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Saturday, 27 September 2025
Three Poems by Stephen Philip Druce
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
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