Featured Arizona Poet: Michal John

Traveling the Rim Alone

by Michal John

In my speeding four-wheel drive I am

Whirled away in an ever upward spiral-fleeing from

Pressures spawned in the valley below.

The higher I climb up on the rim the freer I become.

Like scales dropping from a horrid dragon, I am

Revealed, a soaring feathered bird in liberated flight.

A huge blunt yellow orb, apparition-like-appears.

Just above the tree line; massive, devouring.

Yet, like a hungry owl spotting its prey,

I try to devour Him. First wtih my eyes and

Then with my Soul but he disappears as

I dip into a turn, my heart aching at the loss.

Then, like a seductive lover, only giving glances,

Playing coy, mercilessly teasing me,

The heightening ball, bigger, then smaller,

More yellow, then white, dodges behind ridges

And peaks through heavy black green pines,

Beckoning me to stop, dally...play.

But the truck races on,

Too proud to stop, afraid of others,

Still aching with desire

I gasp with each new sighting

My heart beating harder with anticipation at every turn.

Whispering, "Will I see him again?"

At the top of the summit, like two lovers meeting,

We gaze at each other

Without obstacle, unrestricted.

But he has somehow changed.

Where is the familiar face I am prone to view?

Is this a first time seeing, have I been fooled?

Quizically glancing in disbelief I discover

A gray black cloud, in an otherwise cloudless sky,

Made of him a foreign face in the deep

Blue, blackening sky. The wind gently brushes aside

His mask as He rises higher and brighter in the

Diminishing earthlight. He silently marks my path.

The forest smells of fresh rain, early, alive.

My hair whips about my cheeks,

Lips, and neck-wild caresses,

The distant clouds explode with light.

I, like Leda*, have been seduced by a God in disguise.

She by a swan and I by the moon.

*Leda and the Swan, a poem by W.B. Yates. In Greek mythology Leda, seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan, produces important mythological children, Helen of Troy being one of them.

Thanks Michal! We love reading about different "moments" of appreciation and wonder and Arizona has inspired many! If you've got an Arizona insprired short story, poem or essay...we'd love to read it!

Looking at the big picture...Arizona Style!

Some might say that the LJW Publishing list of upcoming titles is an eclectic mix, others might say that the selection seems random, still others might say that they're not sure of the connection, but today you'll find out what the common thread is that makes a book an LJW Publishing choice! It's the acknowledgement of the big picture.

We're a small press run by Arizona natives. And as Arizona natives we're very well trained in the art of looking past the obvious and recognizing the wonder that lays on the horizon: the BIG picture.

There are many places that can be called beautiful, but there aren't many places that offer the same opportunity to appreciate the beauty of an area in the same way as Arizona. In Arizona...you get the Big Picture. For instance, other regions featuring rolling hills, and towering oak trees, and bubbling brooks amid wooded areas are very picturesque, but the beauty of Arizona is something you have to reach for. It's not sitting right there waiting for you to walk on it or run into it; it's waiting for you to look up and take notice and give it the respect it's worth. And once you do...you'll know what I'm talking about.

Books have the same opportunity to provide beauty, and the books LJW Publishing offers give it...big picture style. That's the common thread.

Speaking in Larryisms...

Definitions of Pragmatic or Pragmatism but not Pragmatics (because that's something else altogether!)

According to Wiktionary:

Pragmatism is a noun meaning: The compromising of one's ideals to better deal with the specifics of a situation. The pursuit of practicality over aesthetic qualities; utilitarianism(philosophy) A philosophic school linking the meaning of beliefs to the actions of a believer, and the truth of beliefs to success of those actions in securing a believer's goals.

Pragmatic is an adjective meaning: Practical, concerned with making decisions and actions that are useful in practice, not just theory.

Wikipedia suggests:

[That] most of the thinkers who describe themselves as pragmatists consider practical consequences or real effects to be vital components of both meaning and truth.