Central California Poetry Journal

Volume 2001 Number 1

The Poetry of Central California Page 0111

The Poetry of Phibby Venable

Phibby Venable's poems have appeared in Appalachian Journal, Apples & 0ranges International, Afternoon,The Rose and The Thorn, Poetry, The Layman, and other journals and e-zines. Ms. Venable's chapbook, Indian Wind Song, was published by a non profit organization in the Appalachian mountains of Abingdon, Virginia where she lives. The proceeds from the sale of Indian Wind Song were donated to help low income families receive water in their homes and to dig wells.

Phibby Venable writes related to the poem, California Rush, "One of my mother's favorite uncles went to California. He found gold, a California beauty to marry, and lived to be very old, drinking wine and prospering on a huge ranch. life is such an adventure."

Where The Rocks Fell

In Shady Valley, the trees arch
in a lover's lane, the road drifts through
in a cool, curved tunnel where
white hangings of laurel bloom
It is a ride the women enjoy
that glide with you
through the valley

By my stretch of rock
I climb higher than the birds
of infidelity, observing where
the rocks fell, where the air is
thinner, and I am close enough
to lonely to stand still
And close enough to God
to raise a cynical brow

Captivated

She is captivated by fields
of black-eyed susans,
alive in the fragrance of
their wild, floral scent
and she must open doors
at the first hint of dawn
as excited as a child
kept in bed too long
And at night, God's light show
stops her still,
she smiles into crystals, edged
with smudged gold
The darkness widens and the
spot where she stands,
is an island, an oasis where
the stars brush her soul

California Rush

When Uncle Bob wrote he said,
the gold here is in the sunrise,
and the sunset
it is glowing, the shadows
fall behind me, if I turn
then, they turn too
it is bright, bright
and my searching is done
I would stay for the warmth alone,
or the blue skies, or wine

Trains Passing

Alone I am watching
the long, wavery shadows
of the night train passing
Each night the trains flash
across my ceiling
a steady pattern of movement,
relentless as night

But I have spent a lifetime
watching trains pass
Their distant calls
are lost to me
It is only the last sound
of their silence
that is troubling
like the aimless wave
of a brakeman

The background on this page is a tiled geometric image made from a photo of a cliff in Big Sur, California

All text and images in The Central California Poetry Journal are copyrighted. Copyright by © by Scott Galloway2001. All rights are reserved. See main Journal page for copyright information.

Authors and poets submitting original materials to this journal retain all rights to their original work, except those rights specifically assigned in writing to Solo Publications including the right to publish the submitted work in The Central California Poetry Journal. The poems on this page are copyrighted by the author. Copyright © Phibby Venable

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