Tag: James G. Piatt

Two Poems by James G. Piatt

~ Randal A. Burd, Jr. ~ Leave a comment

My Lost Love

The tall candles were throwing
flickering pieces of light on the windows
of the old house when I heard her voice
whispering to me in a dream song. I saw
a faint image of her face echoing in the
candles’ flames, as raindrops
tinted the windows with a mist. I had
thought that the many years would have
erased a sense of her soft touch and
faded her visions that had encompassed
my being for so long, allowing me to
begin anew after the hollow years, but it
was not to be so. The cruel clown in my
mind, with his gaping painted mouth and
his kohl eyes leering at me, caused me to
ponder on all the fading memories of our
togetherness, and then I wept.


Secret Memories

Wandering thoughts awakened by
dawn’s incoming apricot mist, crept
silently into the kitchen shadow of
the old farmhouse, while I sat in
dawn’s early hours sipping pekoe
tea, and delving into all the precious
memories only I can see.
Softly silently
My mind soars up peacefully
visions of soft memories




James G. Piatt lives in Santa Ynez, California, with his wife Sandy, and a dog named Scout. He is a twice Best of The Net nominee and a four-time Pushcart nominee. His Poem, “Teach Me,” published by Long Story Short, was selected as its poem of the year in 2014, and he was chosen as the featured poet in publications eleven times. He has had five poetry books, The Silent Pond, Ancient Rhythms, LIGHT, Solace Between the Lines, and Serenity, over 1790 poems, five novels, and forty short stories published in scores of national and international literary magazines, anthologies, and books, He earned his doctorate from BYU, and his BS and MA from California State Polytechnic University, SLO.

Two Poems by James G. Piatt

~ Randal A. Burd, Jr. ~ Leave a comment

Dawn Arrived in the Meadow

“I go to nature to be soothed and
healed, and to have my senses
put in order.” — John Burroughs

Dawn arrived in the meadow with a hint of
sweet fragrances of colorful wildflowers
wafting in the air. It awakened long-forgotten
memories in my mind about the apricot-colored
haze that sleeps in the woodland glen. The
woodlands are such special places, so colorful,
verdant, and serene. A place where downy birds,
holding on to gnarled tree branches, serenade
those who pass by, and ask for nothing more
than to give a piece of their tranquility, and a
serving of their sugared songs, to put the
human’s minds at ease. And I, an old man, listen
to them with dreams of past youthful days filled
with images of softly flowing streams flowing
into still, blue-skinned ponds, where wavering
reeds topped with brown tassels sitting like
sentinels on the side guarded the serenity of the
moisture. Forest meadows are places where the
misty atmosphere sings of summer’s beginning.
But anytime is a special time in the woodlands,
being in there is always a time when magic
awakens.


Another Day Comes

The rising apricot sun
ignites the dawn
clothing it with
a colorful visitation,
covering the remaining
night hours soaked in ebony.
Its daily tour over mountain
peaks and down into a
pink-tinted mist sleeping in
the earth’s hollows of
objectivity where things that
are invincible cover silent
things. Things that are
restless and vulnerable, like
people with aging time. My
solitary footprints in the soft
sedimentary loam leads me to
the new day with no promises
of beauty, or peace, but with
expectations born in naïve
hopefulness for them, like
fading hours caught in the
thundering clatter of stories
yet to be told.




James G. Piatt, a retired professor, and octogenarian, is a twice Best of Net nominee and four-time Pushcart nominee. He has had five poetry books, The Silent Pond, Ancient Rhythms, LIGHT, Solace Between the Lines, and Serenity, over 1770 poems, five novels, and thirty-five short stories published in scores of national and international literary magazines, anthologies, and books, He earned his doctorate from BYU, and his BS and MA from California State Polytechnic University, SLO.

Two Poems by James G. Piatt

~ Randal A. Burd, Jr. ~ Leave a comment

As I Search

As I search into memories gone,
the heavens hide those thoughts
which darkness dwells upon
and the evil spirits cast their lots
I pause upon such dark things
for they will surely besmirch
the creative thoughts which sing
and drown them as I search.


Those in Need

Some hear church bells each misty day
Echoing in the misty halls along a street
And mark each saddened face along the way
And mark each cry of misery that they meet,
In every weeping voice of every man,
In every maiden’s tear, they hear
Every sorrowful voice, they scan.
The despondent men that sob,
And the homeless ladies that cry
Causes every church bell to peal
An elegy as saints thunder a sigh.
Sorrow flows through minds that feel
Into shattered allies and broken roads
Where caring people tend to briny tears,
And went to places where sadness flowed
To ease troubles, need, and fears.




James G. Piatt, a retired professor and octogenarian, is a twice Best of Net nominee and four times Pushcart nominee. His Poem, “Teach Me,” published by Long Story Short, was selected as its poem of the year in 2014. He has had five poetry books, The Silent Pond, Ancient Rhythms, LIGHT, Solace Between the Lines, and Serenity, over 1750 poems, five novels, and thirty-five short stories published in scores of national and international literary magazines, anthologies and books, He earned his doctorate from BYU, and his BS and MA from California State Polytechnic University, SLO.