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Dancing Bare

by Stephen P. Koelsch

50 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #02-0399; ISBN 1-55369-586-0; US$10.99, C$17.25, EUR11.30, £7.80

Poetry which writes about the fear and wonder of being human. Each poem has a refreshingly sparse, direct-to-the-point character... edgy cutting verse.

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpts or Table of Contents      catalogue info

About the Book "An edgy intensity driven by a relentless intelligence that refuses to look away or ignore the real world. The range and depth of his emotional insight is unnerving. These are densely packed short journeys into the conflict and complexity of what it means to be human. The powerful deft imagery is drawn from a truly unique creative voice. Highly recommended!" Review from Gilda Kelsey, Univ. of Delaware Steve writes about the fear and the wonder of being human; the fear because we realize we may be wasting our lives and will eventually die; the wonder because we have at least the capability to love. A central premise of his writing is that a moment of honesty is worth a lifetime of lies. Each poem has a refreshingly sparse, direct-to-the-point character... edgy cutting verse: with complex twisting word crafting, balanced by a deceptive simplicity that begs rereading.

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About the Author Steve Koelsch is an artist and poet, currently residing in Ohio In addition to writing poetry and fiction, Steve enjoys sculpting and oil painting. "I am seeking outlets to express my awareness of the experience of life, and of my search for meaning and value within it. I have found it to be true that life is a journey where we meet ourselves along the way. Every moment of life is filled with risk, but I am slowly learning to smile and greet the next moment with my arms wide open."

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Sample Excerpts or Table of Contents

Are You Going to Break My Heart? ... confounded by her own dupllicity and self-doubts. She tempestuously scribbles coordinates on a map of my being, and I hers, only to find we have stolen ourselves from each other.

Suicide? ... Caught between yesterday and tomorrow, crucified in the moonlight and calling for the stars to witness me gone lost, planning my exit strategies, protected by indifferent border guards.

The Life I have Left? ... I am tired of your caresses that feel like fists, your caring that stakes me to the ground and tears at my scarred heart, your love that feels like breathing water... may be nothing I can say in my own defense, except to describe the way I come to find myself at the impasse morning reveals in the mirrored glass through the dead bathroom air...

About Change ... caught in a tidal current, the sea of silver (that shy huntress) marks you as its chosen prey and drifts you to your death - deceitfully.

Lost in Time! ... hidden away in a box only found after his death, and no one knows if he ever took them out, or when was the last time?

Simple Truth: ... and the life before my eyes greets me like a stranger on a train, reminding me always of the struggle that life demands.

Realization One ... We are but fireflys; bright sparks of light defining the vast emptiness, by our own rarity. What is a moment when cast upon the vast shadow of forever?

Dysfunctional Family ... Sometimes a family is like a kiss gone bad, starting out sweet and gentle full of promise, then you realize they have an infection in their bridgework and the tongue-snake they gift you with has fangs.

A Life Cut Short ... Abandoned survivors, like deadwood on the beach after a winter storm, litter the grave site as mute testimony to grief.

Thoughts ... enough is just enough, to be running blood blind without a map having to wear sunglasses after dark breathing water screaming silence dressing like a sequined love nun dancing with her elemental dark friends...

Monkey ... a stinking conflicting chafing let-me-out-of-this garbage dump save your rotten self baby, wholesale at any cost, rose blossom made of broken glass bleeding nutshell of a heart!

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Catalogue Information

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