Poet's Platform Column | 15 March 07 by Janet Nesler | The Scioto Voice | Wheelersburg, Ohio

THE POET                                                                             You are a man…a poet. You caress my heart with your passionate words. You devour my soul with your eyes. You linger in my thoughts with no pretence of endless rhyme…You have become the illusion that lay shadows against my soul. My heart lies beneath the unlimitless boundaries of your desire… I share with you – mine. Loretta Craig Flatwoods, KY   THE LAST OCTOBER   Here, light pours in like butter glossing the floor your chair the two of us. You turn with eyes that say     Night waits on the doorstep. I study your face, linger long moments, thinking                              Stay, stay. I touch your thinning hair and the dry odor of loss rises like ground fog. Eyes closed, I fill myself with your scent. Your breath flutters. You turn to the window. Gold maple leaves give back the sun. Ernie O’Dell Louisville, KY   Green Apple Lost My teeth pierced through the crisp newness of your flesh. You were not a dropped apple, for common gleaners to carry away. I hand-picked you that weekend, From a wild orchard Trembling high upon the ridge. Oh the sweet-tartness of your flesh! You were miracle fruit, come to sustain and heal me for a season. I have since nibbled fruit from other trees, always…..to return hungry from the hill. Juanita Mays Milford, OH   The Senses Whisper Hope With dying still in every fiber, I hear rustle of leaves in Oak and Elm, I see blue bird chatter on busy life errands. I feel lapping of lake as it breaks on sand, I stand on green carpet fresh with Life! Janet Nesler Sciotoville