“Once I knew only darkness and stillness…my life was without past or future... but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness  and my heart leaped to the rapture of living. Helen Keller Our perceptions and interactions make us uniquely who we are. The moment we become aware  everything speaks to us “ not only people but animals  objects  music and art. Poetry first spoke to me because I was a slow reader. Poetry was short. I could manage a poem in reading time at school  going over and over it. Rhymes and rhythms helped me overcome my difficulties..."

Reviews: In the world of poetry  there are those who paint intricate pictures with simple words and those who hone their craft  serving a greater purpose with their pen. In Disabled Monsters  John C. Mannone does both  creating bold displays of imagery while depicting how the human race deals with physical  mental  emotional  and behavioral disabilities.

This is a debut poetry collection by Nonnie Augustine  author of poetry and fiction and the poetry editor for The Linnet's Wings. The poems are written in contemporary and traditional forms and many reflect on her experiences as a professional and private person  while other poems comment on the human comedy as most of us seem to live it. There are fifty six poems in seven sections  photographs by Robert Knisel  graphic design by Robert Leslie Smith  and layout by Marie Fitzpatrick of The Linnet's Wings.

A Poetry Book
Epigraph "May peace dwell within your heart and understanding in your mind. May courage steel your will and the love of truth forever guide you." Taken from a book of "Thanksgiving Prayers" Prologue  O O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman x
On “Becoming a Tree by James Graham an editorial by Oonah V Joslin 1
Continental Drift  Bill West 9 Eve  A story of grit and good cheer  Bill Frank Robinson 10 In which I am An Cailleach Bhéara*  Carla Martin-Wood 12 Feedback  Terry Jude Miller  15 April and my Plastic Sunflowers  Sonnet Mondal 17 Crone’s counsel  or how to see in a spring forest  Carla Martin-Wood 20 Fumus Autumnus  Catherine Power Evans  52 Death  Dolores Duggan  53 Three Tanka Poems  Sergio Ortiz  55 Fountain  Beate Sigriddaughter  56 On the Seashore  James G. Platt  57 This is Magic  Westering  Fianna (Fiona Russell Dodwell)  58 Lazarus Jewel Box  Jane Burn  60 Poe-ish  Jane Burn  61 Hardings Beach  Margot Brown  62 Poem  Robert Grossmith  64 Sandie and Dud  Robert Grossmith  66 The Opal Miner  Clare McCotter  68 In Bellaghy Graveyard  Clare McCotter  70 The Dogged Determination of Cats  Oonah Joslin  72 Tiny Fingers  Irena Pasvinter  73 Crescendo  Marie Lynam Fitzpatrick  78 Spanish New World Poetry Juana de Ibarbourou by Stephen Zelnick 22 Classic Art Lascaux Cave Paintings  6 Winter in Abramtsevo  Valentin Serov 8 A path intersects a garden by Grant Wood 10 Above us the great grave sky by Arthur Streeton 11 Landscape Study by Theodore Rousseau 15 Head of a Woman in Front of Sunflowers by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner  16 Stream in a Forest by Thomas Hill 20 Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter  52 Among the lillies by Paul Gauguin 53 Hauling a boat ashore by Claud Monet 54 Escape by Sergey Solomko  56 Cuckoo! He's back  Honore Daumier 59 Sea Idyll  Joaquin Sorolla 63 Four Sketches of a Foot by Vincent van Gogh  65 Poet's Dream - Odilon Redon Motif taken from Plate 83 House Wren by John James Audubon  71 Woman and Child against a Stained Glass Background  Odilon Redon  74 Peter Pan is the Fairies Orchestra by Arthur Rackham  77

The Linnet's Wings Spring Poetry 2015 Contents
Prologue  Hush a By Baby  Your Cradle is Green  Marie Lynam Fitzpatrick x Epilogue The Opechee  Douglas Thornton 82 EDITORIAL Thoughts on Spring by Gerard Manly Hopkins  Oonah V Joslin 1 SPANISH Spanish New World Poetry  Stephen Zelnick 23 El Operador Del Tractor  Juar & Luisa   Bill Frank Robinson 52  56 CLASSIC The Blind Men and the Elephant  John Godfrey Saxe 61 All That is Gold Does not Glitter  J.R.R. Tolkin 63 CONTRIBUTORS Haviland China  Kathleen Cassen Mickelson 6 January  Sarah Marchant 8 Vipers Bugloss  Joan Colby 9 Lost in Nebraska  richard Luftig 10 Mediation at the Window  Ann Cuthbert 11 Robin Redux  James Graham 13 The Room  Barry Charman 18 Ursa Major  Stan Long 19 Shipping  Des Dillon 20 The Bully  RK Biswas 64 Her Journey: i. m. Kathleen Raine  Martin Burke 67 Last Thoughts Before Drinking From The River Lethe  Constance Brewer 69 Lunch in the Park  Laurie Kolp 70 Candling the Eggs  Wally Swist 71 I Have This Theory That  Jane Burn 74 A Longer Journey  Dah Helmer  "Dah" 75 Der Tisch   Maire Morrissey- Cummins 77 Before the Cemetry Needed Cleaning  Akeith Walters 79 Deep Roots  Ronald E. Shields 80

Contributors
Editorial  The Cat and the Moon by Oonah Joslin The extraordinary  as usual by Tbomas Norman A Hustler Takes A Night Off by Akeith Walters Broke--20 by Joan Colby Death Takes A Lover by Akeith Walters Manna by David Jordan Purple Kisses by Priya Prithviraj Summer Meditation by Kathleen Cassen Mickelson Raymarie by David Jordan The Ring by Jo-Ann Newton Sex on the Western Front by Ronald E. Shields The Book of Lascaux by James Graham The Random Art of Beautiful Days by Ronald E. Shields Making Bread by Breda Spaight Pinocchio And The Talking Cricket by Thomas Norman Bertha by Bob Beagrie Fraud by William A. Greenfield In San Angel by Mandy Macdonald What Rose Wanted by Charles Bane  Jr. Just by Jane Burn Dunoon Ferry by Des Dillon Where Have All the Flowers Gone? by Amy N Smith Cassandra's Eyes by Lesley Galeote
Spanish New World Poetry by Stephen Zelnick Alfonsina Storni -- Critique and Translations Bien Pudiera Ser Voy a dormir Pasión S Á B A D O ESTA TARDE Duerme Tranquillo DOLOR Fiesta CANCION DE LA MUJER ASTUTA