THE WINGED MOON
HENGE
Strider Marcus Jones
in these, so close, contented fields
of thoughts and flesh caressed
by limbs and lute phonetic phrases
in this dark loop of days,
i want what more reveals-
the undercoat of faith undressed
to nature without cages
exposing pagan aspects and its ways,
to behold what light conceals
in blue and grey stone thoughts that smiles suppress,
through the henge of seasons phases
in the centre of your circle as it plays.
BARD’S LAMENT
Myfanwy Williams
-a desperation sweetened-
no purveyor of soft sounds for sale
no junk carts hauled through matted marsh
last druid nailed, the final oak tree all
the roman soldiers marching
metal plague &
with the levees burst and sorrow sacred
notes carved with spine shards solemn
before the song became a sword,
archetype an axe &
when language listened, clarion crawl
through gullet and screech tongue truths
timbre a midwife’s touch.
Once. Once. When we moved the air
&; desperation sweetened,
they listened.
Oh, they listened.
SONG OF LOST SOULS
Emily Paget
I swallow the night.
Stained lips crimson
for the coming sun.
There is sanctity
in this silent mourning.
Veil of ivory ash
to bathe slender bones.
A hushed sound buried in the
divine exile of time.
Oh, song of lost souls
hear this ancient calling.
A hymn of root and branch.
Warm breath etched
with words yet unspoken
and I breathless for
their secrets.
ART DOVE AND OWL by VALERIE HAMMOND
Valerie Hammond maintains a fluid artistic practice, distinguishable for her organic approach and deft interaction with different mediums. In all of her work, there is play between the material and the immaterial, the physical and the spiritual: the dichotomy between what is seen and the sensation it provokes. Valerie’s work can be found in both private and public collections such as the Walker Art Center, the Library of Congress, The Fine Arts Museum Houston, The Progressive Art Collection, the Fidelity Collection, the New York Public Library’s print and drawing collection, The Chazen Museum, The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, The Grand Palais Museum, Paris and the Getty Museum. She is a recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, and has exhibited in solo and group shows nationally and internationally.
Strider Marcus Jones is a poet, law graduate and former civil servant from Salford, England with proud Celtic roots in Ireland and Wales. He is the editor and publisher ofLothlorien Poetry Journal lothlorienpoetryjournal.blogspot.com/. A member of The Poetry Society, his five published books of poetry stridermarcusjonespoetry.wordpress.com/ reveal a maverick, moving between cities, playing his saxophone in smoky rooms. His poetry has been published in numerous publications including The Huffington Post USA; The Stray Branch Literary Magazine; Crack The Spine Literary Magazine; The Lampeter Review and Dissident Voice.
Myfanwy Williams is a queer Filipino-Welsh poet and novelist based in Sydney, Australia. Her work focuses on ecology, social justice, decolonising politics, and intergenerational trauma. Her poetry has been published by the South Coast Writers Centre and WritingBetween the Fences, and her first literary novel won a Harper Collins/Varuna Manuscript Development Award. Myfanwy has a PhD in Social Science and Policy and teaches at the University of New South Wales. She is currently working on her second poetry collection and her second novel.
Emily R. Paget lives and works in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The landscape and coast around her home inspire both her writing and photography. She often links her poetry to the photographs she takes. She is passionate about her natural surroundings, history and the balance of dark and light. Her debut poetry collection, The Weight of Missing, was published in March 2023 by The Choir Press.