To mark the spot where we first met, We carved our names into a tree– And even though our love did fade, That mark lives on eternally.
And every day when I walk by, That tree by me is surely seen– My eyes are drawn unto that mark, Reminding me what might have been.
Though years have passed and time goes on, And much I’ve learned of love and art– I can’t re-find that innocence, That pure passion that filled my heart.
But as that tree does age and grow, Our names will rise as they live on– A monument to first true love, When both of us are dead and gone
2019 Long Island Poet of the Year and curator of Poetry at the Long Island Fair JR Turek, The Purple Poet, recently reviewed Into That Darkness Peering in her email newsletter. Here is what she wrote:
Into That Darkness Peering
A. A. Rubin, author and Marika Brousianou, illustrator
Gift giving season is upon us and I have a high recommendation for you — gifts for friends and family, literati, connoisseurs of poetics and portraits,
of sketches and verse, of Edgar Allan Poe raven-ing through, and book lovers everywhere.
I have ekphrastic praise for this gorgeous slick-cover oversized book perfect for coffee table, night table, desk, tote bag, anywhere fine books are enjoyed.
Each page is gothic with verse and illustrations, glowing with mystical dark compilations all begging you to join the midnight macabre realms presented.
The illustrations are remarkable companions to the 32 poems and micro-fiction; I pondered on each as to which came first as they meld and mingle so well with each other.
An enticing tingle of fear tap-danced up my spine. Peering through the veil between reality and the pages of this mesmerizing book, I found myself lingering on each page,
absorbing metaphors that shadowed each poem, revelations that suspended me through five delectable parts: On the Night’s Plutonian Shore, Invisible Things, Dreams Within Dreams, Exquisite Strangeness, and A City By The Sea.
Gift giving season, yes, you deserve one. You’ll thank yourself again and again, an exquisite collection I will turn to often.
I love this collection with a love more than love.
Don’t wait – get yours today.
~ J R Turek poet, editor, mentor, workshop leader
Available in paperback – so gorgeous!, ebook, and Kindle Unlimitted.
Do it – you and your gift recipients will love it!
Marika and I thank Judy for the glowing review, and hope you will check out our book.
Here is a poem for the changing season. It is different from much of what I write, and is one of the few free-verse poems I’ve published.
Snow Ghosts
by A. A. Rubin
and the snow falls like tiny ghosts, translucent ‘neath the pale moonlight—
crumbs falling from the Reaper’s hand as he squeezes the life out of harvested souls
as the wind whips them around, they coalesce—frantically— disparate parts seeking for partners with whom to form bodies,
but they end up mismatched and incomplete, portmanteau stitched together—
—mere shells. Empty and ephemeral— rising in gothic gusts in the midnight chill.
you hear them howling in the storm. you tell yourself it’s the wind, but— deep down, you know it’s not.
you pull your blanket over your head and hug your children tight.
as the soul flakes flutter down, frantically searching for living beings to haunt— —not out of a need to complete unfinished business, but out of a desperate desire to avoid the nothing that lies beyond—
This poem originally appeared in Bards Annual 2018 (Local Gems Press)
Into This Darkness Peering, written by me and illustrated by Marika Brousianou is now available for preorder on Amazon Kindle. The book, which will be released in print and Kindle Unlimited soon, features 32 full-illustrated gothic horror poems and flash fiction pieces.
You can preorder your copy now leading up to the official release on August 26th.
Preorder your copy by clicking any hyperlink or image in this post, or by clicking here.
Here is the official book description, along with some sample interior pages.
Yesterday marked my 12th wedding anniversary. to mark the occasion, here is my poem, Anniversary Sonnet, which first appeared in Poetica 2 (Clarendon House).
Anniversary Sonnet
by A. A. Rubin
Some poets ‘gainst the sonnet form do rail, As creativity they say it mars. Their poetic license they claim assailed, By tradition, meter, and measured bars. To capture passion and proclaim true love, No antiquated formal rules are meet: Their verse—free—to soar the skies above, Instead of tripping o’er iambic feet. But I have never felt my love confined, By giving up my liberty to you— My affection, rather, has been refined; Myself—my soul—do grow through love so true— And thus these fourteen rhyming lines do sing, Of love we consecrated with our rings.
I apologize for the lack of posts recently. I have had a difficult summer: After breaking both my hands (covered previously in this space), I had to have a series of emergency dental procedures (still not done!), and, as if that wasn’t enough, my whole family got Covid, including yours truly. Still, it hasn’t been all bad. I did manage to get some micro fiction and poetry published, and I represented Comic Book School at Eternal Con in Long Island, hosting multiple panels in early July.
First off, my work was included in the From One Line, Vol 3 anthology. From One Line is one of my favorite writing prompts on Twitter, and they periodically publish anthologies based on their prompts. I am proud number of micro-fictions and poems in the anthology, and feel that the From One Line prompts, which provide a first line which authors must use to start their pieces, bring out some of my best work. You can purchase the From One Line anthology here.
From One Line, vol 3
My work also appears in this year’s Serious Flash Fiction winners anthology, which collects the winners of its annual micro fiction contest. This is the fifth year in a row that I’ve had work in the anthology, and it’s a special publication for me, as when I was first published in it 5 years ago, it broke a long publishing drought for me. You can get the anthology here.
Serious Flash Fiction
As mentioned above, I represented Comic Book School at Eternal Con in Long Island at the beginning of July. I tabled at the con, and hosted a number of panels, both planned and as a full-in for Buddy Scalera who had to miss the show unexpectedly.
Among the panels which I hosted, were the ever-popular Origin Story Interactive Character Creation panel (co-hosted with the always amazing Cathy Kirch of My Writing Hero and Columbia University), and a brand new panel on dialogue based on two blog posts I wrote here.
If you weren’t at the show, you can read those posts here:
Hopefully, the skies will clear for me soon, and the second half of the summer will be better. Thank you for sticking with me during this difficult time.
I apologize for missing last week’s post. I recently broke bone in both of my hands, and typing remains difficult.
I do have some publication news to report: My short story, “The Three Capitalist Pigs” has been published in Once Upon Another Time: Fresh Tales From The Far Side of Fantasy, which is available for FREE download now on Amazon. The book includes stories by 13 members of the vibrant Twitter writing community, and can be downloaded here.
Nassau County Voices in Verse was also released this past weekend. The annual collection of poets from Nassau County includes my gothic poem, “The Wolf in Me.” It can be ordered directly from the publisher here.
I also received word that my poem, “When the House of Usher Falls,” will be published in volume 2 of Love Letters To Poe. My poem, The Widow’s Walk was published last year in Vol 1. More information to follow.
Here are a few photos from the poetry reading in support of the Nassau Country poets book launch on Saturday. I look a bit different because I was unable to put in my contacts with my broken hands.
The sentinels protect us From danger from above– They have no sense of duty They have no sense of love– But their programming’s infallible, We know, our leaders said– It better be, ‘cause if they fail, We will all be dead.
The aliens are coming, I heard the newsman say– They’re flying here to get us From a planet far away– So to protect my freedom, So I don’t have to fret, I must learn to live contentedly Beneath the robots’ net.
I used to dream of traveling Up there among stars– Of mining fields on Venus Of colonies on Mars– But my dreams have now been grounded My thoughts are nothing worth, My ambition’s now been bounded– Down here on this earth.
A. A. Rubin 