Venus - A Point of Expression | Austin Macauley Publishers

The monsoon rains come to our desert in the summer, when the temperature is highest. The winds shift to the SE, bringing moisture from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California. The rains come as huge, black, thunder storms over the mountains, driven by vivid lightning and high winds. It also provides a magical drop in temperature. The magnificent odor of the desert after a rain is a rich, organic experience.

After the storm I sit on my patio, in the cool fall of night – watching the shadows changing on the mountains as the sun declines. Recently, after such a storm, the sun is dying in various shades of ocher and vermillion… The crescent moon rises, and the planet Venus soon follows. Venus is a bright diamond in the now black sky. I write in my notebook: Venus is a Bright Point of Expression in the Sky. Thus, a poem is born.

The surrealist poet, Jerry Edwards, lives in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. His home is literally in the shadows of the Catalina Mountains. He describes himself as a 12-year-old boy, disguised as an 82-year-old grandfather. He’s also said that he’d once been a 12-year-old boy, disguised as a business executive.This anthology of poetry, Venus – A Point of Expression, is his second publication of poetry in as many years. His first book, Memories in Technicolor, was released in June 2023. A reader, critiquing his writing, commented that he was obviously, “a hopeless romantic”. Edwards pleads guilty to the description!