BOOK REVIEW BY JOHN BONIFACIO
Category: Blogging

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NOW ONLY $6.95 EACH*

Both books are now ONLY $6.95!!!  Promote Literacy J

*This offer is only good through mail order from me direct, (or if you happen to know me and live in the Chi), so it does not apply if you buy them from a retailer.

Poets & Alchemists $6.95

Poets & Alchemists - Excerpts
Category: Writing and Poetry

Chapter I: FIRE

Purify Destroy Sustain Laughter Anger Will Power

Dance Pauper Dance!

There are too many reasons

to stray from decency now a days.

The morning news,

the evening news,

the weekend news can show us that.

The death toll reflects digits but not funeral footage,

we mustn't become that humane.

A foreign war,

a civil war,

punctuated by celebrity scandal but do not fret.

We will do the thinking for you.

Dance Pauper Dance!

You serve my meals and park my cars,

be sure not to scratch it!

I hate you

for having things I cannot buy.

How could the working class be loved more than I?

We've taken the care out of healthcare

and bedside manner is merely optional.

The millions without insurance

secures millions made off their debt.

Dance Pauper Dance!

Sex offenders keep getting younger

but they're old enough to die.

Kill for my creature comforts

but don't sit next to me at the bar.

Oh no, you're much too young for that.

Here's an automatic weapon and driver's license.

You can even work the sex trade, honey.

Make love to that camera and brass pole,

you're old enough to star in our films

but not old enough to purchase it.

Oh no, you're much too young for that.

Dance Pauper Dance!

D.K.R.

Chapter II: WATER

Baptism Rebirth Sexuality Procreation Emotions Desire

Rock n' Roll Mystic

I could be your wayward Cinderella,

with buckled shoes and tie-dyed hair.

Discussing physics in between shots,

I wish I was the needle

used to sketch those designs on your pelvic bone.

I wanna be the inspiration for your ink work

and wrap around your sleeve.

Be inside you – plasma deep.

I'm searching this pumpkin for a witty phrase,

only to find a well of wishes –

and they all belong to me.

I wish I was your tongue ring,

licking each sinful syllable raw.

That kind yet impish expression,

knowing something terribly amusing

but refusing to share.

We could share this slipper of vodka

and discuss stellar positions and pyramids.

 I could be your wayward Cinderella,

with buckled shoes and tie-dyed hair.

Still searching this pumpkin for more than a friend,

enchanted by this rock n' roll mystic.

D.K.R.

Chapter III: EARTH

Gluttony Survival Stability Restriction Time Illusion

The Whips of Silence

In a quite fashion – the plotting begins,

but you won't notice.

                       You don't have time for anyone else

even in thought,

in that galaxy made for one.

You prefer me in this self-conscious dress.

So meticulously,

you've labored over that anxious hem,

reinforcing each stitch with nervous thread.

Till there I was,

your skillfully decorated doll

used for amusement but not for display.

You had me questioning myself,

for wanting too much from so little.

I focus on what wasn't

and grow tired of being afraid.

I lost my faith in you but not in myself.

On this delirious occasion,

I wash the restrictions from my face

and body.

I've never been so naked yet invulnerable.

My nudity is powerful,

so I divorce myself from fear.

D.K.R.

Chapter IV: AIR

Enlightenment Compassion Confusion Intellect Deception Creativity

Entangled Luminaries

Heaven and hell are thought forms,

realities created by the mind.

Which paradigm will you cultivate?

When you have it all and still feel shallow,

don't forget to look pretty.

You don't want them to see

how old you are inside.

Hell is merely aspects of ourselves,

our individuality –

we let slip away.

And why the eyes turn gray

in the confines of deserted pupils.

Become the person you were intended to be

before the beatings began.

Which paradigm will cultivate you?

D.K.R.

 Copyright 2007 by 5th House Press

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Urban Life Through Ancient Eyes - Excerpts
Category: Writing and Poetry

Chapter I: of blood & light

Perhaps those abusive demons show us what not to be and pain is an equal teacher with joy. 

 The Names Are Shifting

The Angel of Death weeps

when faced with suicide.

He was not scheduled to be here.

He too feels remorse.

This Reaper of Spirits, 

collecting our coins upon eyelids

and under tongues.

He mourns knowing

it's not death his children wanted

but a release from pain.

If only you had lived through it…

Tears pass as slides in a projector.

Stopped in mid-flow,

if only you had waited,

the next was of redemption.

The soundless cries,

that in itself

became a liberating current of ascension.

You would have looked back and said,

"Thank God I lived to see this day."

Interconnected,

the tablet changes again

because you were not there.

Murdered by the one

we loved the most.

There are no sutures to close

this empty space.

Death is weeping,

the names are shifting,

the slides stopped turning.

D.K.R.

Chapter II: Ascension

We are souls with a body, rather than the reverse and have a purpose all our own. Our task is to recall that purpose.

Cassiopeia's Tattoo

We ride with hearts wide open

and tattoos drawn by Cassiopeia.

Driving past lessons in hardship and sacrifice.

We blaze straight in the inferno,

past the eyes of Hindu Gods

and manifestations yet to be made.

Helmets made by the belief,

prior to incarnation

we choose our parents

and circumstances born into.

Afraid of not achieving aspirations,

maybe that's just ego

and the only objective is sharing laughter

with as many people as possible.

Supporting its mold with bamboo,

rusted motivation sculpts itself

towards perfection.

Dreams wove in and out of my clothing.

There is no fear of death,

unless it's before the grave.

We took in a meteor shower

and watched eternity pass in slow motion.

Gathering knowledge

to accomplish what this world

has failed to provide.

Even Nemesis turns away,

as chunks of ice ricochet off our tires,

leaving behind clusters of our own.

Holding on to Michael's sword,

I trace the lettering on his wings,

"Nothing is trivial

on gossamer shoulders."

D.K.R.

Chapter III: The Prophets Hour

Life in an urban setting presents a paradox all its own. 

The Pale Priestess

It's another black night in white powder.

Lost in the smoking lips

and sweaty tits of the Pale Priestess.

Ready to fuck and be fucked.

She enfolds them with her legs

and I wonder,

if this is the last time I will see you alive?

Baggies uncurl like orchid petals,

carefully spread and separated,

prepared to sniff and taste.

When Pandora's Box is restless

and escapism becomes an art form,

I look away to deny those that came before you.

They too were named Icarus.

Your glue is melting…

She took a father away

but he left his smile.

The blow while being blown

was just too good.

Then there was the blond mother

with two little girls,

ages four and six

left behind when her heart exploded.

From now on Mother's Day will be spent

throwing flowers on her cocaine coffin.

Your feathers are slipping…

How could I forget?

The July Leo in an 8-ball labyrinth.

He couldn't find his way back out,

so he locked the bathroom door

and jumped out the window.

Flying in a coma for three days before passing,

six months before his 19^th birthday.

He too was named Icarus…

BOOK REVIEW BY ASTRAL ARTIST
Current mood: eccentric
Category: Writing and Poetry

MIXING IT UP WITH "POETS & ALCHEMISTS"

As art forms, poetry and visual art always seemed, to me, to be a perfect match for each other. When those two elements are successfully sewn together with an underlying theme, the results can be very enjoyable, even to the most pedestrian reader. Such is the case with "Poets & Alchemists" the latest compilation of poetry and artwork by D'lyla K. Ravyn's 5^th House Press.

The elements- Fire, Water, Earth, Air- and their influence on us, direct or otherwise, underscore the themes of the poetry and artwork compiled for this book by Editor Ravyn. She, along with fellow poets Kevin M. Hibshman, Kittie Le Sabre and Jeff Noland, draw on personal experience, emotion and angst to address introspection, love, passion and lust, divinity and faith, and one's place in the world, while relating their thoughts on those topics to the elements. Despite being printed only in black and white, paintings by Ravyn and William Flores, and illustrations by Marty Parker provide attractive visual backdrop.

When poets and visual artists attempt to touch on such abstract concepts as how the elements figure in our psyches and everyday lives, the results can often be overly complex or intimidating to those aforementioned pedestrian readers. "Poets & Alchemists" faces no such challenges, however. The poetry, and the accompanying artwork, are accessible and even inviting to anyone seeking nothing more than an enjoyable poetry read. And for those who like to ponder the deeper meanings of such topics, "Poets" delivers, as well. Le Sabre's "From a Forgotten Admirer" and Ravyn's "Divine Tapestry" are notable examples of how well the poets tap dance the fine lines between simplistic expression, profound observation and convoluted rambling.

"Poets & Alchemists" is recommended for anyone interested in enjoying distinctively different observations in distinctively different styles on some not so distinctively different things to which we can all relate.

ASTRAL ARTIST

Currently listening : The Screen Behind the Mirror By Enigma Release date: 18 January, 2000

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BOOK REVIEW BY G. MATTHEW LOWE
Current mood: ecstatic
Category: Writing and Poetry

"Poets & Alchemists" is a beautiful cauldron of flavors. Visually thought provoking and lyrically casting a spell on this reader-poet. After placing myself in each artist's world for a brief moment, the reality of my own has increased in intrigue, due to the potent mixture of minds and manifestations.

This book demands a reading and re-reading. With each new look, comes a different perspective. The artistry pleads for a time-filled open-minded stare, while the words flow though your lips and you find yourself reading out loud.

I feel to single out any specific piece would do the others an injustice. Each a separate work and well placed within the progression of perfection."

G. Matthew Lowe - Author of "Musings of a Wayward Skald"

http://www.myspace.com/musingsofawandering

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Twisted Dreams Magazine Review
Current mood: indescribable
Category: Writing and Poetry

BOOK REVIEW

Raw, edgy, disturbing, realistic, Urban Life Through Ancient Eyes takes you on a trip into your own mortality and the journey there...   

   Urban Life Through Ancient Eyes chronicles a life's journey, if you will, through the good, the bad and the things that we all deal with.

      Divided into four chapters, Blood and Light, Ascension, The Prophets Hour and Layers of Rapture, each chapter tells its own tale, presents its own story and makes you think.

      While non-rhyming poetry is not my thing, this book is more prose, as it tells small stories in the form of freestyle poetry, than actual lyrical poetry would. Like a teaser into a full-length story, each prose gives you a taste of what life in the inner city is like, the struggles, the hopes, the triumphs and the pain.

      In each chapter there are a myriad of words to choose from. I will touch on the ones that either bothered me or spoke to me the most.

      Pretty Lacerations goes into stark but veiled detail of what incest and beatings can do to a child. Though the language is obscure the intent is still there and it is no less disturbing. Soliloquize is a pretty journey that reminds you to keep on living no matterkeep fighting and remain true to who you are because even if no one else notices, you are still there.

      While most of this prose is written in a non-sensical way that for the person who might not read poetry or prose often, will have them saying, Waitwhat was that? those who read poetry will see the creative genius it takes to write so confusingly and still get the point across. Rarely have I seen anyone be able to do this as well as Ravyn and Faison have.

      The Antiquity of The Jackal is probably the most amazing piece in this book. Faison captures the dark streets and the hatred that racism represents and you can almost feel each blow that is delivered to a prone man, attacked for being nothing more than different. But out of horrific acts committed against a man based on his nationality and skin color, Faison shows that all it takes is one act of good to spark hope that things can change and things can be set in motion for healing. A truly brilliant piece of work

      Be sure to check out The Eighth House of Regeneration for a truly erotic piece with a lovely undertone.

      There are many stories/prose in this book to check out and I will leave you to see them on your own. This is a nice book and well worth the readif you listen to the messages each work holds

      I give this book an 8.5 -9 out of a twisted 10.

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Full Review: FEARLESS MAGAZINE
Current mood: excited
Category: Writing and Poetry

This is a book made by two mystics:"deeply spiritual yet removed from religion." It is a journey, an illumination, a way forward.

Beginning with Chapter One: lines such as "but scarification makes way for luminosity", "the prettiest face hides the deepest lacerations," we are shown how the problems and potential setbacks in life prepare us for awakening.

Chapter Two: begins with "Shards of Foresight", continues with "Malik's Psalm" marveling at new-born life and is followed by "Winnie Remembered" a heartfelt eulogy to a departed loved one. Throughout this engrossing chapter the poems' razor-sharp imagery and keen focus celebrate the possibilities of discovery.

Chapter Three: features more well-crafted pieces where the political seen through the authors' growing spiritual awareness lends the work a fresh polemic. Faison asks many important questions in the masterfull "Generation X'd Out" which will leave you pondering. Ravyn's poem:" Beyond the Abscence Of Words" ends powerfully:"Beyond the absence of words, I rock away distortion ,Hoping to find salvation beyond the pollution."

Is it not divine to seek the divine? Later, Faison asks:"Can you appease the dead with diplomatic understanding?" Many issues including war, racism, and loss of identity are addressed. Ravyn's "Serpents Of The Sun" closes this chapter with the promise: "Courage is my carriage, as I shed my scales for consecrated skin."

The fourth and final chapter: explores the sacred within the sexual as yet another step to self-realization and spiritual growth.Highly erotic, the poems writhe and snake with passion:it's power, it's pain, it's vitality. Most of all, it's ability to transform.

The four original art pieces done by Ravyn in her unique surrealistic style work their effect even in black and white, and lend nuance to the narratives and poems they prelude.

In closing, this book is magickal.Conceived largely between worlds, It speaks to ALL worlds.

-Kevin M.Hibshman/ Fearless Magazine

Currently listening : Annwyn, Beneath the Waves By Faith and the Muse Release date: 22 May, 2001

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