I helped Dad bathe three days before he died. “Help clean me up, before I reach my end.” I scrubbed his back; he could not see me cry. ‘ere I said goodbye to father, counsel, friend.       His naked body; vital, once so strong       Was now stooped: thin gaunt waspish, […] The post THE FINAL BATH. SONNET 5 BY DAVID L. STANLEY first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post THE FINAL BATH. SONNET 5 BY DAVID L. STANLEY appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

The dog; no nobler being breathes extent. Who else so full of love and courage raw? Doth need more proof of sapient ascent; the moment dog reached out with canine paw?       Lick your face when your visage is dirty?       Harken when the world is dark and bleak?     […] The post NO NOBLER BEING. SONNET NO. 92. BY DAVID L. STANLEY first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post NO NOBLER BEING. SONNET NO. 92. BY DAVID L. STANLEY appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

Two in the morning, words lose their meaning. Three in the morning, they are but raw sounds. Four in the morning, one should be dreaming, Five in the morning, when one comes unwound.       The hours of darkness let one’s mind wander.       Not always to the most cheerful of sights. […] The post BLEAK TIMES. SONNET 71 BY DAVID L. STANLEY first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post BLEAK TIMES. SONNET 71 BY DAVID L. STANLEY appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

The fading brain, that dims the mind’s clean lamp. The years pass by, and soot begrimes the glass. Features sag, yet ‘tis the inner working’s damp, that tells of toil, all one’s time amassed.       The feet, they soon enough begin to drag.       The arms, they lose their mighty strength. […] The post THE MIND INTACT. SONNET NO. 79 BY DAVID L. STANLEY first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post THE MIND INTACT. SONNET NO. 79 BY DAVID L. STANLEY appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret (Minotaur, September 2023) is a charming locked-room mystery set in that era of the early–and historic–engine-powered passenger liners, as sail gives way to steam. Yet the transatlantic crossing retains full Victorian cachet and privileged-class luxury, with Nev March creating or capturing a range of colorful characters across the spectrum from disarrayed […] The post Review By Lance Mason: The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret By Nev March first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post Review By Lance Mason: The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret By Nev March appeared first on The R ..read more

A parrot perched on the rod of a laundromat cart, multicolored feathers bright as the fluorescent lights above.            Its head counts those who fold and those who wait. Islanders and tourists don sweats and sip espresso on this chilly January afternoon. Much too cold for locals, but I love it, […] The post Key West Laundromat By Adela M. Brito first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post Key West Laundromat By Adela M. Brito appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

From the rooftop terrace of the apartment building that had been gifted to him as a coming-of-age gift from his parents, Matthew looked down towards the neat files of people; tiny, tidy and organised, and the corresponding lines of cars that stopped and went at regular, calculated intervals. It was mesmerising to him; the perfect […] The post PART II BY GRACE ZHAN first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post PART II BY GRACE ZHAN appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

Up north in Maryland the railroad tracks Have been removed, The neat and graded right-of-way Rechristened “cycling trail.” Travelers now drive Along an Interstate, And to the east The exercisers pedal. It piques the second thoughts Of curiosity a bit, a travel Back through time’s Adjusting changes, purpose Now updated. The obsolete Will always get […] The post TRAVELOGUE BY JOHN DOUGHERTY first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post TRAVELOGUE BY JOHN DOUGHERTY appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

America has no need of Milton at this very hour But just a Punch, a Feste, a Touchstone, Or that nameless fool in Lear Should it ever come to that. A certified Shakespearean fool with all The motley, foolscap, bauble – Immunities that mark his passport From sardonic worlds to ours, and confer a license […] The post HARLEQUIN BY JOHN DOUGHERTY first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post HARLEQUIN BY JOHN DOUGHERTY appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

How about imaginary numbers and infinity, Isotopes, electron flow, radio-activity, The shock of The Windhover, the silence Surging from The Listeners, the mystery Of the St. John’s gospel, the enticing list Of other books within a Harper Torchbook I struggled with in history class. And I was like a Saul, thrown from his horse and […] The post PASSING THE TORCH BY JOHN DOUGHERTY first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post PASSING THE TORCH BY JOHN DOUGHERTY appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more