Welcome to "In Our Own Words," the Ezine from BBBooks. We publish and distribute books, list "Calls for Submissions," Contests, and Writing Classes here on our web site.

We are a grass roots organization, not a cor-porate entity, so we don't dance to the dollar sign. You can expect to find thought- provoking, creative, alternative writing, information and politics right here. We offer the "People Before Profits Poetry Prize" each year and offer all kinds of other stuff for writers, poets, students, educators, spiritual types, feminists, humanists, and activists. We're people who follow their conscience, but like to have fun too!

The writers in this edition of "In Our Own Words" range in age from their teens to their 80s.

Our editorial philosophy is simple: Writers respond to life; they chronicle our times and remind us what it is like to be human. Extraordinary writing strikes a truth and reflects how events in our nutty world affect us. While vulgarity is often a part of our daily lives, the profane used for its own sake, rarely benefits anyone. Nevertheless, since expression is largely a matter of individual taste, we accept all styles and forms of poetry and prose. While the writing we've chosen reminds us that life isn't always pretty, we choose writing that reminds us that life can be extraordinary!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Note: This season's ezine is smaller than usual due to overload. Our Fall edition will much larger....

LYN LIFSHIN || Last Night #2 || Septemberly || Jade Madonna ||

ANONYMOUS || Cat Haiku ||

CLMP: || Copper Canyon Founder Organizes Poets for Peace
in Response to Laura Bush ||

DEENA METZGER: || Stories for the 11th Hour ||

JONATHAN TURLEY || Camps for Citizens || (linked for fair use only)

LYN LIFSHIN
LAST NIGHT #2

sky was a
blue blanket
over the pale
geese, a Scarf
wrapping their
long necks.
They float,
puffs of milk
week settling
on the river,
petals of flame.

SEPTEMBERLY
Remember, mother, your
brown dress with the
hood? The one I
borrowed for special
days in 7th grade and Mr
Dewey sneered "Rosalyn,
you're actually in a dress."
Smarmy, even if he never
felt me up. His eyes and
words goosed us. Brown
is in the fall, a color I've
hardly worn the last ten
years. Now I can't
remember if it's a color
you'd choose, certainly not
like back or jade or
emerald. Your eyes, like
a doe's, mahogany but
i don't remember anything
else brown in your closet
except that dress we wore to
shreds. Maybe, as you
moved close to where you
finally could stop worrying
if you left the stove on or
if I'd fall out of a dc 7,
that color, like the wooden
ceiling over your last
bed you said felt like a box
were too close up, the
color of earth

JADE MADONNA
has been big
in China
for 4 thousand years

comes in colors,
can be translucent
and pale

she is hard,
cant be scratched
by your metal

is magical
and spiritual
want you

to wear her

©2003 LYN LIFSHIN

How You Can Be Published:

There are several ways. You can also send in poetry or short prose of your own to be considered for IN OUR OWN WORDS, our ezine. We also recommend looking at the Classifieds in Poets and Writers Magazine, visiting our Calls for Submission Page, or entering a contest, similar to our annual "Burning Bush Poetry Prize." Only entries that include a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) will be returned, so be sure to include this with your work. See our editorial philosophy.

IN OUR OWN WORDS ©2003 Burning Bush Publications.
All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America.
No part of this literary journal may be reproduced or transmitted in form or by any means, elecrical or mechanical, photographically, photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrival system, without written permission from the Publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews. All rights revert to authors and artists upon publication. For more infomation, contact Burning Bush Publications.