Danny Earl Simmons

Limping through Shangri-La – A Poem by Danny Earl Simmons

Limping through Shangri-La

My unicorn threw a shoe
and sent me sailing headlong
through a gentle mist

of sun rays and birdsong
until I slammed against the stony edge
of a lovely double rainbow, colorful

as the butterfly I crushed while sliding
feet first all the way down the glorious arch
into a pot of molten gold.

About the Poet:
Danny Earl Simmons is an Oregonian and a proud graduate of Corvallis High School. He is a friend of the Linn-Benton Community College Poetry Club and currently serves on its Poetry Advisory Committee. His poems have appeared in a variety of journals such as The Pedestal Magazine, Little Patuxent Review, IthacaLit, San Pedro River Review, and Off the Coast where he now assists as a member of the editorial staff.

Poetry Breakfast accepts submissions of poetry and poetry related creative non-fiction year-round. See our Submission Guidelines page for details on submitting your work.

Photo from DesertRoseTree7.

April 8, 2016

Old Firs

I often eat lunch in Awbrey Park beside four crowded fir trees
leaning this way and that, as if not on speaking terms. These trees

are tall and weathered with brindled bark and the same wrinkled
scowls that line the hallways of old-folks homes. They’ve earned

the right to appear irritated by the fat gray squirrel fidgeting
along the arborvitae hedge. I imagine them wincing, remembering

all those generations of squirrels before him. I imagine them pursing
their lips, wondering how many more they will live to see. A crow flaps

from within their prickly branches; the wind blows. We five shiver
together as I stand, unstiffen, remind myself that they are only old firs.

Poetry Breakfast accepts submissions of poetry and poetry related creative non-fiction year-round. See our Submission Guidelines page for details on submitting your work.

Photo by Francais.

Shades of Gray by Danny Earl Simmons

Shades of Gray
for Alisha
by Danny Earl Simmons

I see fewer shades of gray
these days, have a crisper appreciation
for the black and white of things.

I can see deep inside colors
I never knew existed. I squint
and stare, tilt my head, smile a lot.

The other day, I swear I watched
rain fall for the first time.
Each drop holds a rainbow, you know.

Of course you know. You put them there.

Danny Earl Simmons is Oregonian and a proud graduate of Corvallis High School. He is a friend of the Linn-Benton Community College Poetry Club and an active member of Albany Civic Theater. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in various journals such as Avatar Review, Summerset Review, The Smoking Poet, Toe Good Poetry, and Pirene’s Fountain. A collection of his published poems can be found at dannyearlsimmons.blogspot.com.

May 12, 2012

Plowing by Danny Earl Simmons

Plowing
by Danny Earl Simmons

Turning black earth against twilight
as muddy legs plod, shoulders ache
and bow before worn leather straps
that sag between his bull and his beliefs.

Bent in the knowing that gray
becomes green and sweat waters
ground into overflowing, he grows
dark patches of glove on his palms.

After supper, his thick hands reach
to caress flour from her cheek,
slide gently along the softness
there, coffee brewing on the stove.

Danny Earl Simmons is an Oregonian who has loved living in the Mid-Willamette Valley for over 30 years. He is a friend of the Linn-Benton Community College Poetry Club and an active member of the Albany Civic Theater. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in various journals such as Avatar Review, Boston Literary Magazine, Toe Good Poetry, and Pirene’s Fountain. His published poems can be found on his blog, http://www.dannyearlsimmons.blogspot.com .

March 31, 2012

Poetry Breakfast

Serving a little poetic nourishment Monday thru Friday and featuring a Short Play Saturday Matinee to read.

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