Fair Science, please, present us astral keys
With which from this empowered speck in space
We may unlock the vaulted mysteries
To trace the trillioned miles to that far place
Unshackled, freed from the long-riddled curse]
We might invade truth’s flaming fields again,
To run the realms of reason and rehearse
The tantalizing questions that pursued
Us down the dim, dark aisles of time; to dwell
Content within God’s star-fired constant mood;
With childlike joy, to tell and overtell
How circling back from their long cosmic roam
The children of Adam and Eve at last came home.
FOUNTAIN IN THE LIGHT
Where the fountain plays
Upon the air, sun-caught drops
Dance a light-ballet
LESSON IN LOVING
I never knew
that pain shared
eases with the sharing.
I never knew
that joy shared
breathes Spring
into a wintered heart.
I never knew
that dreams shared
might come true.
I never knew till
taught by you,
i was not afraid
to share with you
my inmost life.
AUTHOR NOTES
GLASS RAIN – Margaret Roxby
“FOUNTAIN IN THE LIGHT” was found among the author’s papers. It had no title.
REFRACTIONS – Robert Roxby
“A CARING HEART” is included for for July 11, Cheer Up the Lonely Day. This poem originally appeared in his book, Reflections on Lifetime.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS – Kathleen Roxby
“LESSON IN LOVING” will soon appear in the author’s collection Black Hole.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Readers who write in response to one of the prompts listed each month in Splintered Glass, may see their work presented here on the last week of that month. Though poems are preferred, short prose work will also be considered for publication.
Guidelines for submission:
GURUS
Gurus sit on mountaintops
To catch wisdom from the ages
As it drifts by on solar winds.
Misunderstanding the words
And collecting tainted money,
Sugar-coating ancient proverbs,
They often speak of mundane things.
FROM THE WANDERERS
Fair Science, please, present us astral keys
With which from this empowered speck in space
We may unlock the vaulted mysteries
To trace the trillioned miles to that far place
Unshackled, freed from the long-riddled curse]
We might invade truth’s flaming fields again,
To run the realms of reason and rehearse
The tantalizing questions that pursued
Us down the dim, dark aisles of time; to dwell
Content within God’s star-fired constant mood;
With childlike joy, to tell and overtell
How circling back from their long cosmic roam
The children of Adam and Eve at last came home.
WHAT IT IS TO KNOW
In the silence of my room
I hear
the drums begin beating
the ancient chants
rising from the earth,
the sand scribbling messages of time:
the animal sounds of the beginning,
the earth sounds of the end
Nightblind, vulnerable
I hear
distant unintelligible cries
and the terrible,
terrible sound
of the mountains dying.
AUTHOR NOTES
GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby
“FROM THE WANDERERS” was a work in progress and had also been titled “Homecoming” and “The Wanderers Return.” The author also noted that poem had received a Second Honorable rating, but she neglected to note the competition. It is another poem reflecting the author’s fascination with space exploration. In adddition, she included this information:
Shakespearean sonnet (variation) 7 rhymes and the rhyme pattern: abab cdcd efefgg (as he did). But rather than 3 quatrains & concluding couplet, I pursued the Miltonian concept of: 14 lines molded into one unit.
REFRACTIONS— the poetr of Robert Roxby
“GURUS” was found in the the poet’s poetry journal.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby
“WHAT IT IS TO KNOW” is poem from the author’s period of depression during her twenties. It will appear in her chapbook, “Black Hole,” soon to be published.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Readers who write in response to one of the prompts listed each month in Splintered Glass, may see their work presented here on the last week of that month. Though poems are preferred, short prose work will also be considered for publication.
Guidelines for submission:
SPLINTERS FOR JUNE 2025