April 2020 RCLAS Ezine Wordplay at Work, Issue 73

We Came From Water RCLAS Co-operative Poem, National Poetry Month April 2020 @ 2020 by the poets Compiled by Janet Kvammen The sun shines at the river's mouth And the Spring wind softly stirs on the bank.

W. Ruth Kozak

Water when a source of reflection uncovers what's lying underneath.

Aidan Chafe

Upon the river's glassy face patches of cloud soft as lace.

Hope Lauterbach

On life’s parchment paper of sorrow, joy and pain We are ink stained pages falling through the rain.

Candice James

Internal living waters of the heart, express mortal pain as rivers; healing tears falling from our eyes.

Deborah L. Kelly

sky in the river, river in the sky long bridge to forever where souls can fly.

Julia Schoennagel

They said the river couldn't be spanned But they weren't dreamers, so didn't understand.

Kathy Figueroa

The river is deep—so, too, are the philosopher’s ‘thinks’— Fed when angels weep; the sparkles are the angels’ winks.

H.W. Bryce

There’s nothing we can’t learn by taking time to see, how water paints her face with sky, land and trees.

Carol Johnson

In the year Twenty-Twenty the River silently winds along.

Amid lives mingled feelings the stream of consciousness, prevail upon.

Una Bruhns

Fraser river radiates with brilliance, infusing into my empty heart, A million rays of light, I become water and shine.

Ashok Bhargava

Sinuous clouds in a river bluer than sky break into foreground brushstrokes.

K.B. Nelson

The sky reflects on the water clear as a wind chime in summer.

Stephen Karr

The river flows, the river flows From the mountain down to the sea it goes.

George Chris Michas

Nothing is painted on river skin but sky, mirror sliding, hiding secrets underneath.

Ruth Hill

stretched from bank to bank separated yet connected history flows beneath fluid ghosts.

Warren Dean Fulton

Old man river, "Mighty Fraser" is his name Opens his arms for the salmon to come home.

Jenny Ihaksi

Where the river enters the larger body, we drift seaward to warm and rise and be translated into light.

Angela Kenyon

The Mighty Fraser River is becoming clearer, cleaner & healing.

Stand here, listen to it sing a ‘thank you’ song.

Lozan Yamolky

Mirror still surface hides the roiling, merging river and sea Humans and technology live beside this timeless traveller.

Glenn Wootton

The mighty Fraser River flows New Westminster love shows.

Angel Edwards

when the river is a picture window to the sky I sit back, my world turned over, carried off, commended.

Alan Girling

An azure sky reflects on river as muse, infinitely yours, we return, home to the water from which we came.

Janet Kvammen

Still part fish, I crawled from the river. Skin raw, still burnt from the big bang, my phone in hand.

Alan Hill

Contributing poets in order of appearance: W. Ruth Kozak | Aidan Chafe | Hope Lauterbach | Candice James | Deborah L. Kelly | Julia Schoennagel | Kathy Figueroa | H.W. Bryce | Carol Johnson | Una Bruhns | Ashok Bhargava | K.B. Nelson | Stephen Karr | George Chris Michas | Ruth Hill | Warren Dean Fulton | Jenny Ihaksi | Angela Kenyon | Lozan Yamolky | Glenn Wootton | Angel Edwards | Alan Girling | Janet Kvammen | Alan Hill | Acknowledgements Ekphrastic Writing Prompt: “river as muse” artography by Janet Kvammen Poem Title: Thanks to Alan Hill, title inspired by his book We Came From Water (Silver Bow Publishing)

“rclas members”

april 2020 issue 73 All Poetry Edition

WRITE ON! CONTEST 2020 Deadline May 1 Submission Rules:

 3 Categories: o Non-Fiction (1500 words max) o Fiction (1500 words max) o Poetry (1 page single spaced max)          

Submit entry as a Word Document (Font Times New Roman, Size 12) 1st prize - $150, 2nd prize - $100, 3rd prize - $75 for each category.

3 honourable mentions in each category.

Winners and honourable mentions will be published in RCLAS E-Zine, Wordplay at Work.

Fees $10 per submission for members, $20 per submission for non-members.

Annual RCLAS Membership $35 a year.

Maximum three submissions per person, total combined in any of our categories.

Previously published work will be accepted as long as author retains copyright.

Cover letter to include Name, Address, Email, Phone, Category, Title, Payment option.

Submissions to judges are anonymous. Visit www.rclas.com for list of judges.

Current Board Members are not eligible to submit.

SUBMISSION and Payment OPTION 1:

Pay via Paypal at www.rclas.com/awards-contests/write-on-contest/ AND email entry and cover letter to writeon@rclas.com

SUBMISSION and PAYMENT OPTION 2:

Mail your cheque or money order to: Royal City Literary Arts Society Box #308 – 720 6th Street New Westminster, BC V3L 3C5 AND email entry and cover letter to writeon@rclas.com (DO NOT mail submission)

For further information Email: writeon@rclas.com

Thank you to our Sponsors & Venues      

City of New Westminster Anvil Centre Arts Council of New Westminster Artists Gallery on 12th The Heritage Grill New Westminster Public Library New West

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April 2020 Wordplay at work ISSN 2291- 4269 Contact: janetkvammen@rclas.com RCLAS Vice-President/ E-zine