Halcyon summer 2014 by Halcyon Magazine

SUMMER 2014

Halcyon

Halcyon - Summer 2014

HALCYON MAGAZINE SUMMER 2014 INSIDE 5 Shy Girl Surfing | Alice Kaltman 5

The Calm Sea Is Not Angry | Susan Bruce

Halcyon - Summer 2014 |

Contact Info http://halcyonmagazine.blogspot.ca monique.editor@gmail.com 1-905-549-3981

Special Notices Halcyon has one time rights. See website for subscription details. No photocopies allowed.

FOUNDER’S FAVORITE Hello and happy summer to you! I thought I’d doing things differently from now on. Instead writing a usual editorial, I’m going to use this section to showcase a favorite seasonal photo and why I find it appealing. Several elements draw my attention to this image. First, I like the contrast between color and black and white. Second, the angle of the ship—sends my stomach rolling. Third, the seagulls activate my ears to their screams above the crashing waves. Finally, I hear the distant fog horn from the lighthouse. It’s strange; the boat is in turbulent waters but I still get a sense of peace. Sight. Touch. Hearing. That’s why this image appeals to me. That’s it for now. Keep thinking halcyon thoughts!

Halcyon Magazine, Founding Editor monique.editor@gmail.com MONIQUE BERRY is the founder of Halcyon, Perspectives, Praise Writers, Twisted Endings, and Christian Perspectives. She has published stories and poems in Personal Journaling, The Sitter’s Companion, Searching for Answers Anthology, and Rock Bottom Journal. Monique is working on her first novel and is pursuing a career in photography.

Halcyon - Summer 2014

ÂŠ EpicStockMedia | DollarPhotoClub

Halcyon - Summer 2014 |

Shy Girl Surfing

There’s no time to prepare. Just pop-up and fly. The girl is coasting down the face of the wave, toes gripping, thighs burning, every other muscle in her body intuitively tensing and relaxing, keeping herself upright and in the right spot. Her frenenemy, the wave, breaks and tumbles close behind, trying to catch up and swallow the girl whole.

By Alice Kaltman

mazing how long ten seconds can feel when you’re deep underwater, trying to avoid a maelstrom of blindness and disorder just inches above your head. The girl braces herself. There’s no preparing for the cruel assault of ocean water that’s barely 60 degrees. It pours over her like an opened bag of ice. She duck dives as deep as possible, angling her surfboard to pierce the crazy tumble of glacial water. But the monster wave catches the girl. She tumbles, forced to hold her breath for at least ten seconds, then pops up to the surface. She starts to paddle out again, praying she’s got time to make it out before the next wave barrels in from the horizon. This one, a twelve-foot beast that will plow the girl down, hold her dangerously close to the pit of the ocean before spitting her out, if she’s lucky. Unless, instead, the girl can ride the wave. Which is what she does. Just before the wave’s thick lip shows tell tale feathers of white, the girl turns her board shoreward to find a comfy little nook. She’s off center enough to guarantee a safe journey. Though safety is a relative term with a wave this massive and steep.

Soon enough though, they’re good. No, they’re perfect. The girl carves along the wave’s beautiful face like a loving make-up artist making a model even more spectacular. The girl sees where the wave is going and willingly follows. She crouches, shifts, thrusts her hips. She leans forward to speed up. She twists her shoulders and tosses her arms. The girl looks like a lunatic, but she doesn’t care. The wave lets her do it all, holding a perfect curling shape for a glorious ride. Until, of course, the wave dies, as all waves do. But the wave has been a wonderful friend, so before its fatal crumble, the girl calls out, “I love you!”, then heaves herself over the shrinking watery hump, mourning the wave’s demise. But the girl’s sadness only lasts a second. There are plenty of other wave monsters for her to play with. If only the people monsters on land were this easy to get along with the girl might feel normal. Or as close to normal as a waterlogged, tongue-tied girl could ever feel. But she won’t think about that now. Now she’s deliriously happy. She’s with her closest friends and they’re dancing together, having the time of their lives.

ALICE KALTMAN is a writer, surfer, and mermaid wannabe. Her work has been published in Across the Margin, 34 th Parallel Magazine, and The Rose & Chestnut. Alice lives and surfs in Brooklyn and Montauk, New York. SHY GIRL SURFING was inspired by the main character in her young adult novel WAVEHOUSE. Alice is honored to be part of the 2014 summer issue of Halcyon. Visit her website at www.alicekaltman.com.

The Calm Sea Is Not Angry By Susan Bruce The rough sea will stay up all night but not listen to a word you have to say. The rough sea drags tin cans around on strings. The rough sea unfurls and hurls itself up the stair light and over the trestle where it stands on its head. In-over-my-head is a thought balloon of awkward faces and bodies. The calm sea cools down so that you can bury the fireworks. The calm sea catches the rough sea but continues, one leg at a time. The rough sea says, look at yourself. The calm sea says, this too shall pass.

SUSAN BRUCE was an actress in NYC for over 22 years, Off Broadway and Broadway, including being in Tony Kushner's Angels In America, Parts 1 & 2 when he won the Pulitzer Prize. From there she went into Early-Childhood Education and writing. Having recently overcome a deep fear of deep over-her-head water, she is now a surfer. This poem was inspired by her dedicated process to enjoy the ocean. Her chapbook was a finalist in 2013 at Minerva Rising as well. Contact Susan at susabruce28@gmail.com or visit susabruce.tumblr.com. Halcyon - Summer 2014

ÂŠ vovan | DollarPhotoClub

How it Was, How It Shall Always Be By Josh Greschner Sunlight cracks through the canopy and shatters onto the forest floor. Insects, drying off midnight rain, follow the lily pads of light as they inch across the ground. They scavenge, boring into the earth for vestiges of tiny civilizations to feed on, then curl into adamantine exoskeletons and rest. Colossal trees are the blunt, solid bones of the forest, supporting and protecting life formed around them. They lift their outstretched hands,

They lift their outstretched hands, holding nests in their palms, vines hanging off their fingersâ&#x20AC;Ś

holding nests in their palms, vines hanging off their fingers like beaded necklaces, offering its fruit to the Creators, within, above and beyond the Sky. How it was, how it shall always be. JOSH GRESCHNER is an English student at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. He is proud to reside in the city encompassing the largest stretch of connected urban parkland in North America. This is his first publication.

Halcyon - Summer 2014 |

Sleepy floating stars Pitter-patter morning kiss The teal crown unveiled.

ÂŠ Kanea | DollarPhotoClub

ANA PRUNDARU works as an independent communication consultant for charities and small businesses. In her spare time, she loves to write, take photographs of nature and awaken her inner explorer while traveling. Currently, she is working on a childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book that raises awareness of endangered animals. Contact Ana via email ana@papayarain.com, Twitter@TigerVida, or www.papayarain.com.

Halcyon - Summer 2014

fireworks on the fourth blossoms bursting far above petals falling near

JANE BLANCHARD lives and writes in Georgia. Her work has appeared previously in Halcyon and recently in Kigo.

HAIKU ON JULY By Patricia A. McGoldrick gentle summer rain cascading over dry lawn phoenix renewal © 2013 Patricia A. McGoldrick Posted in my blog at https:// pm27.wordpress.com/2013/07/31/summer-rain-julyclouds/

PATRICIA A. MCGOLDRICK is a Kitchener, Ontario Canada writer. Poems published in anthologies, including: Animal Companions, Animal

Doctors, Animal People; Beyond the Dark Room, an international collection of transformative poetry, proceeds to Doctors Without Borders/MSF; Poetic Bloomings--the first year. P a t r i c i a i s a m e m b e r o f Th e O n t a r i o P o e t r y S o c i e t y a n d t h e Le a gu e o f C a n a d i a n P o e t s . WE B : P a t r i c i a A. M c Go l d r i c k - - A u t h o r S i t e | BLOG: PM27's blog| TWITTER: @pamcgoldrick

Halcyon - Summer 2014 |

A Hot Summer Day

Summer Barbecue

By Lorna Pominville

A big fat robin lit upon the edge of the tiny little bird bath. He checked to the left and then to the right to make sure no one was watching. Then he dropped into the cool water. “Ah,” he seemed to say as he spread his wings and sank lower into the water. “Heaven this is on such a hot humid day!” Splashing, playing, having fun. And then he flew away.

A match is struck. The barbecue bursts into flame. Everyone is in a festive mood. Aromas waft into the air. Hamburgers sizzle. Steaks sear. Chicken browns. Hot dogs grow plump. Ribs release their fatty juices. The salivating crowd comes forward to claim each meaty prize. I turn away. I am a vegan

LORNA POMINVILLE is a retired nurse living in Sarnia, Ontario and attends the writing group, WIT (Writers in Transition). While traveling to various parts of the world working as a cruise ship nurse, she wrote monthly travel articles for an on-line magazine for eighteen months. In 2011 she wrote and self published a book of short stories titled, "Alpha! Alpha! Alpha! Tales of a Cruise Ship Nurse." The recent publication of WIT's anthology, And a River Runs By It, contains two of Lorna's short stories about Sarnia. She also dabbles in poetry. Halcyon - Summer 2014

The Colour of Sand By Debbie Okun Hill You lifted my starfish from aqua scented ocean and I should have known you were mystical ~~the way the beach clung to your wet skin your flaxen hair flattened smooth like ocean spray on seaweed ~~the way you worshipped your white plastic shovel in a red pail of sand Your watery voice sometimes bubbling sometimes a muffled seashell sound ~~how the surf splashed your face your image, a washed-out reflection except for the tiny footprints you water-painted with your toes a patterned path left along the shore

DEBBIE OKUN HILL is currently on tour with her first book of poetry: Tarnished Trophies (Black Moss Press). She is a member of the League of Canadian Poets and a recipient of two Ontario Arts Council grants through the Writers’ Reserve Program. Visit Debbie’s website at www.okunhill.wordpress.com. Halcyon - Summer 2014 |

Kaleidoscope By Norma W Linder Childhood summers on Manitoulin Island wore vibrant colours Sunshine- yellow slices floating in lemonade Riots of chintzy roses padding green wicker rockers where mothers rested on silver-grey verandas while we set out on patchwork quilts tiny china tea sets for rosy-cheeked blue-eyed dolls For girls like us summer was a kaleidoscope of rainbow hues Whenever I return to my old village I sense them everywhere ghosts in the garden of an unstained Eden

NORMA WEST LINDER is Past President of the Sarnia Branch of the Canadian Authors Association, a member of The Writers’ Union of Canada, The Ontario Poetry Society, and Writers in Transition. Author of 5 novels, 12 collections of poetry, a memoir of Manitoulin Island, a children’s book, a biography of Pauline McGibbon, and numerous short stories, published internationally and aired over the CBC. For 24 years, she taught English at Lambton College in Sarnia. Her latest publications are Adder’s-tongues, a poetry collection edited by James Deahl, and a collection of short stories, No Common Thread, released in August of 2013 from Hidden Brook Press. She has two daughters and a son. Halcyon - Summer 2014

| 11

Oceanside By Matt Forrest Esenwine The tide rolls in, the tide rolls out; the ocean’s mighty fingers reach toward the sandy shelter of a home upon the bending beach. As starlight shimmers, stirred about beneath the breakers, could it be… the lone, unending shoreline longs to find its home amidst the sea?

"A voiceover artist and commercial copy writer, MATT FORREST ESENWINE has had several adult poems published in various independent collections around the country, including Metamorphosis, the Tall Grass Writers Guild’s Seasons of Change, Assisi: Journal of Arts & Letters, the Licking River Review, and The 5-2: Crime Poetry Weekly, among others. In 2012, his poem, “Apple-Steaing,” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Matt lives in Warner, NH, and is currently working on a collection of children's poetry." Visit Matt at www.Facebook.com/MattForrestVoice. © starush | DollarPhotoClub

Halcyon - Summer 2014 |

Porthole By Karly Stilling On the deck, music like starbursts, champagne laughter and dancing feet. Her skirt bunched in her fist, her shoes a riot against the stairs â&#x20AC;&#x201C; descending. In the cabin she finds silence and the swaying solitude which is familiar. Midnight water laps a steady rhythm against the portholes. The ocean like a breathing thing. If windows could become mirrors, she would wish this to be one so she may turn around and inhale the wet breath of the sea.

KARLY STILLING is a Vancouver based writer of fiction and poetry. When not exploring themes of death, love, and nature in her writing, she works in the film industry and spends her free time reading and watching films. She has published in Quills Canadian Poetry Magazine, Chrysalis Zine, A Common Thread, nickel95 Zine, and Beyond Borderlands. ÂŠ lifeline | DollarPhotoClub

Halcyon - Summer 2014

| 13

If I were queen who could reign on a breezy cloud... castles in the air.

JOAN MCNERNEY’S poetry has been included in numerous literary magazines such as Seven Circle Press, Dinner with the Muse,

Blueline, Spectrum, three Bright Spring Press Anthologies and several Kind of A Hurricane Publications. She has been nominated three times for Best of the Net. Four of her books have been published by fine small literary presses. Contact Joan at poetryjoan@statetel.com.

a dandelion releases gray matter scattering my thoughts

Summer Haiku By Debbie Okun Hill

summer’s hammock sways inviting monarch to rest in cradle cocoon

Dragonflies By Kathryn Jacobs If ponds were poems and dragonflies were me, immensely peaceful algae putting-greens would open up before us (write that down) and words would follow stained-glass window wings. If crab-apples would fall with slapping sounds on lily-pads as fat as coconuts, I could pretend that they were waterbeds and walk on them like frogs do (lucky frogs!) and think the world was one big lily-bed I plopped across, unknowing. Yes I know that I can't walk on water. But sometimes we wander through the world like dragonflies who smell a dark green, algae putting-green – © Dymitry | DollarPhotoClub

and this is just a dry spell, suddenly.

KATHRYN JACOBS is the editor of The Road Not Taken, and a professor at Texas A & M - C. She has published one volume of collected poems: In Transit (David Roberts Books). Kathryn has also published three chapbooks and a book on medieval marriage contracts: Marriage Contracts from Chaucer to the Renaissance Stage (University Press of Florida). In between she published 15 essays and over 150 poems in journals from Poetry South, River and South, Measure, Raintown Review, Whiskey Island and Xavier Review, among others.

River Fish Flashing scales narrow Through fingers pink with cold. Splash Nothing but river.

MATT FOURNIER grew up in the frigid environment of Yellowknife in Canada’s far North. Finding that typing warmed his numb and frost bitten fingers, Fournier set out to be a writer of prose fiction and poetry, exploring human nature while blending humour and philosophy. This led him to study at Concordia University in Montreal where he has completed a degree in creative writing. He has previously published with Buttontapper Press and Lunch Ticket Magazine. Contact Matt at https:// twitter.com/tmf19 Halcyon - Summer 2014

| 15

The Newborn

ÂŠ TTstudio | DollarPhotoClub

By Matthew Wilson Springâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father would not hear of it. He was king and wouldn't let his daughter marry Winter, a commoner. So one frigid night, they escaped through the fields. But the king was able to follow their footprints in the snow, and eventually had the knave burned for his crime of love. Within one year, Spring gave the world a child who melted the snow that had undone her parents love and warmed

Within one year Spring gave the world a child who melted the snow that had undone her parents love

her cold face when she was lonely. They called her Summer. An old name meaning rebirth. The chance of better things.

MATTHEW WILSON, 30, has had over 100 appearances in such places as Horror Zine, Star*Line, Spellbound, Illumen, Apokrupha Press,

Hazardous Press, Gaslight Press, Sorcerers Signal and many more. He is currently editing his first novel and can be contacted on twitter @matthew94544267. Halcyon - Summer 2014 |

ÂŠ Ivan Floriani | DollarPhotoClub

Summer Season By Matthew Wilson Old men are full of summer days that no one wishes to know, when the sun beamed down forever, beating back the last seasons snow. Children skip along the beach kicking at the sand, wincing with the sunburn as mother's take their hand. Traffic tramples spring flowers now that life has all exploded, birds dart between leafy trees under which little bugs hide folded.

Summer is the shortest season, when sunlight fills your eyes; before the leaves turn brown in autumn and stormy clouds do fill the skies.

Halcyon - Summer 2014

| 17

More Haiku By Jennine Scarboro hills beneath endless August skysoaring kite

sleeping porchin the backyard weeds crickets sing

gulping syrupy orange Fantahot deep shade

salty breezesmall girl jumps sea waves © Nataliya Peregudova | DollarPhotoClub

JENNINE SCARBORO is an American poet and painter. Jennine’s writing has appeared in Vallum, Whitefish, Whole Beast Rag, and pacificREVIEW. When she’s not sorting slides of 80s installation-art at her day job, Jennine is poeming and painting in her downtown Oakland studio. See more at www.jenninescarboro.com.

Summer Violets by Emily Feng Amidst brilliant green leaves bathed in summer sunlight, a warm breeze floats softly down to kiss the shy violets nestled amongst beds of gentle grass. Painted by brushstrokes of light, their beauty blossoms forth in hues of singing color, fulfilling summer’s joyful promise that beauty should dwell forever in nature’s heart, forever a haven

to light the soul aglow with eternal shining wonder.

Halcyon - Summer 2014 |

EMILY FENG is from the Pacific Northwest. She fell in love with books when she was seven years old, and has aspired to become a writer ever since then. When she isn't voraciously reading or writing, Emily enjoys listening to classical music and hiking. Contact Emily at emilyfeng15@gmail.com.

fescue ballet By Joseph Farina riding mowers dance over lawns in choreographed detail blades calibrated to trim efficiently leaving the whole a verdant green they turn with automatic steering and transmission grace clippings deposited in on board bags with cruise control their suburban drivers smiling with iPod i Tunes in their ears

Riding mowers Dance over lawns In choreographed detail

weekend squires manicure their acreage block out the suns harsh rays in designer chic, ray ban glasses australian lotion and logoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d caps hand stitched by misters Brooks & Stratton and Jonathon Deere. JOSEPH A FARINA is a practicing lawyer in Sarnia, On. He has been published in many journals in Canada, the USA and Europe. He is the author of two books of poetry, The Cancer Chronicles and Ghosts of Water St. Contact Joseph at jfarina@cogeco.ca.

ÂŠ Roman Milert | DollarPhotoClub

Halcyon - Summer 2014

| 19

ÂŠ Olly | DollarPhotoClub

Sky Rock By Jessica Van de Kemp Cornflower blue. The hot moon running wise. The garlands savaging the grace drift in the wheat field. The horizon love, the motion of: blooms,

The air gathers her up like thunder. Hazel-sprigs and black

eyes, space. The burning smoke receding sunlight like a willow.

water, the constellations like

The air gathers her up like thunder. Hazel-sprigs and black

cicadas.

water, the constellations like cicadas. She may pass through the gyre like a wave.

JESSICA VAN DE KEMP (BA, B.Ed, MA) is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers. Her poetry and fiction have appeared or are forthcoming in Haiku for Lovers (Buttontapper Press, 2013), The Danforth Review, Vallum, Branch Magazine, The Steel Chisel, Ditch, The Fieldstone Review, Halcyon, In Parentheses, Bitterzoet Magazine, Mint Magazine, Gravel Magazine, The Studio Voice, Wilde Magazine, Cactus Heart, The Mackinac, Miracle E-Zine, The Wayfarer, Hermeneutic Chaos Literary Journal, Found Poetry Review, and Hello Horror. Her bonbon chapbook, Four-Coloured Memory, is forthcoming from Bitterzoet Press. Halcyon - Summer 2014 |

Summer’s Face By Rebecca Rose Taylor Summer shows her glowing face

Extra-long lines of

in June school is out and children shout with joy extra-long lines of traffic build up as people clamour to leave the city everyone loaded down

traffic build up as people clamour to leave the city

with hampers and sunscreen for the beach.

REBECCA ROSE TAYLOR lives on a farm near the St. Francis River in Quebec. Her recent works have been included in Long Story Short, Barebacklit, The Montreal Review, Dark Fountain Magazine and Perspectives Magazine. When Rebecca isn’t reading or writing, she enjoys knitting, quilting and crocheting.

Halcyon - Summer 2014

| 21

Desert Encore By Kevin Heaton We dangle our feet off a sandstone cliff overlooking the canyon, feasting on native berries and wild honey, in full view of rainbow hues and gentle pastels brushed onto earth’s naked canvas by the meandering, masterful fingers of ancients. A kaleidoscope of colors dusted in mineral rust cast pure, virginal elements in cinnamon impressions. In a superlative performance of mystical enchantment and natural sound; the swift roadrunner renders a darting-tongued staccato, pursuing a green mountain boomer playing hide-and-seek with golden eagles screeching just below the clouds. Tawny coyotes curse their hunger, gnawing at the night, howling upside Moriah’s wind as she whistles through mesquite, in life’s multivoiced concerto set to nature’s soft, thunderous, metered rhyme.

KEVIN HEATON is originally from Kansas and Oklahoma, and now lives and writes in South Carolina. His work has appeared in a number of publications including: Guernica, Raleigh Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Beecher’s Magazine, The Adroit Journal, and Mixed Fruit. He is a Best of the Net, Best New Poets 2013, and three-time Pushcart Prize nominee. Visit his websites at http://kevinheatonpoetry.webstarts.com and https://www.facebook.com/kevin.heaton.581.

Halcyon - Summer 2014 |

World’s Peak By Bryan Wood He breathes in deep just to sigh, whilst walking the woodland path, full of calling bird and chattering brook and breezes through bright leaves of trees. Under the shine of the sun, the browns and greens and reds and blues of trees, flowers, lakes, rocks are ripe to the point of bursting. As the clock’s numbers melt down along with the man’s troubles, he stumbles into the destination he didn’t even know he had. A rock-slab plateau at world’s peak looking over the map-spread world, from an eagle’s eye, seas, forests, towns unfold across horizon miles. And it is at here that this wayward traveler can find some degrees of peace.

BRYAN WOOD is a student living in North Vancouver, British Columbia. He is currently attending Capilano University and also works as a Dishwasher at the Vancouver Convention Center. In his spare time, he writes, reads, and takes walks around his neighborhood to clear his head. © photobee | DollarPhotoClub

Halcyon - Summer 2014

| 23

SUMMER 2014

Halcyon I hope you capture many snapshots of halcyon moments this season! Thanks for reading the 2014 summer issue.

Halcyon - Summer 2014 |