Author: statenislandlisa

Lisa Nielsen is a single mom living in staten island who is using poetry as a means to get her groove back. She is doing her best to get the words out of her journal and into the world.

31 May

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard “Golda” Response Another walk, alone By Lisa Nielsen Inspiration piece  I saw a rose half buried in the sand and it still haunts me was this a love letter to …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 44
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31 May

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Jay Young Gerard “Threadbare” Inspiration piece thoughts while twirling angel hair By Lisa Nielsen Response it’s been a long time since i’ve let anything marinate overnight soaked in garlic, parsley, lemon intoxicating the house is …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 44
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02 Jun

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard “Aerial: Take No Prisoners” Response Reconciliation Baby By Lisa Nielsen Inspiration piece A misshapen attempt at reconciliation Brought you here I can’t possibly tell you this, your existence Borne of not …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 41
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02 Jun

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Jay Young Gerard “Another Door Opens” Inspiration piece One Door Closes By Lisa Nielsen Response Parched tobacco shreds crumble in my little fingers as I rummage through handbags, carefully translating loose …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 41
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07 Mar

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Jay Young Gerard “Detritus Has No Soul” Response   I Stood, Longing By Lisa Nielsen Inspiration piece I stood on the edge past the yellow line and the train’s rush daring your anger to push …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 40
Comments: 1
07 Mar

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard “My Rock and My Redeemer” Inspiration piece Loneliness on a Bitter Sunday By Lisa Nielsen Response I, drifted between gravestones and angel statues, fingering the carved wings; my chest stretched by …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 40
Comments: 2
14 Sep

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

“It’s Hard to Remain Neutral” Jay Young Gerard Response Lisa Nielsen Inspiration piece The gathering of flesh and blood I am wearing one of her blouses that I am cautioned not to …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 38
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10 Sep

Lisa Nielsen and
Jay Young Gerard

Lisa Nielsen and
Jay Young Gerard

“Sun Moon Play Me” Jay Young Gerard Inspiration piece Chaos By Lisa Nielsen Response I keep bringing you upon myself: tectonic plates rumbling with turn of the century pipes and ancient tree roots. The …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 38
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04 Mar

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Jay Young Gerard “Silent Scream” Response A Slice of Americana By Lisa Nielsen Inspiration piece A woman in a cowgirl hat walks with determination to the corner bar There haven’t been horses here …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 36
Comments: 1
04 Mar

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard “Red White and Blue” Inspiration piece Split By Lisa Nielsen Response Torn from the black tar of waters once greasy with life, the soulless endeavors of the placaters of fortune, having price-tagged …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 36
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10 Sep

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Jay Young Gerard Red Seeing Red Response Lisa Nielsen Random Thoughts While Waiting for You to Die Inspiration Piece Fear was all the rage when you raged. shrill crescendo punctuated by a …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 34
Comments: 1
10 Sep

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard Myra’s Niche Inspiration Piece Lisa Nielsen Still Processing Response Mangled and incontinent with leprous bedsores, you are sure this will be estrangement’s undoing. I can watch you suffer for …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 34
Comments: 1
06 Jun

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Jay Young Gerard “Ascension Takes Time.  And Practice” Response The Composition of Expectations By Lisa Nielsen Inspiration piece I can’t take on gravity while smiling rancid thoughts.     Floating thru your …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 33
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06 Jun

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard “Palettes 1 and 2” Inspiration piece Survival of the Fittest By Lisa Nielsen Response The art of tuning out Turns a heart to pulp And makes a sin of dance the …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 33
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04 Dec

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Jay Young Gerard “Center and Right Reflected” Inspiration piece The Art of Loneliness By Lisa Nielsen Response The art of loneliness festoons out in rows of hope’s castaways Not a single impediment left …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 31
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04 Dec

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard “Coming and Going” Response Tempering the Loss By Lisa Nielsen Inspiration piece I look in that same spot I last saw you: a rickety chair on a rickety porch, your …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 31
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15 Sep

Lisa Nielsen and
Jay Young Gerard

Lisa Nielsen and
Jay Young Gerard

Jay Young Gerard “And Then What Happened” Inspiration Piece and then what happened By Lisa Nielsen Response A girl pretends to be asleep, her mother runs barefoot across the lobby of the …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 30
Comments: 1
15 Sep

Jay Young Gerard
and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard
and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard “Calm Up” Response Gravel strewn like breadcrumbs By Lisa Nielsen Inspiration piece Broken cement sprouts chrome and glass and angles reminiscent of Kandinsky Thru the looking glass below sketchy unfinished sidewalks welcome …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 30
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08 Jun

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Lisa Nielsen and Jay Young Gerard

Jay Young Gerard Breathing Lessons Response Lisa Nielsen Dropping Back Inspiration Piece That rare expanse of city landscape offered a concrete welcome mat. You use the room to stretch your feet and stare at …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 29
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08 Jun

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard Shadows Cool Inspiration Piece Lisa Nielsen The air we breathe Response The air we breathe calculates wind patterns While the dust of twilight and the remains of sunrise coexist between the …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 29
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06 Mar

Lisa Nielsen and
Jay Young Gerard

Lisa Nielsen and
Jay Young Gerard

Lisa Nielsen “Static Between Stations” Response My Dear Old Familiar By Jay Young Gerard Inspiration piece My Dear Old Familiar* *with apologies to Toni Morrison I now think that perhaps I have always …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 28
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06 Mar

Jay Young Gerard
and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard
and Lisa Nielsen

Lisa Nielsen “The Lake Has Two Faces” Inspiration piece The Beautiful Ugly By Jay Young Gerard Response Joan Crawford had blue eyes. Her real name was Lucille LaSueur. She was a …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 28
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06 Dec

Jay Young Gerard
and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard
and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerar “It Was Never A Dream” Response It’s That Dream By Lisa Nielsen Inspiration piece It’s that dream where you fly and the world is neither small nor large,  angels …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 27
Comments: 1
06 Dec

Lisa Nielsen and
Jay Young Gerard

Lisa Nielsen and
Jay Young Gerard

Jay Young Gerard “Rutherford” Inspiration piece Glass Houses By Lisa Nielsen Response Resolutions delayed and thinned by fatigue Fatigue stalled by breathing in the dust That lines the mirror Shadowed and necessary edges sharpened Everyone is …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 27
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02 Jun

Jay Young Gerard
and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard
and Lisa Nielsen

Jay Young Gerard Puppy Inspiration piece Both Sides of That Face By Lissa Nielsen Response I’ve been talking out both sides of my mouth, compromising the urge to flee with the imitation of …

 
By statenislandlisa
Filed under: SPARK 25
Comments: 1