Carol Lynn Stevenson Grellas
Sad Girl Thoughts
He pressed her breast against his skin. She’s no one’s darling
anymore.
Their long ago, remembered sin, though no one’s darling anymore.
Unanswered prayers require amen; for no one’s darling anymore.
His wind-song plays the violin to no one’s darling anymore.
These days she sleeps alone again, while no one’s darling anymore.
“What once was love expired within,” sighed no one’s darling anymore.
One mustn’t crave what’s never been when no one’s darling anymore.
The loneliness has settled in, poor no one’s darling anymore.
All broken-down and worn-out thin, since no one’s darling anymore
A lesson learned to her chagrin, dubbed no one’s darling anymore.
Inscribed on stone, beneath within, lays no one’s darling anymore.
Beyond the need by then wherein, for no one’s darling anymore.
The Chapel Wife
I’d like to be the chapel where you pray
If only I was born a holy well
to have you dip your body in three times
and tell you, you are blessed, there is no hell.
Before me with your head bowed low you sigh
as if I have the answers to your tears
although I have no remedy or cure
alleviating worries doubts and fears.
Yet sometimes all the beauty we will know
is given when a life’s in disarray
the one who heeds directions when they’re lost
begins again but this time, knows the way.
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| AUTHOR BIO |
| Carol Lynn Stevenson Grellas is a graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts, MFA in Writing program. She is a thirteen-time Pushcart Prize nominee and a seven-time Best of the Net nominee. In 2012, she won the Red Ochre Chapbook Contest with her manuscript, Before I Go to Sleep. In 2018, her book In the Making of Goodbyes was nominated for The CLMP Firecracker Award in Poetry. In 2019, her chapbook An Ode to Hope in the Midst of Pandemonium was a finalist in the Eric Hoffer Book Awards. In 2021, Her collection, Alice in Ruby Slippers, was short-listed for the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize and awarded an honorable mention in the Poetry category. Her work can be found online and in print and has been featured in Mezzo Cammin, Verse Daily, and many more journals. She is a former editor-in-chief for the Tule Review and The Orchards Poetry Journal. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors for Women’s Wisdom Art, an organization in Sacramento that supports women’s wellness through creativity in all forms. Her latest collections of poetry, Handful of Stallions at Twilight (Finishing Line Press) and A Shared and Sacred Space (Kelsay Books), are newly released this summer. |
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| POETRY CONTRIBUTORS |
 Melanie Figg
Taryn Frazier
Carol Lynn Stevenson Grellas
Julia Griffin
Katie Hartsock
Ruth Holzer
Jenny Isaacs
Jen Karetnick
Miriam N. Kotzin
Susan McLean
Ann E. Michael
Samantha Pious
Leslie Schultz
Janice D. Soderling
Laura Sweeney
Marly Youmans
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| Avila Gray is a self-taught illustrator, specialising in fine ink pen and watercolour paintings. Avi is based in Sydney, Australia, where she operates a stationery business called Erlenmeyer, selling art prints, greeting cards, playing cards, stickers and colouring books. Erlenmeyer is also the name of Avi's storytelling animal kingdom; a futuristic utopia where sentient creatures live in harmony across 12 cities on Earth. All of the compositions from her illustrative range depict snapshots from this story; her body of work shows the animal characters that colour the Erlenmeyer world, as well as their culture, values and how they live. Avi has been selling her illustrations and products since 2014 and became a resident at Australia’s iconic Rocks Market for many years, developing a loyal customer base and social media following. After several years of trade shows in Sydney and London, her designs can now be found in more than 80 shops worldwide. Many of Avi's designs are licensed by the international greeting card company, Moonpig.
For additional information, please visit www.erlenmeyer.com.au.
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