Best of the Net. Sounds impressive. Do we dare hope that works found in Spirit Fire Review can be included? Sure, why not? We sent in our nominations and now we wait.
The Best of the Net anthology allows nominations of up to six poems, two stories (fiction), and two pieces of creative nonfiction. Well, Spirit Fire Review doesn’t publish fiction (‘cause God is the real deal – no offense to fiction writers). ☺
So that left us with six poems to choose and two personal narratives. Here are our nominations:
Elizabeth Brooks’ “Unashamed” tackles the pain and challenge of “nowhere to go
to get justice when the world is broken and against you”.
Jonel Abellanosa’s startlingly beautiful “Ode to the Holy Spirit” encourages us that
“Rest is a rainforest fountain, an Exaltation beautiful as the flight of swans.”
Anwer Ghani’s “The War Garden” gives us a glimpse of war through the eyes of an
Iraqi man whose “dream’s clothes are as short as a laugh”.
Lynda McKinney Lambert’s “Prologue: in which I Knit a Life Back Together” grapples with sudden blindness as this lifelong lover of knitting asks, "Can I ever do this again?"
Donal Mahoney’s “Stumps in His Cabbage” tugs at the heart as it reveals a man’s struggle in his relationship with Christ, “You would think you would love a man who died for you”.
Janine Pickett’s “When God Sent His Butterflies” delights as she tells of an unusual answer to prayer, and starts off by letting us know, “My family thought I was crazy for believing”.
Romaine Washington’s “Inseparable” dazzles with its description of closeness with
the Lord; “He knows the kink and pop of each strand of hair … His word upon word
I wrap myself up / Layer upon layer / There is no peeling Him off.”
Cindy Bousquet Harris’ “Fade to Spring” (my poem) reflects on the beauty of nature;
inspired by a painting by Ramón Chirinos, it observes through “a window curtained
by icicle rain”. (Btw, our editor-in-chief nominated this one.)
Congratulations to all the nominees from Spirit Fire Review and elsewhere. And no matter whose writings are selected, remember that God is the Best.
~Cindy Bousquet Harris
A Pebble like Wisdom
“Cento” composed of excerpts from works by
Jonel Abellanosa, Elizabeth Brooks, Anwer Ghani, Lynda McKinney Lambert, Donal Mahoney, Janine Pickett, Romaine Washington, and Cindy Bousquet Harris
No one knew what to do –
when your life is postponed,
hands exhausted and heavy,
you are gripped
in tongs that have held you
since childhood,
secretly you held on to that hope,
imagined in winter light;
you empty
your bosom, your belly, yourself.
Let comfort be a starry night,
quietness a dawn drizzle;
God has whispered
forgiveness into your lungs.
You are breathing Him in.
(Compiled by Cindy Bousquet Harris)
Cindy Bousquet Harris
Editor for Spirit Fire Review
Cindy Bousquet Harris is a poet and a licensed marriage and family therapist. Her poems can be found in Eclectica, Blue Heron Review, Ghost Town Lit, Inlandia: A Literary Journey, and in several anthologies, including Poemeleon’s "Over the Moon". She's given poetry readings at the Dorothy Ramon Learning Center and at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center in Venice, CA, and has facilitated poetry workshops for at-risk youth through Women Wonder Writers. Born and raised in the Midwest, Cindy now lives in southern California with her husband and their children. You can contact her at: cmbharris@netzero.net