Two New Books – Legacies

Happy to announce that I have two new books now available on Amazon in both paperback and kindle editions, as well as on Barnes & Noble or through your local book dealer. This two volume set was a project that came together much faster than I’d expected. They were initially scheduled for publication in September.

Stonewood Press – 444 Pages

https://www.amazon.com/Legacies-Selected-Poems-One-1/dp/1534781218/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469540421&sr=1-1&keywords=legacies+lenzi

Stonewood Press – 450 Pages

https://www.amazon.com/Legacies-Selected-Poems-Two-2/dp/1534782931/ref=sr_1_2_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469540421&sr=1-2&keywords=legacies+lenzi

“Internationally acclaimed poet Paul F. Lenzi presents this remarkable two volume auto-anthology. In compiling this magnificent work, the author selected twenty-five poems from each of his fourteen previous collections, capped off handsomely with a final chapter of exciting new pieces.

Herein you will find a wide ranging assortment of original poems that explore the complexities of our human experience. Essentially a free verse journey, Paul’s work is, as ever, infused with passionate authenticity, sharply drawn insights, and is replete with his signature musicality of meter.

These poems are at once provocative, poignant, stylish and readily accessible. They are also quite memorable. Rich with artful syntax, this elegant pair of volumes stands among the very best of contemporary American poetry.”

If you would like autographed or inscribed copies of any of my books, please contact me by e-mail at pflenzi@aol.com

– PFL

City Nights

“Night City” by Anasatasiya Kachina

 
the countryside stirs me
in the klieglight of mornings
but cities appeal to me
under the darkness of nights

electricity paints
impressionist scenes
hinting movement
by motionless features and forms
while quickening flows of organic activities
giving the eyes
sublime sense of vitality
spotlighting aspects of urban anatomy
sensuous elements dressed for the dance
highlighting glimpses of life at its best
or perhaps as it could be
when seen with the proper adaption
of shadow and light

electricity paints
impressionist scenes
hiding probably real
destitution of spirit
in corners unlit and unseen
where the derelict structures of ramshackle minds
suffer uneasy respite from
bleakness revealed by each re-rising sun
sharpened circumstance
stabbing at instinct for sleep
and at vascular impulse for hope

am I shallow
to love the dark city
or can I redeem some small measure of dignity
saying it’s not so much love
as a preference

Intimations of Mortality

“Birth and Death” by Lidija Ivanek

(An homage to Wordsworth)

 

the newborn child

arrives in an exhale of breath

preexistent with memory

tactile and voicelessly vivid

awareness firsthand of a heaven

conformed to a perfect new soul

an emergent philosopher

touched by the intimate truths

harshly thrust among perils

of this imperfect world

oh the irony watching as time

and the nature of life

deconstructs the perfection

contaminates purity

forcing the babe to grow up

and grow through mortal suffering

dimmed of the knowledge

so bright at the time of nativity

feeling all the magic slip away

until reaching a mental maturity

learning if lucky all over again

what had once been so real

but can now be no more than

experience had by the intellect

Monte Cassino

“Monte Cassino One Month After the Battle” by Feliks Kay-Krzewinski

four times blood of battle
gave siege to the hill
where blessings of Benedict
died inside bombs
holy bones of the stones
broke from watchtower
duties to shepherd the world
back to occupied Rome
peace rolling on tank treads
with oversized guns

Gold Stars

Gold Star Mother’s Banner

 

carried by the flood
all the life that might have been
tears of mothers

Manichee

Manichaean Ankh

oh are the spirits of light
in eternal contention
with forces of darkness
humanity serving their
flesh and bone battleground
ever commingling its peace
with its pleasures and pains
all the nobler and baser
intentions consigned to a blur
every starburst of light
quickly swallowed by shadow
the material evil ensnared
in mortality yields lifelong
ignorance suffering
not even death will relieve
unless mind supplants body
allowing the self come aware
of the truth in its gnosis
that virtue may triumph with
knowledge the only salvation

* * *

“God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist.”                            – Saint Augustine

Warrior

“The Weatherman” by Max Ernst

 

fighting for what
in the end
seems so useless
what good is it
living
this living
in warfare
against my own body
what point is there
climbing through pain
reaching
only more pain
why assault him
with poison
intending
to strangle this foe
who won’t die
who keeps coming
and coming
attacking
the quiet
as well as the noise
under merciless
moons and white
pitiless suns
no avail of relief
to be drawn
from the indifferent
movements
by hands of
the clock

I can thrash him
with words
on a page
give him battleax
blows with the
blade of a pen
that at least
give some sense
of revenge
intellectual payback
without any
victory
merely the
honor of warriors
giving
as good as they get
with the last
and the least
of my arsenal
verse
bent and tortured
by siege
that a decade ago
broke through doors
of the gunroom
that once armed
my mind

Book Review

“The Shop That Sells Kisses” by Mike Steeden is a dandy read. Here is the review I gave it on Amazon.

This latest collection of poetry and prose-poetry by Mike Steeden is the product of a brilliantly creative mind. It is also relentlessly entertaining. His unconventional use of poetic dialogue is especially clever and highly effective. Mr Steeden brings a profound grasp of history and an unambiguous set of progressive political convictions into his satirical vignettes. With impeccable language and a keen sense of humor, he gives the reader that rarest of treats: joyful satisfaction from every page. Don’t let this book escape your attention. – Paul F. Lenzi

https://www.amazon.com/Shop-That-Sells-Kisses-Poetry/dp/1533529043/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469544489&sr=1-1&keywords=shop+that+sells+kisses

Grandchildren

“Moontide” by Claire McElveen

 

 

moons surround me
give my tides iridescence
content in my sky

Marquetry

“Self-Portrait in Marquetry” by Rob Milam

memory bones

grainy wood

graphic elements

uniquely shaped

subtly shaded

fit neatly

to the purpose

of portrait

a picture of life

told with pieces

of moments

small fragments

unforgotten of time

made to last

to outlive

the experiences

from which each

was so carefully

artfully cut

to memorialize

and perhaps add

a lustrous cachet

to an otherwise

dully prosaic

existence