Mary C.M. Phillips's Blog, page 2

Poem for Autumn

Fall of the Maple Faeries

The moon had grown fat
hanging heavy with the stars
as a cool yet foreboding breeze
unsettled the little maple faeries
from their wistful slumber.

“We have made our home upon this blessed branch,” said one faery to the rest, “but the voice of autumn calls us on.”

“She speaks in truth,” replied the boldest of the faeries,
adorned in deep crimson, with a sorrowful heart.
“From bud to leaf I have known you all, and a great companionship we have shared. But this new season beckons now. It is time to gather our tears and be brave.” 

The little faeries quivered as the light of day slowly appeared and a deep sorrow cast itself upon the branches of their home.  A sorrow so heavy that the smallest of faeries — dressed in yellow, but just as fair — felt the need to finally speak.   

Her voice was gentle and one of hope as she spoke these words prayerfully and serenely:
“Thank you all for your friendship, as I am grateful for every sister-leaf and feathered friend of this life.  I will not mourn today, however, and choose to rejoice and be glad in this day.  For I shall not see any of you wither, but only fly.”

And as the day came to a close,

colorful falling leaves glistened in the sunlight

and a song sailed upon the autumn wind whispering, 

“Farewell dear sisters, farewell.”

* * *

Fall of the Maple Faeries appears in Symphony of Seasons – a lovely illustrated anthology from Wingless Dreamer Press.

Poetry under moonlight (new #poetry)

Just received copies of a lovely new anthology, Sufi Under the Mystical Moon, from Wingless Dreamer Press.

My poem, The Call of the Moon and Sea, is included in the collection. It’s a fable-like poem about little depressed shells stranded on the seashore. Yep.

Wishing you all a full-and-shining day, Mary

Lamentations of an Orchid (#poetry)

Thank you Tiny Seed Literary Journal for featuring my poem this week.

Click here to read Lamentations of an Orchid.

The poem appears in Poetry of the Wildflowers from Tiny Seed Press.

Lamentations of an Orchid (new #poetry)

Thank you Tiny Seed Literary Journal for featuring my poem this week.

Click here to read Lamentations of an Orchid.

The poem will appear in the forthcoming Wildflowers from Tiny Seed Press.

Poetry Event – July 17th

If you’re on Long Island Monday, July 17th (7:00 pm), please join us for an evening of poetry under the stars. It’s part of the Summer Gazebo Reading Series (hosted by Oceanside Library and the Kiwanis).

The location: Oceanside, Long Island (Schoolhouse Green, Foxhurst Road).

I’ll be one of the featured poets along with Richard Vetere, Robert Savino, and Lisa James (see below).

Hope to see some of you there! Oh, and bring a lawn chair! xo m

P.S. If you’re not on Long Island, there’s a Zoom link below.

Mary C. M. Phillips

Mary C. M. Phillips is a caffeinated wife, mother, writer and musician. Her inspirational essayshave been published in numerous bestselling anthologies.
Her spoken word poetry has been featured at the Walt Whitman Birthplace, Rock-n-Soul Gospel on WCWP radio, and Bards Revolution on BlogTalk radio while her written word appears in a variety of poetry anthologies. As a musician she has toured nationally with various recording artists such as Matthew Sweet, Marti Jones, and Don Dixon as well as comedian, Rob Bartlett, and satirist, Barry Mitchell on ABC’s World News Now.Her latest work, Music of the Forest (Rock-it Science Records) is available on iTunes, Spotify and other streaming platforms.Writing inspirational essays and poetry is a way of seeking — and conveying — the invisible. Italso helps us to see beauty in others. Good words — like choice musical notes — quiet therestless soul.To learn more visit www.CaffeineEpiphanies.com.

Richard Vetere

Richard Vetere’s adaptation of his published stage play The Marriage Fool starring Walter Matthau, Carol Burnett, the highest rated CBS TV movie ever, is now currently streaming on Amazon. His screenplay adaptation of his own stage play Caravaggio, won the Golden Palm for best screenplay at the Beverly Hills International Film Festival in 2021. He has over twenty published and produced plays. Published by Dramatic Publishing, Applause Books and Smith & Kraus including Machiavelli, Gangster Apparel; Caravaggio; One Shot, One Kill and the recently published Zaglada. His work has been produced at Primary Stages (NYC),The Old Red Lion (London), Silk Road Crossing (Chicago), Archlight Off-Broadway NYC.
His published novels include The Third Miracle (Simon & Schuster) and he co-wrote the screenplay adaptation starring Ed Harris, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, directed by Agniezka Holland. His teleplay adaptation of his stage play Hale The Hero! starring Elisabeth Shue earned rave reviews on the GeneralMotors Playwrights Theater on A&E. His other published novels include Champagne and Cocaine and The Writers Afterlife both from Three Rooms Press and the award winning The White Envelope and I, Human both from the Amazin’ Whodunit Press. His Live Fast, Die Young, & Leave a Goodlookin’ Corpse: a memoir of the 1970s, was published in 2021. He wrote the cult class film Vigilante named by BAM as one of the Best Indies of the 80s.Richard has taught playwright and film writing in the master’s program at NYU has three published books of poetry and holds a master’s degree from Columbia University in Comparative English Literature. He is a member of Poets & Writers; Authors Guild, Dramatist Guild and a Lifetime and Current Member of the WGA East.His website is RichardVetereauthor.com
See Richard’s full bio here.

Robert Savino

Robert Savino (born Jamaica, NY) is a native Long Island poet, Suffolk County Poet Laureate2015-2017, Board Member at the Walt Whitman Birthplace and at the Long Island Poetry &Literature Repository Center.
He is the winner of the 2008 Oberon Poetry Prize, Association of Italian American Educators – Cristoforo Colombo Award for Literary Leadership (2019), and Town of Islip Italian American Heritage Award for Visual & Performing Arts – in Literature (2019).
Robert was first inspired by Blake and Whitman in the sixties. His poetry has been widelypublished in journals, anthologies and online, including The Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, Long Island Quarterly, Mobius, Negative Capability, The North American Review andSport Literate; and written for art and music.Robert’s poem, “October’s Opal,” was composed by Yung Shen Hsaio as a four-instrument musical ensemble piece and presented at the 2017 International Rostrum of Composers and Conservatorio Vincenzo Bellini, Palermo, Italy.Robert is co-editor of two bilingual collections of Italian Americans Poets, No Distance BetweenUs. His books include fireballs of an illuminated scarecrow, Inside a Turtle Shell and I’m Not the Only One Here. Robert lives in West Islip, NY, with his wife, Sabrina and enjoys the role of poetry mentor.

Lisa James

Lisa James has been published in several publications including the PPA Literary Review, North Sea Anthology, Whispers & Shouts, Long Island Quarterly, Oberon, For Loving Precious Beast and Breakwater Review. She is the author of Nature, Sometimes Human (JAL Publications) and The Ties That Bind (Words With Wings Press). She has been recognized in several poetry contests and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Premium Sponsors: Lloyd Abrams*Bender Insurance Agency*Don Clavin, Supervisor, Town of HempsteadClinical Delivery Systems, Inc.*Linda & Paul Engel*The Faust Family*In Memory of Erica Fine*Gary Fish*Desiree L. Fusco, Esq.*The H Academy*E.W. Howell*Ellen Cutler Igoe*Angela & Tony Iovino*Ruth & Joan Ivarson*Monte Leeper, Architect*Maryanne & Sander Lehrer*Greg Lisi, Esq./Forchelli Deegan Terrana*New York Building Congress*Towers Funeral Home*Joanna & Joe Volpe*. Sponsors: The Badalamenti FamilyMichael Graham & Vincent Staffa, Fire CommissionersKiwanettes of OceansideChris & Rob MarraEllen PickusBiagio Rosano & FamilyPat RothLaura Ryder, Town CouncilwomanMarylee & Ed ScharfbergSchoell FamilyJ R Turek.

ZOOM LINK to Poetry Reading:

Topic: Summer Gazebo ReadingsTime: 2023 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)    Every week on Mon, until Aug 28, 2023, 13 occurrence(s)
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/81430609359?pwd=dUNPS1RpVVRQSkNMRFRQOWtoMzFqQT09
Meeting ID: 814 3060 9359Passcode: 869673One tap mobile+16469313860,,81430609359#,,,,*869673# US+16468769923,,81430609359#,,,,*869673# US (New York)
Dial by your location    +1 646 931 3860 US    +1 646 876 9923 US (New York)    +1 305 224 1968 US    +1 309 205 3325 US    +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)    +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)    +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)    +1 689 278 1000 US    +1 719 359 4580 US    +1 253 205 0468 US    +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)    +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)    +1 360 209 5623 US    +1 386 347 5053 US    +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)    +1 507 473 4847 US    +1 564 217 2000 US    +1 669 444 9171 USMeeting ID: 814 3060 9359Passcode: 869673Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kcwRDWP0n5

Poem for Good Friday

First Blossom

Upon the hill of Calvary

a tree, a cedar grows

Its roots were planted long ago

its sap, a crimson rose

Deep within the earth – a shaking

in highest halls of heaven’s – waking

as a tender shoot of love emerges

and mighty sower-spirit surges

through this messy muck of earth

praise, first blossom of rebirth

— Mary C. M. Phillips

Dear You, Poems Through the Heart (a love poem anthology)

Heartbreak is not exclusive to any one group. If we choose to love, we choose – at some point – to experience pain.

Dear You, Poems Through the Heart (Red Penguin) is a collection of poems about love and heartbreak from poets around the world.

I’m honored to have my poem, Dear Mistakes, included in this new anthology.

The book features the works of:

Shai Afsai, Leslie Arambula, Carol Alena Aronoff, Michael Artemis, B. A. Brittingham, Linda M. Crate, Candic Louisa Daquin, Jerri Hardesty, Janis Butler Holm, Debbie De Louise, Carella Keil, Kirstin Kochie, David Lange, Melody Lipford, Matt Martinek, Henry Vinicio Valerio Madrid, LaVern Spencer McCarthy, Lisa Diaz Meyer, Dion O’Reilly, Sally Quon, K.V. Raghupathi, Michelle Chermaine Ramos, N.E. Salmon, Anna Sanderson, Myra Wallin…as well as myself.

Wishing you all a Happy Poetry Month!

Here’s to love (and please subscribe to this blog if you’re so inclined)!

Mary

Happy World #Poetry Day!

Dear Mistakes (new #poetry)

We’ve all made mistakes.

Some mistakes, unfortunately, are not easily forgotten.

As a way of dismissing my own dear mistakes, I’ve composed this poem. It appears in two new poetry anthologies: Bards Annual 2022 (Bards Initiative) and the upcoming Dear You, Poems Through the Heart (Red Penguin).

You can hear the spoken-word version of Dear Mistakes here:

As always thanks to Mark Phillips for adding some rather unique music. Special thanks to Chris MacIntosh a/ka/ Grandfather Rock of Rock ‘n’ Soul Gospel, WCWP radio (Fridays 9PM-11PM and Sundays 6PM-10PM) for playing new poetry.

Have a great day, remember to be kind to yourself, and please subscribe to this blog…if you’re so inclined. Mary

Deep winter (new #poetry)

Thankfully, the bite of winter has only appeared briefly here in Pennsylvania. In fact, it feels like spring has already arrived.

This poem, Deep Winter, explores not only the literal winter but the spiritual one; the winter we might experience on any given day.

You can hear the spoken-word version of Deep Winter below. The written-word version appears in the upcoming Pennsylvania Bards Eastern PA Poetry Review (Local Gems Press).

Click here to listen:

As always, thanks to Mark Phillips for his lovely mandolin work. Special thanks to Chris MacIntosh (a/k/a Grandfather Rock) of Rock ‘n’ Soul Gospel on WCWP radio (Fridays 9-11 PM and Sunday 6-10 PM) for his continued support in playing new poetry.

Stay warm – inside and out – and please subscribe to this blog (if you’re so inclined). Peace, Mary