This was my first published poem, in 2006 in the Powhatan Review, a defunct local journal out of Norfolk, Virginia. The editor, Greg Avila, was kind enough to submit it to the Best New Poets of Virginia, it didn't make the final cut of that journal, but man, when he called me... it was like Christmas!
We all belong somewhere
I stumble (slip) along a slope
up the mountain I built
but cannot climb
I sit, defeated, until
the silence speaks to me:
escape to the world within
to stories of romance and adventure
set in the forest behind your house
Ivanhoe and Rowena will come to life and
Peter chase the white witch through Narnia
I hear the dreams in my head
and weave them into the quilt of a smile
to warm me when winter words chill.
Out of the cold around my soul
and the whispered stories of silence
I design a home.
I belong.
Started out as this sometime in 2004:
a writer’s doodle
belonging somewhere
we slide along a path
sometimes a slope we try to climb
defeats us
we build a mountain
we cannot climb
silence speaks to u
as we sit
escaping to the world within and
the stories of romance and adventure
Ivanhoe and Rowena
the woods behind my house
a story come to life!
one winter I ran through Narnia
chasing the white witch!
yes...
stories in my head make me smile...
sometimes the words don't make sense...
that is okay...
just spilling
them makes a pattern
out of which a meaning is drawn...
or not
Lol. Well… I think that was my one poem that got accepted by a journal. The portfolio took one and then Pete Freas’s skipping stones… since then??? Nada! 😆
Truth. Right now… I just want to share what I have to help provide something to those who just need a little break from the other stuff that is going on…
Fullbeard Lit 
31 Responses to “beLonging, A 5 O’Clock Poem by Stephen with audio”
This is a wonderful poem. Very apt.
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Thank you so much Sadje
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You’re welcome 😉
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🤓
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👍
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Truly a wondrous poem Stephen, and your words seem so appropriate for our present situation….and Definitely time for a re-submission …
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Thank you Ivor. 🤓🤓🤓
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I remember the Powhatan Review! I enjoyed your poem, particularly the last line. I also enjoyed the initial doodle.
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You read it the first time around!!!! No kidding!!!
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I don’t recall reading the Powhatan Review, just getting rejected by it!
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Lol. Well… I think that was my one poem that got accepted by a journal. The portfolio took one and then Pete Freas’s skipping stones… since then??? Nada! 😆
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Just keep sending ’em out! Persistence definitely pays off.
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Truth. Right now… I just want to share what I have to help provide something to those who just need a little break from the other stuff that is going on…
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The other stuff going on has become unrelenting, so any break from it is definitely welcome.
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So very true, so very true. Today will be a little escapist fun.
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Thank you! I look forward to it.
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I think it turned out pretty good
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Thanks, Stephen! I think so, too.
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🤓
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really means something to me very moving I was able to feel something thank you friend be safe xoxo
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Good. Feeling things is good! 😷🤓🧼🤓😷
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Hi, Stephen. Great pieces. Enjoyed reading. Happy Writing.
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Thank you so much Godd
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😆 Goff
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Cheers. Happy Day.
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You too Goff!
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Stay Safe.
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Lovely verse, Stephen.
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Thank you Punam! 🧼🙏🧼
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You are welcome.
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🤓
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