MUSE, from Kelsay Books, Aldrich Press
https://kelsaybooks.com/products/muse
Also available at Amazon Books
from Muse--
The “Muse”
A sailboat, small, unvarnished wood,
her sails a swath of toy-store red
fastened by type-9 yo-yo string
to a tilting mast and a pencil of boom;
a sailboat, small, unvarnished wood,
atop a bookcase, moored abreast
an amphora vase wanting Greek wine,
sprouting a wilting bouquet instead,
a spray of yesterday’s anemone—
Sea breeze! The “Muse” coming about,
full sail departing the bookcase bay,
close to the wind alive in the lines,
craft aslant traversing the blue,
loosed from the moorings of everyday.
The “Muse,” into the main, on our way.
The “Muse”
A sailboat, small, unvarnished wood,
her sails a swath of toy-store red
fastened by type-9 yo-yo string
to a tilting mast and a pencil of boom;
a sailboat, small, unvarnished wood,
atop a bookcase, moored abreast
an amphora vase wanting Greek wine,
sprouting a wilting bouquet instead,
a spray of yesterday’s anemone—
Sea breeze! The “Muse” coming about,
full sail departing the bookcase bay,
close to the wind alive in the lines,
craft aslant traversing the blue,
loosed from the moorings of everyday.
The “Muse,” into the main, on our way.
Review Excerpts--
“Many poems in Muse will leave you smiling, others silent having transported you somewhere else, while some wondering how it is possible to convey so much in so few words. I highly recommend this book.”
– Michael Linnard, Editor, Little Red Tree Publishing, USA
“Leland James’ poetry in Muse hearkens back to an earlier time of more rhymed and metered writing, and, in this journey into a past less cacophonous than our current world, James is exceptional. His formal adeptness and diction are perfect combinations of sound, play and imagination.”
– Eleni Zisimatos, Editor-in-Chief, Vallum Magazine, Canada
“From elegiac wistfulness to idiomatic blues, the poems in James’s new collection, Muse, hold life up to the light, turn it round carefully, and point out the details where neither science nor superstition illuminates the whole picture.”
– Oz Hardwick, Professor of Creative Witting, Leeds Trinity University, UK
“Leland James’ mystical yet earthbound poems are among the most moving I’ve encountered. He has an understated way of telling stories in verse that reveal profound insights into nature and the wonder of the cosmos, while remaining rooted in human experience.” – Don Williams, Founder and Editor Emeritus, New Millennium Writings, USA
– Michael Linnard, Editor, Little Red Tree Publishing, USA
“Leland James’ poetry in Muse hearkens back to an earlier time of more rhymed and metered writing, and, in this journey into a past less cacophonous than our current world, James is exceptional. His formal adeptness and diction are perfect combinations of sound, play and imagination.”
– Eleni Zisimatos, Editor-in-Chief, Vallum Magazine, Canada
“From elegiac wistfulness to idiomatic blues, the poems in James’s new collection, Muse, hold life up to the light, turn it round carefully, and point out the details where neither science nor superstition illuminates the whole picture.”
– Oz Hardwick, Professor of Creative Witting, Leeds Trinity University, UK
“Leland James’ mystical yet earthbound poems are among the most moving I’ve encountered. He has an understated way of telling stories in verse that reveal profound insights into nature and the wonder of the cosmos, while remaining rooted in human experience.” – Don Williams, Founder and Editor Emeritus, New Millennium Writings, USA