Steven Harz Music

Greetings from Backroad Poetry,

Included in this month’s newsletter is the Poem of the Month, spoken word poetry by Rudy Francisco, a quick micro poem, and a recent review of our recent release, “Self Inflicted Heart Shaped Wounds.”

Poem of the Month:

The wrong North Star

Word by word you built your story
and I listened intently, so now I know
that I need to sing you a lullaby nightly and
say prayers of hope each morning.

And in case those don’t protect you,
I will surround your heart
with barbed wire and discarded fireworks.

You search for peace halfheartedly,
as if you’re panning for gold
that doesn’t exist.

You try to unlock the hushed and
frail secrets I once told you
but, like your happiness,
you’ve lost your skeleton key.

I understand your decision to
search for something, or anything,
but it is my hope
that you don’t end up
following the wrong North Star.

But in case you arrive at
whatever place you were hoping to go,
I’ll send you with a quarter
so you can call me to let me know
that you got there safely.

(“The Wrong North Star” originally appeared in ‘The Ravens Perch’)

Spoken Word:
If you are a fan of spoken word poetry this one by Rudy Francisco is terrific! (“I want to be your ex-boyfriend’s stuntman – I want to do everything he was afraid to do…”)
Please enjoy “Love Poem”

Monthly Micro Poem:
Please enjoy “Laundry”

Book Review:
This is a recent review of the Backroad Poetry title, “Self Inflicted Heart Shaped Wounds” by Steven Harz.

“Just finished Self Inflicted Heart Shaped Wounds. I’m speechless, and if I had been using a real highlighter on real pages (rather than reading this on my Kindle app) I would have run out of ink. Steve’s writing gets right to the heart of things, and I like writers (and people in general) who can do that with brutal honesty and grace. This work reminds me of a line from Jerry McGuire — “The Things We Think But Do Not Say.”

I can’t recommend this collection highly enough. Thank you for writing the things we think but don’t often (or ever) say.”

Poetically yours,
Backroad Poetry

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