Tag: relationship

AFTER A BUSY DAY, WE SIT

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 6 Comments

Photo by Muhammad Murtaza Ghani on Unsplash

I have an ear for silence, the not-said and almost-said
of a voice in the room 

or the once-said so long ago it’s gone to the stars and back
like a plucked and quivering string. 

Call it the music of the spheres, that insistent ringing
of a divine bell

 or the toll for living: thump and blood-hum of a heart’s
undisclosed lives—

 no yawning matter for the mouth that opens only to
close without a murmur.

 Call it an old couple’s secret handshake, and keep it:
after years together, no need for words.

This poem won honorable mention in the 2017 River Styx International Poetry Contest and was published that fall.

May I just add my apologies for “disappearing” for so long – on top of many other events, we took our usual 6 weeks on our boat, mostly media-free, soaking up life on the water, emails and news unavailable in most of the little bays we stayed. And I forgot to post that.

Mechanic

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 6 Comments

Not your standard guy—put a shift kit
in the automatic transmission of his
Boyd Red 1990 Ford Mustang LX 5.0
coupe, changed the seats from black
vinyl to cloth: made it turn-on-a-dime
crazy ‘round a corner, full-out perfect
snort of heaven off a light and down
highway 99. No one could catch me,
he grins, unless I wanted them to.

Nothing mechanical in the way he bends
over the lifted hood of my car or lays back
on a creeper and slides beneath the
undercarriage, one foot sneaking out.
Maintenance is key, he says, and starts
the engine, pulling a rag from his pocket
to wipe down the dipstick and check
the level and colour of fluid.

His hands are stained and scarred,
look like they would labour all their life
to love a woman the way they love
the complicated innards of a car:
with brains in his fingers, and ears
that can translate rattle and whine,
deep knock knock knock under a hood,
reversing the strange or troublesome
into something familiar, worth repair.

Many thanks to The Writers’ Cache for including this love poem for my husband in the just-released anthology “Joyride” (Pg. 40), available from Amazon (US) and Amazon (Canada)!

Back In Puerto Vallarta

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 10 Comments

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We arrive at the hotel like royalty—
remembered, waved through
the sea breeze of halls and floors
to our room, a welcome platter
of fruit, chilled bottle of wine,
a card—that’s all it takes to
pull off our clothes, shower,
sit on the balcony white-robed,
watch the waves rolling toward us
until they roll all the way in and
we let go the body that struggles,
let anything and everything swim
out of us, follow a dark fin far
and away from the old shore,
the sea surging, filling my mouth
with its need to be tasted—salt lick,
tongue slick with the eloquence
of stars.

I finally decided to start posting some of my Mexico poems, seeing as how I’m one month into a 3 month holiday here – not at the hotel above but in a condo right next door.

Poem Up At “Kissing Dynamite”

~ Lynne Burnett ~ Leave a comment

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Photo by Brem Jeff on Unsplash

One of my edgier poems is now live at “Kissing Dynamite”. You can read ZOO here

Awesome art featuring awesome poems, see the main page here. Many thanks to editors Christine Taylor and Jason Bates for believing in my poem!

To anyone commenting on my poem, please know I will respond as soon as I am able – but I will soon be out of cellphone and internet range, enjoying the Pacific Northwest waterways at their best – wild, remote, whatever news delivered daily to the shore we find ourselves at.

Poem Up At IthacaLit

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 10 Comments

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Image by Capri23auto from Pixabay

My poem “From The Front Porch” is now live in the spring issue of IthacaLit

along with the other finalists in the 2018 Lauren K. Alleyne Difficult Fruit

Poetry Prize (which I won in 2016). I am thrilled and honoured to appear again

in this gorgeous journal. My deep thanks to editor Michele Lesko!

PS – If you go to the Home page, where she introduces the issue and poets,

there’s an opportunity to click on my picture to indicate a “like” in the shape

of a heart. But only if you like it!

Lovers In The Lobby

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 6 Comments

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Photo by Ryan Graybill on Unsplash

My poem “Lovers In The Lobby” is now up at Blue Heron Review. Many thanks to editor Cristina Norcross for including it in this themed summer issue: Aspects of Love. My poem is second to last, so there’s a lot of scrolling; you can read it here.

Along the way, please also read my good friend Mike Lewis-Beck’s poem “Purple Love” – wonderful to find ourselves in the same issue! And there are some stunning photos accompanying the poems too!

Date Night

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 6 Comments

Photo by photo-nic.co.uk nic on Unsplash

Often my husband and I meet for dinner at a busy restaurant.
I’ll ride the bus so we can drive home together in his truck.

Whoever’s there first grabs a couple of seats at the bar,
orders two glasses of Malbec, sips one and waits.

I like to think that’s how it’ll be in the afterlife—

one a little behind the other, the door opening
into the hum of an obviously popular place.

Zigzagging through the crowd—that glad spark
of recognition, both of us brimming with news.

Another poem from my chapbook “Irresistible”, due out in March from Finishing Line Press. It’s been given a 2 day grace period so YES, pre-orders are still available until Jan. 14th !https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/irresistible-by-lynne-burnett/

 

Hunter and Ziggy,

~ Lynne Burnett ~ 4 Comments

Photo by Ken Reid on Unsplash

a rascally lab-shepherd
and grumpy old cat
didn’t much like each other;
both bristled to share
the same family,
same house.

After the fire,
finding them:
curled up –
for the first time,
together –
under the upstairs rug,

the cat that couldn’t
swat death away,
gathered into
the dog’s clumsy paws.

Photo by Cat Mapper (Max Ogden) on Unsplash

These few lines pretty much describe the real Hunter and Ziggy and noonday electrical fire when their family was out. It’s included in my new chapbook “Irresistible”, available now for pre-order from Finishing Line Press at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/irresistible-by-lynne-burnett/

As pre-sales determine the pressrun, early ordering makes a huge difference and is much appreciated! Many thanks to those who’ve already found this opportunity “irresistible”!