Prose and Conflicts

Prose and Conflicts is a collection of poems dealing with everyday questions and observations on life and beyond, nature, entertainment and other poignant issues, such as religion, politics and more. A myriad of ideas, the poems span different styles to guide the reader on a journey of thought with reality, humour and angst, all written while taking time to smell the roses.

Poems of the Fire

The campfire that started on November 8, 2018, burned the town of Paradise, California. It was California’s deadliest forest fire, leaving thousands of people homeless with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Not only did it destroy my home, but most of my town. I escaped with my life, and that is what inspired my poems. These poems helped me to express my feelings deeply on paper.

There were so many people trying to leave town at the same time, and it was bumper to bumper. The fire was moving so fast that several people were burned in their cars. People were abandoning their cars and running down the street on foot. This fire brought many people closer together than ever before. We all had to start over again with nothing.

The reason you are reading these poems is that I woke up much earlier than usual on the morning of the fire and wandered down the hall to the kitchen. The clock said 7:00 am, and I never get up that early. I felt so good I decided to stay up, make some coffee, and enjoy the early morning, which I never do. When the phone rang, the voice on the other end said to ‘Evacuate now!’ These poems will take you on a journey as I found new hope and a new beginning. I hope you enjoy what I have composed.

Please, Adopt Me, America

Please, Adopt Me, America is an enlightening conversation about oppression, disruption, and dispossession. Starting with the personal and corporate struggle for the space of freedom and survival, the author/poet weaves her akuko iho, or enlightening conversations through the fast-changing terrains entwined with the harrowing landscapes.

From personal life to corporate experiences, to the scalding landmarks of history, the author and poet breaks away from her ‘foster’ country, Nigeria, to merge with her people and ancestors who are a vital part of America. Proclaiming her right to reject the raging ‘japa’ syndrome as an all-comers affair, she reveals a veiled tapestry of dark histories and decapitating politics. She embodies the spirit of cultural renaissance and freedom, rolling on wheels of hope to a land of promise. Please, Adopt Me, America, is a touching, penetrating perspective on the deep struggles of finding one’s own space in life – Of leaving home to find it!

Perfectly Placed

This is a collection of poems and journal entries written over the span of seven years that tell most of the story of some of Michael’s most formative years. After trying to grieve the loss of his best friend, deal with the addictions his mother suffers, as well as navigating many young love romances, Michael, turns to his old journals and starts collecting the poetry he’s written.

For the sake of clarity, the Him parts are written to be about one great love but he is made of a combination of many. Despite promising himself to be the one to break his family’s generational legacy of trauma and addiction, while alone at a low point, he disappoints himself and proves himself wrong.

Michael must now build himself back up from the ground before the dirt can fill his grave with him in it. He must remind himself that everything happens for a reason and that there is no such thing as the wrong person, place, or time because all of those things made him who he is.

Of the Sun Fire

Moonlight glints and winks with a soft hum as girls in soft satin dresses dance around the fire. I can taste notes of empty forests and flowers smeared with blood on my tongue. Different reasons of their betrayal plague my mind. I opt to scream inward and swallow the lump in my throat. I see the candles lighting the wooden staircases of the haunted castle as I step in. The sight reminds me of when I was a child and held bears made of cotton tightly out of fear when I was left alone. I look down at my feet to see pictures of old loved ones crushed under them like worthless blossoms. Do I feel happy? Sad? Gloomy? Maybe all of them at once. I guess that’s the life of a dandelion girl.

The poems and pictures in this book represent the struggles I felt as an outcast and how I learned to find an exit for myself in the wonders of the world. I tried to capture the feeling of being rejected and later accepted into a new world in the poems and pictures I gathered. I hope people with similar experiences can read my book and feel a little less alone than they did before. I hope they realize things will get better. Your wings of fire will emerge.

Memories in Technicolor

Poetry is the most expressive of the various forms of the written language. It allows one to describe events, experiences, people and emotions in an imaginative manner. The poems in this anthology illustrate the writer’s belief that the natural world and the emotions of the individual are interconnected. That the rhythm and imagination within the mind of the individual is inherent within the forces, the beauty of the physical world. The author believes that poetry, expressed in simplistic words can lift the heart, cause old romances to live again and transpose oneself into the natural world as a participant, not just an observer.

Jesse James in Hell - Book Two

Continuing the epic of the hectored outlaw in the absurd landscape of the afterlife, Jesse James in Hell follows him through the American West searching for a lost treasure in the company of a bitter automaton, a mysterious violinist, the dead founder of a fraternal lodge who has been turned into a cat, and his sarcastic brother Frank. Other characters include Amelia and her baby, the buffoon Joey Turner, and a tribe of insane volunteer firemen. The massacre finale, based on a true story, will keep any reader at the edge of his or her seat consulting the dictionary.

It Comes In Tides

It Comes in Tides by Joseph Roccasalvo showcases a striking talent for the formal style in poetry. The collection is masterful for employing rhyme, meter, and the wordplay of puns and paradox.

In the celebration of the highs and lows of romance and abiding friendship, the poems are subtle and emotional, complex but always comprehensible. They are so rhythmic that the image of tides hitting a shoreline best describes them. They share the gift for point and counterpoint in their musical precision. The playful wit, conspicuous in the love poems, captivates the astute reader.

It Comes in Tides will inspire both poets and lovers who have a zest for romance in rhyme and meter.

Icons

Over the span of fifty years, the author has been captivated by the dynamic world of sports, experiencing its thrilling victories, and confronting its poignant defeats.

In this collection, poetic tributes pay homage to the legends and moments that have shaped sporting history. From tales of unparalleled bravery to narratives of profound loss and triumph, these stories have left their mark on countless fans.

Dive into this evocative journey, and discover the timeless essence of sports as seen through the author’s eyes.

Haikus-isms

This expansive collection features Ecila Mai’s observations on existence distilled into emotive works of poetry, prose and haiku. Drawing from diverse life experiences and poignant personal memories, these thoughtful writings invite self-reflection on both the trials and triumphs woven into the human experience.

As she delves into her rich interior landscape, Ecila’s raw ruminations examine the people, places and pivotal moments that collectively shaped her perspective. By confronting the fraught, the fanciful and even the mundane, her flowing verses illuminate the ebb and flow of life in all its dynamic complexity.

Ecila offers this diverse array of poetic pieces in hopes they will resonate with readers’ own winding paths, sparking intimate considerations about personal progression versus stagnation. Through contemplative language and keen emotional insights, Poetic Reflections serves as a stirring reminder that we each possess the power to transform our futures as we see fit – no matter the perils of the past.

Free Admission to My Mind

This poetry collection, like a cerebral train, travels through the varied landscapes of my thoughts, opinions, and life experiences. Words collide with syllables, erupting into vivid imagery that reaches the far recesses of the imagination. These poems are my literary children: sometimes impulsive, but always carrying a message. I hope this collection touches you like the warmth of the sun’s rays on a somber October afternoon.

Farther on Down the Road

Farther on Down the Road is a volume of assorted poetic forms and themes and purposes with a Southern flair.

The book celebrates life in its depth, breadth, and beauty, and contains verses from different perspectives from the commonplace to the fanciful to the fantastic.

The works evoke a range of emotions from joy to sorrow; from awe to bliss; from concern to glee.