Monday, December 2, 2013

LIGHTING THE CHRISTMAS TREE - a poem

LIGHTING THE CHRISTMAS TREE

Nut-brown fingers are eager
to switch on tree lights
as a myriad of faces uplift
to halos of brightness
spinning ritualistically
while a family gathers
inside the ancestral home.
Resounding Grandfather clock
ticks away time and memories.
Branches gleam anew
with old crystals, baubles,
and golden beads.  Silver
whimsies sparkle like showery
Fourth of July glitter
on this Merry Christmas Eve.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Maine Coon Cat (acceptance)

Maine Coon Cat has been accepted for publication in Midlife Collage. It will be published in the December issue. 

Monday, November 4, 2013

OUTSIDE THE SNOW - to be published in Toasts: Graces and Blessings

My poem Outside the Snow will be published in Toasts: Graces and Blessings Fall 2014, Viva Editions, http://www.vivaeditions.com/

HONORABLE MENTIONS PUBLISHED IN JOURNEYS VI



 My short stories The Wedding Reception and Not Suitable Viewing For Children have won honorable mentions and are published in Journeys VI, an anthology of award-winning short stories. Court Jester Publications Lady Lake, Florida

NOVEMBER - a poem by Patricia Crandall





 NOVEMBER
The air
is pungent with decay.
Old bones
push out of earth
beneath
curled leaves.
Blackness
descends and hovers,
with it comes
a chill.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

HALLOWEEN TOMBSTONES a Poem






HALLOWEEN 

Tombstones
like spiky teeth,
Skeleton bones
rattle beneath.
A black cat stretches
across Willa Witch's hearth
where skulls are brewed
and crossbones stewed
by this Uzbekistan,
wart nosed sorceress!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

SEPTEMBER PASSES a poem



 SEPTEMBER PASSES

 
On the patio, new foliage
pushes through remnants
of Autumn leaves.
The brick path
is mottled and scarred
with wet pine needles
and acorn caps.
Cobwebs are whisked off
white wicker. The far-away
sun shines cold.
In layered clothing,
I sip herbal tea.

Monday, August 5, 2013

FOREVER YOUNG - AUGUST POEM



 
                         Forever young
among the young
presents a two-faced mask.
My arms so ache,
my legs forsake me
in this hopeless task.
 Forever young
among the young
I'm whipped
before I ask,
a tender pup
to please ease up
in games
out of my past.
 Forever young
among the young
I persevere alas.
Yet my years, threescore
are hereto more
reality at last!
 

Monday, July 1, 2013

JULY AM (poem)



On the lake,

waves sparkle
and glitter
in streaming sunlight.
Tree-tops chorus bird song
in dancing winds
and flounce
lush, tropical greenery.
 

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

HOT SUMMER DAY - Poem for June

Hot Summer Day

The rustle of ivy
against a cool brick wall.
Wisteria and clematis
spider out
of hanging baskets
on a white-washed porch.
Lazy kittens stretch
in shady sunshine
licking their paws
beside a cistern
of rain water.
Mozart
is subdued
by a whirring fan.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

PAT'S COLLECTIBLES (New Book)



PAT'S COLLECTIBLES



In the short stories, The Crazy Jug, The Pink Victorian Lady, Frogs, Gnomes, Hikers and Bottle Miners, The Conjurer, and The Rescue, Gert Carver and Nina Westacott meet an eclectic variety of characters as they trade-off collectibles and old bottles at flea markets and solve gentle mysteries involving neighbors, relatives, past students, farmers and hicks in and around the upstate New York community of Indian Falls. Gert and Nina are likeable protagonists, and Patricia Crandall has revealed a life unknown to most city dwellers. The following is a quote from a past review in the New York Times Sunday Review of books: "In the wake of 9/11 (and the terror attacks that have followed; e.g. Aurora, Boston and others too numerous to mention), Americans seem to crave the reassurance of straightforward tales about good people trying to live good lives, who believe in love and friendship, work and honor and charity, the prosaic but immense forces that dignify most of our lives." Beachfront Press publisher, Peter David Orr, says, "Author, Patricia Crandall, has whipped up some real, down-home cooking, brimming with friendship, and served with three sides of simple adventure." Join additional down-to-earth folk in their pursuits for justice and happiness: Clive Mason in The Willowbrook Inn, Julie Keel in The Wedding Reception, Federal Agent Tony Barlow in The Bogus Man, Lew Golden in Not Suitable Viewing for Children, Hattie Perkins, a.k.a. Tia Gale in Love Interlude and, Maya Bull in A Catty Arrangement. All things considered, you are guaranteed a good read.

Bio:

Patricia Crandall is the author of The Dog Men, a tale of animal abuse and rescue; Melrose, Then and Now, a local history; Tales of an Upstate New York Bottle Miner; and a book of poetry, entitled, Passed This Way. She lives with her husband, Art, at Babcock Lake in the Grafton Mountains near Petersburgh, New York.








Monday, May 13, 2013

Honorable Mention - Not Suitable Viewing for Children


Mary Lois Sanders, Publisher/Managing Editor of Creative Writer’s Notebook (Court Jester Publication) chose Patricia Crandall's stories, Not Suitable Viewing for Children and The Wedding Reception  as  honorable mentions. 

Both stories will be included in JOURNEY'S VI. 

For more information, please visit Creative Writer's Notebook.




Sunday, May 12, 2013

GOD BLESS THE NORTHEAST WEATHER - POEM




GOD BLESS THE NORTHEAST WEATHER

                    Nature
                    at its best
                    is delightful.
                    At its worst,
                    frightful.
                    And when the elixir is all wrong;
                    a dabble strong,
                    a dollop weak
                    the prognosis
                    is often bleak.
                    60 degrees in January
                    February thaw
                    March showers
                    April mud
                    heat wave in May
                    cold June, July
                    colder August
                    glorious September
                    snowy October
                    icy November
                    green December.

Monday, April 1, 2013

APRIL SNOW (poem)


 
APRIL SNOW
 
The night
is a clone of January.
The morning
is sweet and golden
as an April sun.
Snow-droppings fall
from icelandic trees.
A lone mallard
floats downstream.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Won First Place

My flash fiction story Managing the System won first prize in the flash fiction contest in the January/February issue of Northern Stars Magazine, Beverly Kleikamp, editor/publisher. 

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

NEW BOOK COMING SOON - PAT'S COLLECTIBLES


NEW BOOK COMING SOON: Pat's Collectibles is due out soon. Be watching for it from Beachfront Press. All her short stories will be included in this one book. An announcement and link will be provided for you when it's published.

Review on new book from Beachfront Press


Hi Patricia,

Beachfront tagged you in a post. Beachfront wrote: "A shout out to author, Patricia Crandall for penning a wonderful collection of short stories. She has whipped up some real, down-home cooking, brimming with friendship, and served with three sides of simple adventure."

The Facebook Team

Pat's Collectible's will be out soon. It features all her wonderful short stories. 

Love Interlude - Finalist


Check out my story  "Love Interlude"  I was one of the finalists - Sera Publishing

March Poem WINTER-SPRING


WINTER-SPRING

 
Winter
relinquishes
a diadem
to a more beauteous star.
Slowly,
ice melts into vapor
and sun undresses
the snowy ground.
Streams flow purely
down mountainsides.
A prismatic, golden energy
is instilled into every being.
 
 

Monday, February 11, 2013

FEBRUARY GLOOM




FEBRUARY GLOOM

My son
attempts to play
the flute
while I sing silly songs
creating lace-doily valentines
before his round, expressive
eyes...one is put aside
for teacher.


by Patricia Crandall 

(c) 2013

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The Heirloom and A Garden of Love

The Heirloom, has been accepted in Flash Fiction World, Vol. 2 and A Garden of Love in Vol. 1. 


Volume 1 

Flash Fiction World – Volume 1 is packed with stories about all the concerns, traumas and dramas of life, as well as the joyful and humorous times. Whatever your preference you will find plenty of reading material (over 44,000 words) in these pages to keep you happy and engrossed. I have no doubt that you will enjoy a fiction feast and will be seeking more stories by many of the writers that you discover in these pages.


Volume 2 

Flash Fiction World – Volume 2 is packed with stories about all the facets and dramas of life. Whatever your preference you will find plenty of reading material (over 30,000 words) in these pages to keep you happy and leave you fulfilled. I guarantee that you will enjoy a fiction feast and will be seeking more stories by many of the writers that you discover in these pages.


Thursday, January 3, 2013

CRACKLING JANUARY


 

CRACKLING JANUARY

Snow crackles
beneath fur-lined boots
and winter tires.
Smoke puffs from
Clinker brick chimneys,
invading church yards
and back yards.
Tree limbs snap
like gunshot
in bitter cold.

by Patricia Crandall
 

Chances are You Will Want to Come to New York City

In 1958 Her streets were paved in yellow brick leading to Fifth Avenue and 42 nd  Street. You might have seen a zealous couple dance-walkin...