Well if you did, I’d run after you
and catch you.

I don’t worry about my wife anymore.

She takes off her clothes whenever,
wherever she pleases.

God bless you, hope you had a good day, you’re The Man!
That don’t make
no sense.

Masha will be appearing at The Gazebo on June 1, 2009.

The Summer Gazebo Readings feature 4 author/poets each Monday evening in June, July and August, 7 pm at Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. See the links to the right for our schedule and directions. Bring a lawn chair and come on down!

A Poem by Ursula Nouza

Ruby Ring

by Ursula Nouza

Her most memorable birthday

but not only because of a beautiful ruby ring

gifted to La Nena, the girl of wheat-colored whorls

that rainy March 30^th her fifth birthday.

“A very extravagant gift,” stated the mother

“it comes with a condition.

Only for a special occasion

returned immediately thereafter.

Understood?”

Sonia, Angelina, Elvira, Margot and more

invited La Nena to their birthday fiestas

but the stars were not the fêted señoritas.

The protagonist of every gesture,

the ruby ring

adjusted locks of plucky hair

held the beverage just so

and posed for sun striking facets.

No throne has known a happier princess.

The mother did not ask to reclaim

the ruby ring.

The thrill of the jewel on La Nena’s hand

kept sleep at bay.

Throughout the night

on one side she lay, then the other

in admiration from angle to angle

a different finger and even a toe or two

and why not feel how it tastes, too?

The ruby ring

clinked along teeth tops

rolled from cheek to cheek

cheek to cheek

to choke

choke

sputter

cough, cough

gag

gulp

gone

“You don’t seem to be hungry, dear”

queried the mother, “is anything wrong?”

Question ignored by terror.

“By the way, after breakfast,

return the ruby ring.”

After confession, the remedy was clear.

The potty on which La Nena trained

emerged from storage and put to use for two days.

Since birthday # 5, no jewelry has ever passed through

La Nena’s ruby lips.

The Summer Gazebo Readings feature 4 author/poets each Monday evening in June, July and August, 7 pm at Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. See the links to the right for our schedule and directions. Bring a lawn chair and come on down!

A Poem by Roberta A. McQueen

SPRING'S HERE
by Roberta A. McQueen

Spring smells like
fresh cut grass
daffodils and a bunch
of dasies growing

Spring tastes like
a fresh peach
with juice dribbling
down your chin

Spring feels like
a touch of hope
a time of renewal and
faith that all is well

The Summer Gazebo Readings feature 4 author/poets each Monday evening in June, July and August, 7 pm at Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. See the links to the right for our schedule and directions. Bring a lawn chair and come on down!

A Poem by Louisa Calio

Sky Openings Khartoum Sudan

by Louisa Calio

The night was totally still

empty of any artificial light or sound

as it rarely is in industrial countries

and although you complain

of these troublesome blackouts

the poor electrical connections in Khartoum

for me, so burdened with progress and stress

This was a reprieve--

the sky so close and black except for punctuating stars, I could nearly touch the diamonds

as you walk weighted beside me, an ancestral figure, head filled with thoughts of war

bent you were

with only your eyes touching the heavens.

You said, you didn’t want the law or politics anymore- what then would be next?

We wondered

as the sky brought its unspoken reply.

For once, we didn’t drop to the earthly plight

For once we felt -- the space--

interplanetary, stellar potential

the end of the Piscean Age

Pressing us to new life!

Louisa Calio award winning writer and Director of the Poets and Writers Piazza for Hofstra’s Italian Experience …also lives in Montego Bay Jamaica. This poem was the winner of the Barbara Jones Award for Poetry Trinidad and Tobago.

http://www.italianamericanwriters.com/Calio.html

The Summer Gazebo Readings feature 4 author/poets each Monday evening in June, July and August, 7 pm at Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. See the links to the right for our schedule and directions. Bring a lawn chair and come on down!

A Poem by Peter Dugan

The Tentacles of the Megalopolis

by Peter Dugan

the sky is overcast

zombies in limbo, shuffle along,

doing a dance of entitlement

smoke wafts through the air,

flashing lights, the hum of electricity,

fueled by a pot and beer buzz

sounds blowing loud, heavy and light

creating a cacophony and symphony

ominous and foreboding

a darkness, a blackness, an abyss.

it whispers a woeful lament,

shedding bitter tears

that burn and tarnish

the world that once was

and nobody is curious

everyone just looks the other way

with the nonchalance

of playing hopscotch

outside the cathedral

I look up toward the spire

Money is the new Messiah

a false godhead composed

of the unholy trinity

Gold oil & diamonds

black and blue words

spoken by bruised egos

measured by caliber and millimeter

delivered with willful ignorance

and detached distain

cultivated and spawned

on the agar of hype

a glaring incandescence,

cool to the touch

the carcass of the serpent

cast out of the garden

life in the gritty city

they say there is beauty in darkness

Peter V. Dugan will appear at The Gazebo on June 8, 2009.

The Summer Gazebo Readings feature 4 author/poets each Monday evening in June, July and August, 7 pm at Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. See the links to the right for our schedule and directions. Bring a lawn chair and come on down!

A Poem by Herb Siegel

FRIENDS FOR ALL SEASONS
by Herb Siegel

Chosen like produce on a farmer’s stand
by me with an outstretched hand
after careful introspection,
and even closer inspection.
Some are misshapen, others not,
yet each have unique qualities--
a few were hot others benign
all fill the time and wet my palate
for a frivolous design.

Some are here to share my solitude,
others ripe with warmth that hides decay
can turn toxic any time, any day.
Still all were habit forming,
titillating and yet boring.

All did their nascent dance
when face-to-face, left little to chance.
Short-lived like farmer’s crops
come and go with a seasonal flow.

Few I remember today
save when I hear a familiar name,
to restore good memories again and again.
Both I’ll keep ‘til the end,
after all each was a good friend.

Herb will be appearing at The Gazebo on August 24, 2009.
The Summer Gazebo Readings feature 4 author/poets each Monday evening in June, July and August, 7 pm at Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. See the links to the right for our schedule and directions. Bring a lawn chair and come on down!

A Poem by Patricia Carragon

Roller Coaster Train
by Patricia Carragon

We were approaching the last stop,
Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue,
but the N train didn’t stop –

it continued upwards on tracks
that rose above the station
until it made that sudden descent

and plunged into the ocean
where the real mermaids waited
over an hour to get on.

Patricia Carragon June 2008

Patricia will be appearing at The Gazebo on June 8, 2009.

The Summer Gazebo Readings feature 4 author/poets each Monday evening in June, July and August, 7 pm at Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. See the links to the right for our schedule and directions. Bring a lawn chair and come on down!

A Poem by Carol Hoenig

Sisters
by Carol Hoenig

You were there first, suspended in time
forming beneath the maternal heartbeat
until you wormed your way down the canal
emerging in to a world flooded by light
First daughter, you were. You are.

Time beat on while I began taking shape
in a place where there’d been no trace of you
no familial message scratched on the walls
Did the bubble burst before or after?
Perhaps not till later—much later
Second daughter, me. Always, second daughter.

Carol will be at The Gazebo on June 29th.
http://www.carolhoenig.com/

The Summer Gazebo Readings feature 4 author/poets each Monday evening in June, July and August, 7 pm at Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. See the links to the right for our schedule and directions. Bring a lawn chair and come on down!

Sponsor Update

Sponsors have soared!! Many thanks to all--

Home & Hearth Real Estate
Herb & Marian Brown
Bonbino's Pizza
North Sea Poetry Scene
Max Wheat NC Poet Laureate Comm.
Maryanne Lehrer
Mary Jane McGrath, Attorney
Michael Schamroth and Family
Philip Reinstein, CLU
Jay R. Myers & Co., Inc.
Gary & Sandie Schoell
Joan Marg
Diversion Press
Oceanville Mason Supply
Councilman Anthony Santino
21st Century Appraisers
Village BookShoppe
Long Island Pulse
Westron Lite Bulb
Tower’s Funeral Home
Childs Murphy Kuehn & Cesiro,
Municipal Credit Union
Bondi & Iovino, Attorneys-at-Law

A Poem by Vicki Iorio

Hannah Leslie

vicki iorio 4/09

There is a new baby in the next apartment

Hannah Leslie

I never hear you

it a tribute to the builder

who knew that thick walls

like Frost's fences make good neighbors

or my television is on too loud

you made your debut

new spring flower

on one of the first warm days

I think I heard you once

during my early morning shower

before going to work

just a little cry

or it was one of my cats waiting breakfast

in memory time

when the television is off

radio static is a lullaby

when night sweats invade

I hang out the window like a tenement ghost

and listen for your affirmation.

The Summer Gazebo Readings feature 4 author/poets each Monday evening in June, July and August, 7 pm at Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. See the links to the right for our schedule and directions. Bring a lawn chair and come on down!

A Poem by Harriet Slaughter

Where Iris Bloom
Harriet Slaughter

Where iris bloom the lane grows bright
with purple, yellow hues of light.
Perfume with scents of spring can bring
a memory to which they cling
to days long past, of footstep’s flight.
Each step they made in sheer delight,
with garlands laced in springtime’s rite.
They said their vows; exchanged a ring
where iris bloom.

Long since they’ve travelled day and night
to places far from home’s bright light.
But none compares to early spring,
the welcome path or garden swing
where iris bloom.

Harriet will appear at The Gazebo on August 3rd.

The Summer Gazebo Readings feature 4 author/poets each Monday evening in June, July and August, 7 pm at Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. See the links to the right for our schedule and directions. Bring a lawn chair and come on down!

A Poem by Saralee Rosenberg

My Sky
by Saralee Rosenberg

Sunrise pulls back the curtain on a sky full of hope
And the promise of brightness over yesterday's ash
When faith, nestled in its vast white sails
Is the dawn of your dreams, the breath of air divine

They can snatch your bread, but not your patch of sky
They cannot take away what they did not create
They can break your heart but not your soul
Signs of life will never die

God made the sky to give us reason to look up
To lift our head and feel hope
To find brightness day and night
There is always reason to believe

Saralee will appear at The Gazebo on June 29th.
http://www.saraleerosenberg.com/

The Summer Gazebo Readings feature 4 author/poets each Monday evening in June, July and August, 7 pm at Schoolhouse Green in Oceanside, NY. See the links to the right for our schedule and directions. Bring a lawn chair and come on down!

A Poem by Bliss-Ann Herlihy

Just Can’t Float
By Bliss-Ann Herlihy

When remembering long-ago lessons of furiously pumping legs to keep her head above water,

the thoughts are not of the pretty little girl in the camp pool with the teal and beige
hand-me-down bathing suit pumping furiously without a struggle.

What comes to mind is the woman she has become.

pumping furiously while
struggling, barely
maintaining her head above life.

Keeping it above water was easy.

A Poem by Deborah Hauser

Flight and Other Death Defying Feats
by Deborah Hauser

(1)

Pushed out of the nest too early

by a distracted mother

who already had too many fledglings

vying for her affection

unpracticed wings wave frantically

but cannot maintain altitude

tiny heart lurches as she tumbles

earthward like a feather stone.

(2)

Seatback in the upright position

shallow breaths barely inflate

her lungs, she recalls the freckle

that dots the top of his ear

the plane ascends gaining altitude

her fierce heart swiftly rises

without a net she pirouettes

into uncharted worlds.

Deborah will appear at The Gazebo on 8/3.
http://www.myspace.com/deborahhauser

A Poem by Reed Farrel Coleman

Jungfrau

by Reed Farrel Coleman

Once

we fed ourselves to the other

in careless chunks

across the chasm of night

in pieces like wedding cake—

nervous smiles, yellow frosting on her chin,

crumbs caught in the corners of my moustache.

A photographer shouts, “Hold it! That’s it. Perfect! Just like

that. Smile. No, big smile. Great!”

Flash

I recall

the maitre d’ counting heads like the years ahead of us.

Now we wear awkward tilted library books

wedged beneath our chins

where our hearts used to beat.

You must check for a pulse these nights

in the cast iron hum of the oil burner.

We feed our blankets to the center of the bed,

quilts uplifted like great mountain ranges:

The Andes some nights

some nights the Alps.

Tonight

the cat sleeps across the Jungfrau.

That means young maiden in German.

I’m pretty sure the cat couldn’t care,

looking only for heat trapped

on either side of the mountain

and maybe

pieces of cake.

Reed will appear at The Gazebo on 7/20.
http://www.reedcoleman.com/

A Poem by Richard Vetere

WHEN WE FIRST MET

Richard Vetere

When we first met,

I wanted to give you my eyes, my teeth, my hands.

I asked you to wear my fingers and learn my voice

and memorize how my lips were shaped when silent.

So, you wore my eyes and my hands

and you found some reason to memorize my lips

and learn what my voice sounded like without

my fingers and my teeth.

But when you left

You never gave any of it back.

I hear you still wear my fingers and my eyes

my teeth and my hands.

Are you a cannibal, or is there something religious

going on here?

Richard will appear at The Gazebo on 6/22.

A Poem by Ellen Meister

RESUME REDONE (with apologies to Dorothy Parker) By Ellen Meister

TV bores you
The Web is a fright
Your spouse ignores you
And hobbies are trite

Films are offensive
Gardens weed
Shopping's expensive
You might as well read.

Ellen will appear at The Gazebo on June 29th.

Sponsor Update

Even more sponsors!!!

Many thanks to Westron Lite Bulb, LI Pulse Magazine & Village BookShoppe for their generosity!

Our Sponsors thus far:

Home & Hearth Realty
Herb & Marian Brown
Bonbino's Pizza
North Sea Poetry Scene
Max Wheat Nassau County Poet Laureate Committee
Oceanville Mason Supply
Maryanne Lehrer
Mary Jane McGrath, Attorney
Michael Schamroth and Family
Councilman Anthony Santino
Philip Reinstein, CLU
Jay R. Myers & Co., Inc.
Childs Murphy Kuehn & Cesiro, Inc.
Westron Lite Bulb
LI Pulse Magazine
Village BookShoppe
Bondi & Iovino

Many thanks!!

A Poem by George Wallace

THE WORLD IS FLAT ENOUGH FOR ME
by George Wallace

The world is flat enough for me
in summer, if you lie yourself
down against it the world is
flat as a cat's tongue, flat as
flapjacks in a pan, flat as a
circus tent after the tentpegs
have been pulled out of the
ground and the elephants are
milling around, o yes you're
flat enough for me, world!
flat as a ten cent piece in the
palm of a small boy's hand, flat
as a drought in corn country,
a machete swung in sugar
cane, take that, flat! the world
is flat! flat as streetlights when
it rains or the long fingernail of
god, pried into the space between
blue sky and the surface of a
very flat lake, flat as the swath
of a ufo as it comes and goes
between clouds, flat as linnaeus
listening for the microscopic speech
of small white flowers in tall uncut grass
George Wallace
www.poetrybay.com

A Poem By Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan

We're going to try something a bit new-- each day from now until the season starts on June 2, we're going to publish a poem or short work.

Send us a poem--no more than 20 lines!- for publication here. We don't care if it's been published elsewhere--just so that you have the rights to it (all rights remain with you, except for this one-time publication and the archives the site maintains). Make sure it is "Gazebo friendly"-- that is, something that could be read at the Gazebo. We'll publish one per day between now and the opening of the season-- No editing-- the choice will be random.

Remember, too--if you have read for us before, or if you will be reading for us this season, we'll add your link to our page. I have added the links I could find-- check it out and let me know if there are changes, additions, etc.

Sponsorships are going well-- still plenty of time to be a Sponsor ($100) or a Program Patron ($20).

See Become a Sponsor to the right for more information.

Tony
tonyiovino@gmail.com

So here is our first poem, by our good friend Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan--the new Suffolk County Poet Laureate!!!

Mother Moon

Pale, pregnant winter Moon, so low she hangs
in clear night sky like sweet fruit ripe on vine. Moon seeds explode. Ten million seeds spread, spiral earthward. Seeds implant in frost-covered ground.
They sleep till spring, when earth wakes. Grow all summer
long. Harvest time I claim my miniature
my yard holds mine. I gaze up nightly. Know another event won’t happen again. I tell
my child how Mother Moon had birthed her
small golden child who lights the night for us.

Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan

Sponsor Update 5

More Sponsors!

Many thanks to Philip Reinstein, CLU, Jay R. Myers & Co., Inc., and Childs Murphy Kuehn & Cesiro, Inc. for their generosity!

Our Sponsors thus far:

Home & Hearth Realty
Herb & Marian Brown
Bonbino's Pizza
North Sea Poetry Scene
Max Wheat Nassau County Poet Laureate Committee
Oceanville Mason Supply
Maryanne Lehrer
Mary Jane McGrath, Attorney
Michael Schamroth and Family
Councilman Anthony Santino
Philip Reinstein, CLU
Jay R. Myers & Co., Inc.
Childs Murphy Kuehn & Cesiro, Inc.
Bondi & Iovino

Many thanks!!

Sponsor Update 4

Add another: Citizens for Santino--our good friend Hempstead Town Senior Councilman Anthony Santino.

We also now have quite a number of Program Patrons--many thanks to all!

Keep 'em coming! The programs are being drafted and the flyers are ready--we just keep adding Sponsors to them. We expect the first flyers to hit the public towards the end of next week--but we keep editing as we go through the summer.

Current Sponsors:

Home & Hearth Realty
Herb & Marian Brown
Bonbino's Pizza
North Sea Poetry Scene
Max Wheat Nassau County Poet Laureate Committee
Oceanville Mason Supply
Maryanne Lehrer
Michael Mulhern & Mary Jane McGrath
Michael Schamroth and Family
Councilman Anthony Santino
Bondi & Iovino

Sponsor Update 3

Three more sponsors! We welcome Maryanne Lehrer; Michael Mulhern & Mary Jane McGrath; and Michael Schamroth and Family--many thanks!

Current List:

Home & Hearth Realty
Herb & Marian Brown
Bonbino's Pizza
North Sea Poetry Scene
Max Wheat Nassau County Poet Laureate Committee
Oceanville Mason Supply
Maryanne Lehrer
Michael Mulhern & Mary Jane McGrath
Michael Schamroth and Family
Bondi & Iovino

Readers' Sites

If you look to the right you can see we are starting to add our Readers' sites, so you can click and find your favorite authors and poets!

If you have read for us, or if you are scheduled to read in 2009, send me your link & we'll add it!

Sponsor Update 2

Add Oceanville Mason Supply to our sponsor list (and Bondi & Iovino, a small oversight on my part!)

So the Sponsor List now reads:

Home & Hearth Realty
Herb & Marian Brown
Bonbino's Pizza
North Sea Poetry Scene
Max Wheat Nassau County Poet Laureate Committee
Oceanville Mason Supply
Bondi & Iovino

Sponsor Update

Sponsorships are starting to stream in. So far we have:

Home & Hearth Realty
Herb & Marian Brown
Bonbino's Pizza
North Sea Poetry Scene
Max Wheat Nassau County Poet Laureate Committee

More to come! Many thanks!

If you are interested in being a sponsor--see the Become a Sponsorslink to the right.