Saturday, 27 September 2025

Three Poems by Stephen Philip Druce

 






PEN FOR ME A FOUNTAIN

Pen for me a fountain -
a watercolor vessel,
a cartoon cat crescendo
in a jigsaw sparrow wrestle,

a crinkled sitar interlude -
an arching escapade,
a peeling potion scissored
in a scamper marinade,

pen for me a fountain -
an icicle precession,
a stream of marching embers
in a hanging straw confession,

atomic sitar deserts -
a clustered cactus folly,
a rustling herd of thunder
in a lashing sodden jolly,

pen for me a fountain -
a pollen mist regatta,
a wilderness of chapters -
a jangling limpet harbour,

in a lather tip toe tapestry
of waterfall finesse,
the curdled voodoo violins
embroider to undress,

pen for me a fountain -
a valley storm quintet,
a fluttered feather dalliance -
a dewdrop jelly set,

like alphabetic ribbons -
a starry stitch amok,
in a lampooned ocean lullaby
the phoenix patterns flock.



WHERE THE MUSIC DROWNED

The sunsets played their violins -
the alley cats on double bass,
the tree tops plucked on mandolins -
the night time trumpets knew their place,

the street lamps sang in baritone -
the lemon pipes - a crooning yellow,
hurricanes blew saxophones -
a distant thunder played piano,

the rescue sirens added flute -
the snowflakes danced to drum machines,
the clocks in key - they followed suit -
as beating suns shook tambourines,

the midnight chimneys harmonized -
the echo bridges whistled tunes,
the rain guitars electrified the dogs
to bark through cloud bassoons,

a scarecrow wind of castanets -
a rodent busked the underground,
the moon it dropped a clarinet -
in a river where the music drowned.



PLANET MORDAZIUM

On planet Mordazium,
circling flesh machines
grind their juggernaut
limbs like cathedral
castanets,

sea dragon sequels
stiffen fairy tale drunkards
in a meditation froth of
cross legged swamps,

railroad slingshots flame
bedlam vipers into
the sullen gut of
sun goose passageways,

in a reptilian symmetry,
iron messengers drift
through reservoir centuries -
under wishbone bridges
of surrendered skin,

in a timeless fruit wizardry,
carnival veins scuffle 
in a syrupy resurrection
of merry leaf intricacy,

below the cunning wheat,
overthinking clock hands
conceal slow-burning villains
in a trapdoor composure of
bladed tranquility,

as headless servants
buckle in a honeydew 
of squalid chance.



Stephen Philip Druce - Is a fifty eight year old poet from Shrewsbury in the UK. His poems are planet based. They describe the events that take place on the planets that exist in his imagination. His work has been published in the UK, India, Canada and the USA. He has written for London theatre plays and BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Five Poems by Joshua Kepfer

 






Far Reaching North 

 

Like 

a 

dry 

fallen 

leaf 

blown 

by 

the 

wind, 

you 

can 

only 

land 

so 

far 

from 

where 

you 

begin. 

If 

you’re 

reaching 

the 

end, 

be 

again 

braver. 

The 

North 

old 

has 

the 

not 

close 

future. 

 

Like 

the 

far 

reaching 

North. 

A 

wind 

from 

the 

old, 

dry 

you, 

where 

end 

has 

fallen. 

Can 

you 

be 

the 

leaf? 

Only 

begin 

again 

not 

blown. 

Land, 

if 

braver, 

close 

by, 

so 

you’re 

the 

future. 

 

 



Nature and Ego 

 

Why 

does 

my 

instinct 

so 

often 

lead 

me 

wrong? 

Is 

something 

wrong 

with 

my 

nature? 

With 

my 

conscience? 

The 

answer 

is 

yes. 

Nature 

will 

lead 

me 

to 

survival 

even 

at 

the 

costs 

of 

all 

others. 

Think 

of 

those 

odds— 

same, 

of 

course, 

for 

everyone. 

Kill 

the 

weak 

with 

instinct 

unknown. 

Lead 

today, 

else 

surrender. 

Ego 

urges 

your 

heart 

value 

to 

diminish. 

All 

steal, 

so 

I 

wrong 

in 

return. 

Fear. 

Tomorrow 

has 

an 

important 

find. 

My 

hiding, 

then 

following, 

for 

the 

ego. 

 

Why 

is 

the 

survival 

of 

the 

Ego 

so 

important? 

Does 

something 

answer 

even 

these 

weak 

urges? 

I 

find 

my 

wrong 

is 

at 

odds 

with 

your 

wrong. 

My 

instinct 

with, 

yes, 

the 

same 

instinct. 

Heart 

in 

hiding. 

So 

my 

nature 

costs 

of 

unknown 

value. 

Return, 

then, 

often. 

Nature 

will, 

of 

course, 

lead 

to 

fear 

following. 

Lead 

with 

lead. 

All 

for 

today 

diminish 

tomorrow 

for 

Me 

My 

Me. 

Others, 

everyone 

else 

all 

has 

the 

wrong 

conscience 

to 

think 

kill, 

surrender, 

steal 

an 

ego. 

 




Fool’s Gold 

 

When 

all 

I 

ever 

find 

is 

fool’s 

gold, 

can 

I 

search 

for 

something 

real? 

Then 

when 

I 

travelled 

far 

and 

wide 

to 

find 

you, 

finally, 

all 

searching 

ceased. 

To 

make 

you, 

too, 

be 

for 

forever. 

To 

test 

you, 

some 

have 

completed 

what 

and 

find 

what? 

A 

real 

purpose. 

 

When 

can 

I 

finally 

be 

completed? 

All 

I 

travelled, 

all 

for 

what 

I 

search 

far, 

searching 

forever 

and 

ever 

for 

and 

ceased 

to 

find. 

Find 

something 

wide 

to 

test 

what 

is 

real. 

To 

make 

you 

a 

fool’s, 

then 

find 

you 

some 

real 

gold. 

When 

you, 

too, 

have 

purpose. 






 Guarantees 

 

I 

don't 

know 

if 

I 

will 

love 

you 

forever. 

You 

get 

no 

guarantees. 

I 

don’t 

know 

if 

I 

even 

have 

a 

say. 

You 

might 

love 

some 

others 

who 

will 

commit. 

Some 

friends 

go 

from 

terribly 

to 

simple, 

who 

without 

doubt, 

choose 

you. 

Handshakes 

will 

promise, 

still, 

I 

forever… 

 

I 

love 

guarantees. 

Even 

love 

some 

simple 

handshakes, 

don’t 

you? 

I 

have 

some 

friends 

who 

will 

know 

forever. 

Don’t 

any 

others 

go 

without 

promise? 

If 

you 

know, 

say 

who. 

From 

doubt, 

still, 

I 

get 

if 

you 

will 

terribly 

choose. 

I 

will, 

no 

I 

might, 

commit 

to 

you 

forever. 

 


 

 Orange 

 

This 

language 

can’t 

find 

anything 

that 

rhymes 

with 

orange. 

Orange 

was 

always 

the 

natural 

color 

with 

odd 

things. 

Pumpkin, 

mandarin, 

sunsets, 

sunrises, 

color 

of 

suboxone, 

fire, 

inmates. 

What 

would 

those 

match 

with? 

Nothing. 

Next 

to 

others, 

would 

it 

stay? 

The 

red 

will 

swallow 

it. 

Can 

it 

translate 

the 

codes 

and 

speak 

with 

nothing 

to 

speak 

for? 

Same 

for 

green. 

Clearly, 

orange 

is 

me. 

If 

me, 

where? 

Orange, 

black, 

as 

tongue 

enjoyed 

flavor, 

it’s 

orange. 

We 

aren’t 

even 

orange, 

but 

the 

monotony. 

 

This 

orange 

pumpkin, 

what 

would 

it 

speak 

if 

its 

language 

was 

Mandarin? 

would 

it 

translate 

for 

me? 

Orange 

can’t 

always. 

Sunsets, 

those 

stay 

the 

same 

wherever 

we 

find 

the 

sunrises’ 

match. 

The 

codes 

for 

orange 

aren’t 

anything 

natural. 

Color 

with 

red 

and 

green. 

Black, 

even 

that 

color 

of 

nothing 

will 

speak 

clearly 

as 

orange 

rhymes 

with 

suboxone. 

Next, 

swallow 

with 

orange 

tongue, 

but 

with 

odd 

fire 

to 

it, 

nothing 

is 

enjoyed. 

The 

orange 

things— 

inmates, 

others— 

can, 

to 

me, 

flavor 

monotony. 







 


Joshua Kepfer lives in California, where he enjoys exploring the mountains and the ocean with his wife and daughter. He has work published in Abstract Magazine, Coffin Bell Journal, Peregrine Journal, Merganser Magazine, Garfield Lake Review, Tiny Seed Journal, Green Shoe Sanctuary, Press Pause Press, and Azure: A Journal of Literary Thought.

Three Poems by Stephen Philip Druce

  PEN FOR ME A FOUNTAIN Pen for me a fountain - a watercolor vessel, a cartoon cat crescendo in a jigsaw sparrow wrestle, a crinkled sitar i...