Author: Amy Souza

01 Jun

Shalini Rana and Diane Mayr

Shalini Rana and Diane Mayr

Diane Mayr “Risible” Inspiration piece Failing Sunburst By Shalini Rana Response The first laugh I loved galloped in a broken body: Brother’s silent open-mouthed grin, ready to swallow me whole in a sea of small …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 44
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01 Jun

KJ Hannah Greenberg
and Seth Leamer

KJ Hannah Greenberg
and Seth Leamer

Seth Leamer Inspiration piece Kaorog’s Companion By KJ Hannah Greenberg Response Kaorog regarded his tentacles. They were turning purple. Whereas that hue was lovely, it was, simultaneously, an indicator of …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 44
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31 May

Dominic Mazzilli and Amy Souza

Dominic Mazzilli and Amy Souza

Amy Souza Inspiration piece Dominic Mazzilli Response Mad, Crazed, Insane, a hundred whispers surround the painter, but he does not listen, there is no time. He dashes and rubs …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 44
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31 May

Amy Souza and Dominic Mazzilli

Amy Souza and Dominic Mazzilli

Amy Souza Response Prologue By Dominic Mazzilli Inspiration piece “The Tinkerer made the Irons, at least, that’s what everyone says, but I’d reckon it’s the Irons that made the Tinkerer.” …

 
By Amy Souza
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09 Mar

Anya Mayer and Amy Souza

Anya Mayer and Amy Souza

Anya Mayer Response You’re tough // You can handle it By Amy Souza Inspiration piece Blackberry brambles are impossible to kill But the fruit they bear hangs tender on the vine You’re tough someone told …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 43
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09 Mar

Jennifer Fendya and
Jenny Forrester

Jennifer Fendya and
Jenny Forrester

Jennifer Fendya “Jenny con mala“ Response Jenny Forrester Inspiration piece “Jimmy Si Malo” is at the mic. Gen-X. Claims he’s a millennial. White. CIS man. He says, “The black man on …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 43
Comments: 1
09 Mar

Amy Souza and Anya Mayer

Amy Souza and Anya Mayer

Anya Mayer Inspiration Piece Something Else By Amy Souza Response We used to be something else Jagged edges tucked together Beauty in the wear Lucky attachment I dreamed of more But needed to survive When you …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 43
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09 Mar

Amy Souza and
Lisa Kilhefner

Amy Souza and
Lisa Kilhefner

Lisa Kilhefner Inspiration Piece One Time or Another By Amy Souza Response Feathered energy Whirlwind of white sky Listen for what the page wants And then oblige What wasn’t there now exists Lonely anger, yellow …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 43
Comments: 1
09 Mar

Channie Greenberg
and Ash Martins

Channie Greenberg
and Ash Martins

Channie Greenberg Response Final Call By Ash Martins Inspiration piece “Oh, isn’t it divine?” Beatriz queried, her eyes bright as always, despite the perilous finality before them. “Why yes, yes it’s …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 43
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09 Mar

Jenny Forrester
and Jennifer Fendya

Jenny Forrester
and Jennifer Fendya

Jennifer Fendya “And then…” Inspiration piece Jenny Forrester Response She had her way with me in ways I didn’t want but agreed to via silence and acceptance. Acquiescences. Resignations. You know. You’ve …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 43
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08 Mar

Ash Martins and
Channie Greenburg

Ash Martins and
Channie Greenburg

Channie Greenberg “Bewildering Shopper” Inspiration piece Bewildered Shopper By Ash Martins Response Farm-fresh flowers and what else? Damn forgotten list. Ah! Bark, twigs and grass. —————————————— Note: All of the art, writing, and music on …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 43
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06 Mar

Matthew Levine and
Robert Haydon Jones

Matthew Levine and
Robert Haydon Jones

Matthew Levine “Looking Up” Response The Trigger By Robert Haydon Jones Inspiration piece Jimmy had come a long way. He came all the way in from Connecticut to Grand Central on …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 43
Comments: 6
06 Mar

Robert Haydon Jones
and Matthew Levine

Robert Haydon Jones
and Matthew Levine

Matthew Levine “By Last Light” Inspiration piece Last Game By Robert Haydon Jones Response Jimmy O’Hara lived in Connecticut and like most people in the state, he battled Winter tooth and …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 43
Comments: 8
09 Oct

JoAnn Moore and MM Panas

JoAnn Moore and MM Panas

MM Panas “Take Me for a Ride” Inspiration piece Reverberations By JoAnn Moore Response Rivers amble sunshafts streak leaves rustle fog wisps escape. Stellers’ dart moss shimmer squirrels scutter children shriek. Colors rouse hearts alight redwoods soar the sky dances with song.   —————————————— Note: …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 42
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19 Sep

Robert Haydon Jones
and Matthew Levine

Robert Haydon Jones
and Matthew Levine

Matthew Levine “Central Park, Fall” Inspiration piece The Next Stop By Robert Haydon Jones Response Looking back from 68 years away, Jimmy O’Hara could not figure why he had elected to …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 42
Comments: 4
19 Sep

Matthew Levine and
Robert Haydon Jones

Matthew Levine and
Robert Haydon Jones

Matthew Levine “The Decision” Response Not Solitary By Robert Haydon Jones Inspiration piece Sarah Moran, a willowy, red haired, beauty in her early-forties, fainted and fell face down on her eggs …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 42
Comments: 6
11 Sep

Rusty Lynn and Channie Greenberg

Rusty Lynn and Channie Greenberg

Rusty Lynn “If Memory Serves” Response Summer of 1971 By Channie Greenberg Inspiration piece They arrived at dusk. The mother carried in a sleeping child, while the father dragged a wheeled …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 42
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11 Sep

Channie Greenberg and Rusty Lynn

Channie Greenberg and Rusty Lynn

Rusty Lynn “A Bloomin’ Flower Icon” Inspiration piece Cultivar By Channie Greenberg Response Following the apocalypse, when the moon was no longer regarded as a commodious prison, but was lauded as …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 42
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04 Sep

Isabella Cassini and Amy Souza

Isabella Cassini and Amy Souza

Isabella Cassini “Orbit” Response Orbit By Amy Souza Inspiration piece Everywhere is here and there and nowhere and nowhere you can be at once You must choose a path— calendula scent of the sea Like those signs with seven arrows pointing every which …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 41
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04 Sep

Brigitte Nowers and Amy Souza

Brigitte Nowers and Amy Souza

Brigitte Nowers Response Faith Poem By Amy Souza Inspiration piece Between resistance and faith lies the bulk of human existence. I don’t trust anyone who spends all their time on …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 41
Comments: 1
08 Mar

Anne Nowselski and Amy Souza

Anne Nowselski and Amy Souza

Anne Nowselski Response District Taco By Amy Souza Inspiration piece We got tacos at 7 and by 9 asked, Is this it? The dog slept on the floor, back pressed against …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 40
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03 Mar

Amy Souza and Anne Nowselski

Amy Souza and Anne Nowselski

Anne Nowselski Inspiration piece Butterfly By Amy Souza Response Butterflies don’t worry about attachment When they wrestle away the cocoon to Soar wispy but not frail The woman who discovered their life cycle Was …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 40
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28 Dec

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
and Jan Irene Miller

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
and Jan Irene Miller

Jan Irene Miller Inspiration piece Dear Cow By Amy Ludwig VanDerwater Response Dear Cow, I still dream about you. It may not make sense, but some days for some reason I smell …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 39
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25 Dec

Julia Rolfe and Anya Mayer

Julia Rolfe and Anya Mayer

Anya Mayer “She Embraces Compassion” Inspiration piece Typical Woman By Julia Rolfe Response At the risk of being cliché, She was hard as nails in the daylight. A can-do bandana wearing force of artificial …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 39
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03 Dec

Gena Stutzman and
KJ Hannah Greenberg

Gena Stutzman and
KJ Hannah Greenberg

KJ Hannah Greenberg “Autumnal Stairway” Inspiration piece Autumn Afternoon By Gena Stutzman Response My photograph has faded now But not my memory of That fiery autumn afternoon. You called me out to play In the …

 
By Amy Souza
Filed under: SPARK 39
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