Do you know
that an asteroid
has many moons?
They are small, like stars
Dimples in a noir sky
Once I tried to moor myself
to the brightest of them
Now I drift dangerously close
to the edge
When I can’t sleep
I pray for the stars
To reach down
and find me
Orion
Sometimes I sleep with the
stars. I forget that I’m made of flesh
and bone
And something else not quite of this
world. I lose myself in its inky mass that is
more than just sky
And a home for the stars. It’s where I catch
unfettered dreams
As the cosmos blinks Orion gallops across an
ocean and arranges my body
as a constellation.
Belladonna
When I lose in love
I wear that loss
Like a keepsake
Like a charm around my wrist
Like a death wish
Like a breath of belladonna
We are all Demeter's Daughters
We planted primroses in the marsh
of our wombs
As the Goddess chased the cloak of winter
into the shadows
and a smile bloomed in its place
We released our daughters like a wish
Protected them with a
mother’s kiss and exhaled as
they were risen
their dreams falling like cherry blossoms
We whispered a prayer for our
daughters’ safe passage
as Demeter led them into the light
of the Equinox
Bio: A writer/poet/mother living in Scotland. A big fan of Greek Mythology and feminist reimaginings, old Hollywood Actresses/films, the theatre, ballet and music. I've always written creatively for the catharsis and only started tinkering with poetry in the pandemic. My inspiration comes from poets such as Mary Oliver, Carol Ann Duffy, Emily Dickinson, Sappho, Anne Stevenson, Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Molloy, Derek Mahon, Dylan Thomas - the list is endless. To read more about Lisa go to her website at https://lisaarmstrong2179.wixsite.com/website
Q1: When did you start writing and first influences?
Lisa: I’ve always been an avid reader. My mum would take us to the local library every week which I loved. I read a lot of Roald Dahl and Enid Blayton when I was younger and then moved on to the “Sweet Valley High” series by Frances Pascal and “The Vampire Diaries” when it wasn’t as well known. I was bit of a romantic soul and starting writing teenage love stories in my first year of high school which probably weren’t very good.
Q2: Who is your biggest influence today?
Lisa: I am an eclectic reader and it needs to move me. Right now, I am a huge fan of Louise Peterkin whose debut collection “The Night Jar” is simply stunning. I love Mary Oliver, Dorothy Molloy, Tishani Doshi is a tremendous talent and my good friend Elizabeth M. Castillo writes so beautifully. Being the romantic that I am and having an appreciation for the Spanish and Greek language I just melt when I read the likes of Neruda and Cavafy.
Q3: Where did you grow up and how did that influence your writing?
Lisa: I grew up in a small town called Johnstone which is in Scotland. I do tend to write about my childhood as we lived near the countryside, and I have very fond memories of Lochwinnoch where I spent a lot of time with my nana.
Q4: Have any travels away from home influenced your work/describe?
Lisa: I have traveled all over Greece and it’s a country that I love to visit. I’ve always been interested in Greek mythology and how women are represented in Greek myth so it does feature a lot in my writing.
Q5: Any pivotal moment when you knew you wanted to be a writer/poet?
Lisa: I suppose I’ve always wanted to be a writer because I don’t believe there is anything better out there than seeing something you’ve created come to life on a page. I didn’t get into poetry until I was much older. I’ve only been writing poems since December 2020 when lockdown happened.
Q6: Favorite activities to relax?
Lisa: I grow roses and enjoy getting out into the garden. I play the piano and music has always been such a big part of my life. I’m also a mother of five so that keeps me on my toes and relaxing isn’t something that I’m able to do often.
Q7: Any recent or upcoming promotional work?
Lisa: I’m working on my first collection and have a few poems that are due to be published in The View Magazine which provides a platform for criminalised women and campaigns for social justice https://linktr.ee/The_View_Magazine
Q8: Favorite lines from your poems/songs, or favorite piece from another?
Lisa: My favorite line is taken from a Mary Oliver poem “Tell me what is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” She had such a wonderful way of looking at the world and her poetry helped me through some really difficult times during the pandemic. I emerged with a greater appreciation of nature and felt more connected to the world.
Q9: Who has helped you the most with writing?
Lisa: I think just having the support of the poetry community and having my work published has really spurred me on and great journals like “Fevers of the Mind” provide a wonderful platform for poets of all ages and abilities like me. I love my Twitter friends in the poetry community. Elizabeth M. Castillo is just a phenomenal writer and genuinely one of the most beautiful and supportive people I’ve ever met. Elizabeth Bates who runs Dwelling Lit is another kind and gorgeous person, Anisha Kaul, Annick Yerem and Zahirra Dayal. There are just too many to mention.
Bio: A writer/poet/mother living in Scotland. A big fan of Greek Mythology and feminist reimaginings, old Hollywood Actresses/films, the theatre, ballet and music. I’ve always written creatively for the catharsis and only started tinkering with poetry in the pandemic. My inspiration comes from poets such as Mary Oliver, Carol Ann Duffy, Emily Dickinson, Sappho, Anne Stevenson, Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Molloy, Derek Mahon, Dylan Thomas – the list is endless. To read more about Lisa go to her website at https://lisaarmstrong2179.wixsite.com/website
Frankly My Dear (previously published in Aurora Journal)
I’m a heroine waiting in the wings for a Great Gatsby of a man Heart teetering on the edge Wuthering Heights
My life a sad old black and white movie Rickety, running off the tracks but I always dream in splendid technicolour
In my dreams even the rain sings bouncing melodiously off the ground as we dance in time
We are Bonnie and Clyde tonight snatching one last kiss When the curtain twitches I know it’s time to leave
Intermission …
I resume my role the heroine tied to the rail-road tracks hearing the warning chug of the steam engine Panic rising! Clark Gable is nowhere to be seen Gone with the Wind
Now I must live out that tired old trope, the damsel in distress
Flaming Hearts
I never could tell if you were The man of my dreams Or the man in my dreams But I’d pictured us Two celestial planets Orbiting each other’s World before the fall
We had a quiet love An easy alliance In the bedroom was another matter We’d wait until the dusk had fallen Then combust in each other’s arms Our skin tempered by our flaming hearts This is how I really want to love you I’d whisper
Lovers Graveyard
My heart is a graveyard filled with those loves I’ve buried A landfill of lovers long passed
Sometimes I’ll pause for a moment and reminisce the what ifs Give thanks for the lucky escapes and mourn the quietly unrequited
The one that still wanders my heart Day and night Night and day Sometimes I wish he’d leave Sometimes I beg him to stay
And so, I lay a gilded wreath At his feet and a wild thorny rose for the next lover and the next
The False Messiah
The contractual agreement Stated that you must love Him in blind faith And so, from that moment You worshiped him dutifully He was your God And you his faithful servant
When night fell And all your body craved was sleep You were the selfless Seductress shimmying into The bedroom Draping yourself across the marital bed An offering to your Man God
After your children arrived The hours and days shrunk Cook clean rinse repeat No mean feat but his Wants and needs still Came first and yours last
When you finally realised He was no God A false messiah You confronted him But he only shrugged and said
You put me on this pedestalI never claimed to be divine The more I take the more you give Dear wife of mine
Bio: A writer/poet/mother living in Scotland. A big fan of Greek Mythology and feminist reimaginings, old Hollywood Actresses/films, the theatre, ballet and music. I’ve always written creatively for the catharsis and only started tinkering with poetry in the pandemic. My inspiration comes from poets such as Mary Oliver, Carol Ann Duffy, Emily Dickinson, Sappho, Anne Stevenson, Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Molloy, Derek Mahon, Dylan Thomas – the list is endless. To read more about Lisa go to her website at https://lisaarmstrong2179.wixsite.com/website
A full moon casts a yellow glow illuminating the clock face of Auld Simon
The old cemetery sits comfortably at the bottom of the Jonshill A proud village relic surrounded by cobbled stone walls
When we were children Our nana would tell us stories of the families buried in the grounds
Pestilence had claimed the lives of many diphtheria, smallpox, cholera and tuberculosis Death didn’t discriminate It came for the young, old And everyone in between
When dusk falls in Old Lochineuch Sometimes you will catch a glimpse of the lost children playing Hide and seek in the shadows
Bird Song
The day the earth Stopped moving – I found my voice, No longer drowned out By the incessant chatter of the world
I spread my petals Like butterfly wings I was blooming in adversity
My bird song Rang out over the rooftops Skimming the skyline as it looped and soared There was a lightness in truth An honest moment I was the beginning of something beautiful
Bio: A writer/poet/mother living in Scotland. A big fan of Greek Mythology and feminist reimaginings, old Hollywood Actresses/films, the theatre, ballet and music. I’ve always written creatively for the catharsis and only started tinkering with poetry in the pandemic. My inspiration comes from poets such as Mary Oliver, Carol Ann Duffy, Emily Dickinson, Sappho, Anne Stevenson, Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Molloy, Derek Mahon, Dylan Thomas – the list is endless. To read more about Lisa go to her website at https://lisaarmstrong2179.wixsite.com/website
Fevers of the Mind 