F 1.22 Ellen trechend

F 2.22. Gerrit – Blue

F 3.22 The Succubus

Ridden home

Three minutes, it takes
for a sun to sling her net
of rays. At darksfall, five more
to heave home the catch.
In the ticks of lattice
between, we hang. Fished
and aquiver, mouthing
against the coming lift
to vault-blue air. Certainty.
Golden silk holds us
thrashing brief
together. As the webbing
is settling, and only
in that egg-time, the trick
fails and shows the shadow
that rides the few—
cruel navies spurred ashine
and deep into the gill.
Few can refuse the hook
and fewer still the bit.
Silver knife of moon slips in
so sharp to slit the net:
pray sharper still
for the mercy.

-Ankh Spice

 

Triangles and Circles (Inspired by all 3 images)

Full moon wanes then waxes,
maiden becomes matron, then crone,
future slips into present and passes–

every triangle a part of a circle,
each point an in-between
we focus on, a tip of the infinite.

We transform the mysterious
into gods, turn gods into demons
with claws and wings,
three-headed for the trinity of things.

We demonize the other,
fear desires and dreams,
unexplained light might be scary
but darkness of the mind scares me more.

-Merril D Smith

 

Dark nights (based on the statue of the succubus)

Such wild nights in the days
when woman was the root of all evil,
a vessel overflowing with sin.

She would come in the night, the succubus,
a lascivious spirit but oh so real,
to seduce an innocent sleeper.
Feeding on his maleness,

she would steal his seed, the demon,
reduce him to a weeping penitent,
enfolded in the merciful arms of the Church,
to receive comfort and release from his torment.

Meanwhile, in the next room,
what of the incubus at work, seducing a woman,
a girl, holding her trapped in her sleeping bed
and filling her with devil seed and a witch baby?

There would be no pity for the seduced this time,
nor the offspring, because the incubus
was a euphemism for her brother, uncle, neighbour,
and the woman is always to blame.

They were wild nights then
in those far off, dark days,
and they are wild, dark nights still,
because the woman is forever
and ever to blame.

-Jane Dougherty

Bios and Links

-Jane Dougherty

lives and works in southwest France. A Pushcart Prize nominee, her poems and stories have been published in magazines and journals including Ogham Stone, the Ekphrastic Review, Black Bough Poetry, ink sweat and tears, Gleam, Nightingale & Sparrow, Green Ink and Brilliant Flash Fiction. She blogs at https://janedougherty.wordpress.com/ Her poetry chapbooks, thicker than water and birds and other feathers were published in October and November 2020.

-Eryn McConnell

is a poet originally from the UK who now lives in South Germany with their family. They have been writing poetry since their teens and is currently working on their second collection of poems.

-Spriha Kant

developed an interest in reading and writing poetries at a very tender age. Her poetry “The Seashell” was first published online in the “Imaginary Land Stories” on August 8, 2020, by Sunmeet Singh. She has been a part of Stuart Matthew’s anthology “Sing, Do the birds of Spring” in the fourth series of books from #InstantEternal poetry prompts. She has been featured in the Bob Dylan-inspired anthology “Hard Rain Poetry: Forever Dylan” by the founder and editor of the website “Fevers of the Mind Poetry and Art” David L O’ Nan. Her poetries have been published in the anthology “Bare Bones Writing Issue 1: Fevers of the Mind”. Paul Brookes has featured her poetry, “A Monstrous Shadow”, based on a photograph clicked by herself, as the “Seventh Synergy” in “SYNERGY: CALLING ALL WRITERS WHO ARE PHOTOGRAPHERS” on his blog “The Wombwell Rainbow”. She has been featured in the “Quick-9 interview” on feversofthemind.com by David L’O Nan. She has reviewed the poetry book “Silence From The Shadows” by Stuart Matthews. Her acrostic poetry “A Rainstorm” has been published in the Poetic Form Challenge on the blog “TheWombwell Rainbow” owned by Paul Brookes. She also joined the movement “World Suicide Prevention Day” by contributing her poetry “Giving Up The Smooch” on the blog “The Wombwell Rainbow”, an initiative taken by Paul Brookes.

-Gaynor Kane

from Belfast in Northern Ireland, had no idea that when she started a degree with the OU at forty it would be life changing.  It magically turned her into a writer and now she has a few collections of poetry published, all by The Hedgehog Poetry Press Recently, she has been a judge for The North Carolina Poetry Society and guest sub-editor for the inaugural issue of The Storms: A journal of prose, poetry and visual art. Her new chapbook, Eight Types of Love, was released in July. Follow her on Twitter @gaynorkane or read more at www.gaynorkane.com

-Dave Garbutt

has been writing poems since he was 17 and has still not learned to give up. His poems have been published in The Brown Envelope Anthology, and magazines (Horizon, Writers & Readers) most recently on XRcreative and forthcoming in the Deronda review. His poem ‘ripped’ was long listed in the Rialto Nature & Place competition 2021. In August 2021 he took part in the Postcard Poetry Festival and the chap book that came from that is available at the postcard festival website. https://ppf.cascadiapoeticslab.org/2021/11/08/dave-garbutt-interview/.

He was born less than a mile from where Keats lived in N London and sometimes describes himself as ‘a failed biologist, like Keats’, in the 70’s he moved to Reading until till moving to Switzerland (in 1994), where he still lives. He has found the time since the pandemic very productive as many workshops and groups opened up to non-locals as they moved to Zoom. 

Dave retired from the science and IT world in 2016 and he is active on Twitter, FaceBook, Medium.com, Flickr (he had a solo exhibition of his photographs in March 2017). He leads monthly bird walks around the Birs river in NW Switzerland. His tag is @DavGar51.

-Merril D. Smith

lives in southern New Jersey near the Delaware River. Her poetry has been published in several poetry journals and anthologies, including Black Bough Poetry, Anti-Heroin Chic,  Fevers of the Mind, and Nightingale and Sparrow. Her first full-length poetry collection, River Ghosts, is forthcoming from Nightingale & Sparrow Press.  Twitter: @merril_mds  Instagram: mdsmithnj  Website/blog: merrildsmith.com

-Jacqueline Dempsey-Cohen,

a retired teacher and children’s library specialist, considers herself an adventurer. She has meandered the country in an old Chevy van and flown along on midnight runs in a smoky old Convair 440 to deliver the Wall Street Journal. She is a licensed pilot, coffee house lingerer, and finds her inspiration and solace in nature in all its glorious diversity. Loving wife and mother, she makes her home in the wilds of Portland OR. www.MudAndInkPoetry.art