Tag: Le Perreux-sur-Marne

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Poetry

Outside the Gate by John Swain

Columns of Riez (from a 1st century AD Roman Temple in Riez, France). Photo Courtesy: JohnSwain
OUTSIDE THE GATE 

Outside the unsealed gate,
you harvest the vine rows
and pour offering,
the sky spirals like a ram’s horn,
the dry hillside ignites
like a javelin.
We map black sunlight
on parchment
for the dedication of a well.
The wine refreshes our lips
parted by sun
and the smoke of rosemary.

John Swain lives in Le Perreux-sur-Marne, France.  His most recent chapbook, The Daymark, was published by the Origami Poems Project.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access Wild Winds: The Borderless Anthology of Poems

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Categories
Poetry

In the Cinder by John Swain

Photograph Courtesy: John Swain
IN THE CINDER 

The violet sky suspends
wisteria in the eaves
of a marble cairn,
the roof floats in the lotus
toward the horizon,
we cup sun on the water,
the gathered flow of your robe
continues the light,
we jubilee on the riverbank,
we wear the mark of the reeds
in the cinder
of last year’s burning.

John Swain lives in Le Perreux-sur-Marne, France. His most recent chapbook, The Daymark, was published by the Origami Poems Project.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access Wild Winds: The Borderless Anthology of Poems

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Categories
Poetry

The Canopy Palm by John Swain

THE CANOPY PALM 

Rain brocades the canopy palm,
glass lions silver
the cornerpost of a marble dome.
We read a tablet of leaves
on the ceiling,
you step over a crescent of roses,
the candle stars swim 
in the black trees.
Fountain waters branch lavender
between helical pillars,
we awaken cords and strings,
we turn our amber mirrors upward,
the sky fallows mosaic pastures
at the height of the ciphering earth.

A Roman floor mosaic from Ostia Antica from the Immaculate Conception Room, Vatican Museum. Photo Courtesy: John Swain. 

John Swain lives in Le Perreux-sur-Marne, France.  His most recent chapbook, The Daymark, was published by the Origami Poems Project. Additional information may be found at http://www.john-swain.com. 

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Amazon International

Categories
Poetry

Camellia by John Swain

White Camellia. Photo Courtesy: John Swain 
CAMELLIA

Columns stand on columns,
the high arch flares light
like white torchfire
illuminates the marble hill,
you transform the enclosure,
you filigree clear sleeves
of imagined air 
to gather camellias
the winter sky emptied,
bled in ashes on the snow.
Winter. Photo Courtesy by John Swain

John Swain lives in Le Perreux-sur-Marne, France. His most recent chapbook, The Daymark, was published by the Origami Poems Project.  Additional information may be found at www.john-swain.com. 

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Kindle Amazon International

Categories
Poetry

Your Light will Break

       By John Swain

YOUR LIGHT WILL BREAK 

Then your light will break
the amber hive
upon the tree
across the path
of sky in the flowering vines,
you remain in awakening,
powdered stones shimmer
honeyed to drink
through the beaming water,
light fires around the oil jar,
I tense a canvas sheet
to refuge
the mystery of your solitude,
we unfurl the shelter door,
we watch the burnt sky turn back
into the infinite sun.
From Public Domain

John Swain lives in Le Perreux-sur-Marne, France.  His most recent chapbook, The Daymark, was published by the Origami Poems Project.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Amazon International