Poetry by Val Cole
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POEM:

you sometimes said.

We knew about your aneurysm for the last
twenty-five years, that bulge in your heart

and chest that could swell with blood,
and like a balloon, burst at any time,

killing you in less than nine minutes, you explained.
They told us it was inop...

Performed by Val Cole

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POEM:

written after the Syrian crisis

It doesn’t matter where we go
Or even where we stay,
We are all immigrants

Some leave home
To arrive as immigrants
Some stay in place
But feel displaced

Who is Turkish these days?
Who is American?
What is a Londoner?

i visit...

Voice Over by Val Cole

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POEM:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The theme of Where Dreams Sit and They Soak is about pausing long enough to appreciate the moment with someone you love and not wanting that moment to end. Not many things in life are promised, and nothing lasts forever. Ev...

Voice Over by Val Cole

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POEM:

Impossible.

And yet, quite real.

No power, no barrier relevant
when eyes lock
and deep waters move

with landscapes ever-changing,
fortunes good and none.
The candle never to fall

or flicker.

Impossible.

And yet, rooms with light
and music.

Smell of boo...

Voice Over by Val Cole

Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The poem "Safety" explores the deteriorating mental state of a man struggling with isolation, delusion, and suicidal ideation. Throughout the piece, the speaker experiences persistent discomfort in his surroundin...

Voice Over: Val Cole

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Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

It's about my paternal grandfather. I wanted to write a poem "to" him and to "honor" him in a way, to make up a dialogue where I'm communicating with him.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

I do...

Voice Over by Val Cole

Voice Over by Val Cole

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POEM:

She leaves for the south
never to see home again.
The winds are at her back.
Red rock valleys roll and release
into the unfurled fields and flowers
The Great Plains stretch out to define
the sawtooth Appalachian Mountains.
Her message has a mighty meaning.
S...

Voice Over by Val Cole

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POEM;

First, we would load up the car, with salty
sunflower seeds in our pockets and thermos’
in hand, and when we took to the lot
we used buckets that we filled with blackberries
bursting in the August sun. We took them home,
and sat purple mouthed with fingers
br...

Voice Over by Val Cole

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POEM:

I loved the way you did that almost-smile —
One eyebrow cocked in pretend surprise, or scorn.
You didn’t just have come-to-bed eyes —
you had come-devour-me eyes.
Yet we could not.
Shackled by respect for responsibility,
the affair was just in my head —
Was it...

Voice over by Val Cole

POEM:

Cut the sleeves of my shirt,
Cut the petals off the branches.
Gardening six whiskeys deep
I accidentally sheared the tops off all the roses.

A dark excuse within the brambles,
Leftover thorns along the roots.
Truth elixirs and million dollar venoms.
Smoke rises ro...

Performed by Val Cole

Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The theme of my poem is vulnerability and the fear that often accompanies it.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

I'm actually emetophobic. I'm also very introverted. One day, I wondered if there might be a...

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

It has been destined for you to be with me, all through eternity!

You will be the one to kiss my buns, there’s no doubt; that we will have lots and lots of fun!

It wíll be my pleasure to wine and dine you, but first; I must find you!

Yesterday, the Holy Spirit put...

Performed by Val Cole

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POEM:

A sea of people
around me, and
yet I have never
felt so alone.

Everyone keeps
surviving, as if,
my entire world
is not crumbling
before me.

How do I live
in the rubble,
where you no
longer exist?

A sea of people
around me,
and I am
drowning,

but everyone
kn...

Performed by Val Cole

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POEM:

I.
In Oropos, a lone warrior rode
On horseback in search of a place to rest.
He had been on a long and weary quest,
So, he pulled on the reins and his horse slowed.
Up in the trees, the afternoon sun showed
Two doves huddled together in their nest.
He stopped h...

Reading performed by Val Cole

POEM:

It was in a small town in the Midwest,
Where the following story once took place,
Between a woman and a man.
Each night, she held a cross close to her chest—
Praying just as hard as one can.
Every day, he kissed the sides of her face—
To be married soon was ...

Performed by Val Cole

Get to know the poet:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The theme of this poem is "ghosting"--how people move in and out of each other's lives and the hurt and longing it provokes--as well as sparking memories of joyous times spent together. I pride myself in staying i...

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

Needing you still, I come when I can,
this time to the labyrinth
to share this circular path.

There’s no one on the trail today
as I make my way
a shroud of fog settles in.

These trees were strangers
stark with winter their bare limbs
bearing a striking silhouette...

Reading by Val Cole

POEM:

I find myself back at 3240
Where we used to sit at the back table,

Close to the bathroom in case we need
A hit of nicotine or a visit with mary.

They replaced the wooden tables
With cold marble, erasing

Our initials we carved
Into these tables on all those weekends...

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

You keep me,
as if I were a monk
inside the monastery of your heart.

You keep me,
as the deepest secret dwelling
in the darkest part of your heart.

You keep me,
as the quickest sentiment sent and meant
to strike passion in your heart.

You keep me,
replaying insid...

Performed by Val Cole

Kathryn is facing the longest battle of her life, even with the necessary resources she's not only a victim but also an advocate for her own rights to find a way to stop her stalker from completely ruining the life she has left, after he had made her out to be the predator...

Performed by Val Cole

1) What is the theme of your poem?

Once, or Maybe Twice is about the longing for an absent person who cannot
be forgotten. The idea that the person is thought of periodically is tongue
in cheek for thinking about them constantly. Most of the imagery is set to
emphasize the...

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

I came to him like Persephone –
A bloom half-rooted in the Underworld,
Hands dusted with the dark of longing –
He, the sun I mistook for salvation.
But I was not the first.

The pedestal bore another’s weight
Long before I climbed its slick, slanted edge.
Her name s...