Dandelion by William J. Karnowski

the old gray man

shuffled along the walk

stopped short at

one lone dandelion locket

dropped his cane

slowly knelt to pick it

stopped by the old woman

fumbled in his pocket

for its shaking handle

sat beside her and

on the painted park bench

placed the yellow present

in her smiling hand

~ William J. Karnowski

William J. Karnowski is the author of seven books of poetry; Pushing the Chain, The Hills of Laclede, Painting the Train, Hardtails and Highways, Catching the Rain, Dispensation, and The Sodhouse Green. He has poetry published in Kansas Voices, The Midwest Quarterly, Begin Again: 150 Kansas Poems, Kansas Author Club Yearbooks and multiple website locations. Karnowski is the current State President of Kansas Authors Club.

Kelly W. Johnston, guest editor, is a life-long Kansan, who was born in Lawrence in 1955, and graduated from Wichita State in 1977 with a major in creative writing. He has published poems in Mikrokosmos, The Cottonwood Review, and The Ark River Review. He will publish two poems in the up-coming 2016 issue of The I-70 Review. Kelly loves to spend time on his land in the Chautauqua Hills near Cross Timbers State Park, where many of his poems are inspired.

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A Pebble Under My Foot by William J. Karnowski

the night watchmen fell asleep

when Albert Einstein dreamed then

mathematically proved the existence

of a greater spiritual power

and after Milton Friedman

replaced myth with timeless truth leaving

the rest of we mere humans

shimmering above the mirage

wondering what happened

to all of our kinetic collective groping

the truth is A is A and

two plus two does equal four

the truth is it is a beautiful morning

and I am going for a walk in the woods

~ William J. Karnowski

William J. Karnowski is the author of seven books of poetry; Pushing the Chain, The Hills of Laclede, Painting the Train, Hardtails and Highways, Catching the Rain, Dispensation, and The Sodhouse Green. He has poetry published in Kansas Voices, The Midwest Quarterly, Begin Again: 150 Kansas Poems, Kansas Author Club Yearbooks and multiple website locations. Karnowski is the current State President of Kansas Authors Club.

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, guest editor for Dec., is the 2009-13 Kansas Poet Laureate, author or editor of 19 books, and founder of Transformative Language Arts at Goddard College, where she teaches. More on her here.

“to the stars through difficulty” by William J. Karnowski

to the stars through difficulty
we extinguish the piercing porch light
a new line begins: from the stars with ease
looking up we drink in the Milky Way
the distance from Goodland to home
is now more like a brief Sunday cruise

never was Orion’s Belt more bright
the hoot owl talks from the branches in the trees
and we listen for the nuance in what he has to say
there is no need nor cause for us to roam
I get Cassiopeia kisses from my midnight muse

~ William J. Karnowski

William J. Karnowski is the author of seven books of poetry; Pushing the Chain, The Hills of Laclede, Painting the Train, Hardtails and Highways, Catching the Rain, Dispensation, and The Sodhouse Green. He has poetry published in Kansas Voices, The Midwest Quarterly, Begin Again: 150 Kansas Poems, Kansas Author Club Yearbooks and multiple website locations. Karnowski is the current State President of Kansas Authors Club.

chosen by Dennis Etzel Jr.

Dennis Etzel Jr. lives with Carrie and the boys in Topeka, Kansas where he teaches English at Washburn University. His chapbook The Sum of Two Mothers was released by ELJ Publications in 2013, and his work has appeared in Denver Quarterly, Indiana Review, BlazeVOX, Fact-Simile, 1913: a journal of poetic forms, 3:AM, DIAGRAM, and others. He is a TALK Scholar and Speaker for the Kansas Humanities Council, and volunteers for the YWCA of Topeka and Midland Hospice. His website is http://www.dennisetzeljr.com.

Dennis says, “This poem transcends time and space through its elements–and looking at the stars. It informs us we can be in any time and place to be moved as ‘we drink in the Milky Way.’ These guiding lights from the past inspire the poet to create her or his own bright place.”

December by William J. Karnowski

enjoying the out-of-doors

was a bit of a

challenge

so I put on my ears

and nose

my fingers and toes

charged bravely out

to an empty mailbox that

did not want to say ahhh

I was disappointed

until I turned to go

and observed a

single set of tracks

coming toward me

in the snow

what kind of fool

would be out early

this morning

I must be either

terribly

desperate for the news

or tired of looking at fire

I can see a light

ahead

from our kitchen window

you just now up

making toast

~ William J. Karnowski

William J. Karnowski is the author of seven books of poetry; Pushing the Chain, The Hills of Laclede, Painting the Train, Hardtails and Highways, Catching the Rain, Dispensation, and The Sodhouse Green. He has poetry published in Kansas Voices, The Midwest Quarterly, Begin Again: 150 Kansas Poems, Kansas Author Club Yearbooks and multiple website locations. Karnowski is the current State President of Kansas Authors Club.

Ronda Miller, March’s Guest Editor, is Poetry Contest Manager for Kansas Authors Club and their District 2 President. Her goal in both positions is to encourage people from all backgrounds and ages to appreciate and write poetry. As a Life Coach who specializes in working with those who have lost someone to homicide, she appreciates the multitude of voices and the healing power of the written and spoken word. Her quote, ‘Poetry is our most natural connection among one another’ best exemplifies her belief in poetry. Her words can be found in Begin Again: 150 Kansas Poems, To the Stars Through Difficulties: A Kansas Renga in 150 Voices, Going Home: Poems from My Life and online in The Shine Journal – The Light Left Behind, Zingara Poet, Kansas Time + Space, and hard copy publications such as The Lawrence Journal World. She authored documentary The 150 Reride of The Pony Express and created poetic forms Loku and Ukol.

flint hills by William J. Karnowski

outside of me is dawn

at first the birds celebrate

singing their stanzas

bluebird after bluebird

rain crows make their predictions

the prairie chickens boom

from the arena of the lek

and the mockingbird lies

about his identity

then all goes quiet

at the intermission

the second verse is the muffled

roar of the six-legged multitudes

honey bees massage the petals

satisfying that single sweet tooth

the yellow jackets menace

an innocent butterfly passerby

the grasshoppers chew tobacco

helicopter flies proudly hover

but the middle of the morning

belongs to the meadowlark

singing, “who the hell are you?”

asking , “who the hell are you?”

and I have no Christian answer.

~ William J. Karnowski

William J. Karnowski, Wamego, Kansas is the author of books titled: Pushing the Chain, Dispensation, Painting the Train, The Hills of Laclede, Catching the Rain, and The Sodhouse Green.  William sponsors the annual Karnowski Youth Poetry Contest and is current Vice-President of the Kansas Authors Club.

the pebble under my foot by William J. Karnowski

the night watchmen fell asleep

when Albert Einstein dreamed then

mathematically proved the existence

of a greater spiritual power

and after Milton Freidman

replaced myth with timeless truth leaving

the rest of we mere humans

shimmering above the mirage

wondering what happened

to all our kinetic collective groping

the truth is A is A and

two plus two does equal four

the truth is it is a beautiful morning

and I am going for a walk in the woods

~ William J. Karnowski

William J. Karnowski, Wamego, Kansas is the author of books titled: Pushing the Chain, Dispensation, Painting the Train, The Hills of Laclede, Catching the Rain, and The Sodhouse Green.  William sponsors the annual Karnowski Youth Poetry Contest and is current Vice-President of the Kansas Authors Club.

128. Icestorm

old elm we named you the Sentinel Tree

high upon the Flint Hills peak

stood winter winds and summers bleak

that did not rip your branches free

there came last night an icy spit

that laid a burden too great to bear

of sculptured glass and crystal glare

and weighted you until you split

the coyote wails of your demise

by sorrow moon and faint starlight

his refuge friend in black of night

no longer there at this sunrise

my young father once sat in view

full of fire and fresh romance

and asked his bride to take a chance

on time and trees that shelter you

— William J. Karnowski

28. Senses

a sparrow sings outside the glass

Ann senses a coming question

his finger tracks down her forearm

cotton sheets crisp like sandpaper

fresh laid carpet now springs upward

then of course there is the sweet taste

of cold peaches sublime peaches

the musty brick smell of street rain

small girls whispering a secret

warm of sun and cool of shadow

cry for milk baby cry for milk

mystery of thunder without

the scalpel stab wound of lightning

how does he dare express his hope

how does he ask her quiet face

my love do the blind dream in feel

— William J. Karnowski

17. The Sod House Green

attached to the wind

is the west wing

of the sod house green

while planting in the spring

I used to say

oh look momma

the sun is rising as the moon is going down

then look poppa

stop behind the plow

that cloud looks like momma

and like the summer rains

she has gone again

just the growing remains

everything I love

smells like Kansas sod

grown up now

still behind the plow

I kiss the earth

as she rolls over

dark damp and steaming

dinner bell ringing

for the water lost seagulls

— William J. Karnowski