The Shine Journal

On Baking a Poem

The twenty-six letter ingredients
must be mixed and proportioned
with care
to form words of meaning,
then set aside
to rise.

Later, on baking day,
I try
for that delicate balance of
crispness on the outside
while retaining the inner heart.
Delicious.
And I sigh,
hoping my words won't get burned



Starry Spectacle

 Radiant in a night sky,
 like a million sand grains afire,
 burns a glittering canopy.

 To the naked wondering eye
 each grain has a sameness,
 broken only by how they work together
 shaping beings, mythical and not.

 And through our telescopes
 we study them,
 yet we know so little,
 know only each is unique,
 if but we could travel far enough to see.

Motivation:

On Baking a Poem: I was struck one day with the similarity between writing poetry and cooking. Both require creativity and patience. Both also have ingredients - words in the case of a poem; spices and the like in the case of cooking - and these ingredients must be used in just the right proportions to achieve a successful result.

Starry Spectacle:  (published by Astropoetica in Spring/Summer 2007.) I sometimes stargaze through my telescope, and when I do I find myself wondering about other possible worlds, worlds beyond our own solar system.

Bio: Guy Belleranti lives in southern Arizona. His writing has appeared in many publications for both adults and children. He also works in an elementary school library.