Cover Reveal: Inhale the Night

I've absconded to a new blog at WordPress. Follow me there for more poetic ramblings https://benjaminditmars.wordpress.com/

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Join Ben Ditmars, author of Night Poems and Haiku in the Night, on his final journey through the Midnight hours. Explore and breathe with him as night descends and stars emerge into new memories. Through free-verse, epic, and haiku poetry, some roads are darker than others....

Release Date 10/10/14

Available for Preorder

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Blog Hoppin

Thanks to my friend Scott Morgan for tagging me on his blog WriteHook.  I’ve known Scott’s writing for some time and was lucky enough to meet him in Dallas last year.

Scott has asked me to answer some questions and pass them around to a couple friends. In the coming days Chris McQueeney and Nikki Sherman will answer these questions as well.

Read Scott’s responses here.

1. What am I working on?

I am currently working on a full-length poetry collection titled Inhale the Night.

2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?

Inhale the Night is my first full-length collection.  It has a wide variety of different styles ranging from free verse to haiku, tanka, and a short epic.  I don’t think I’ve seen so many elements work seamlessly together.

3. Why do I write what I do?

Recently, I have written poetry.  I like the challenge and the beauty in finding the right words.  I see things differently when I finish creating something and I hope others do too. Also, it keeps me from going crazy and that helps everyone.

4. How does my writing process work?

I’m very meticulous when I write.  People will tell you to just write and edit later, but I’ve never managed it.  If I see something wrong I stop and work it out.  I’m compulsive like that.

Pale Blue

In Memory of Carl Sagan

his pale blue
sense of wonder
suspended
in a sunbeam

taught beauty in
the faint sensation
of our atoms
put together.

a legacy of
dust and stars
billions upon billions
of stars

I saw the sky and
endless possibility
stretch over me like
broken shackles
form the past

and we remain the
momentary masters
of a fraction
of a dot.

© Ben Ditmars 2014

“Carl Sagan – 1980” by PBS – ebay. Via Wikipedia.

Lightning Burning

lightning never
sees its fire burning
the trees

absent and forlorn
as love can be.

I can feel your
thunder on the
mountainside.

we will tame
the ashes, fan the flames,
and the pray the sky
returns to calm
forgetful sleep.

© Ben Ditmars 2014

Image Source: Flickr

Lifelike

I wrote a poem inspired by Charity Parkerson's book, Inoperative: Cyborg One . Be sure and check out her awesome story on Amazon.


Lifelike

lifelike confessions
play out like make believe

your metal warms
against my skin
reprogramming resistance

fabricated sweet talk
counterfeit concern
become too real

and I am drawn
more willingly
than magnetized.

© Ben Ditmars 2014

Image Source: Flickr

Dreams

rain falls like
streams of our
subconscious
in a dream.

she was no
small dream
but she has faded
like a song.

paint your
dream town
red.

everything is
just a dream.

fall inside your
rabbit hole and
dream of cabbages
and kings.

scream my name -
make love like it’s
your dream because
it’s my dream too.

sweat and breathe
emotions as our
dreams connect

we will connect
and move like tides
of some forgotten shore
where dreams exist
in layers like the sand
and we can live forever.

©Ben Ditmars 2014

The Chocolate Book Tag Challenge

I've been invited to write a blog post about delicious books and chocolate.

Thank you to author Maria Savva for tagging me. You can read her blog here.

The rules are to choose between 6-8 types of chocolate and link them to different books.

Here it goes.

Nocturnal Embers

Nocturnal Embers by Helle Gade is fine and rich like Ferrero Rocher. The photographs and poetry are like magic on your tongue.

A Splash of Hope

Beautifully written and moving story with characters you can't forget. A Splash of Hope by Charity Parkerson is like chocolate covered cherries exploding in your mouth.

From the Cafe and Beyond

Milk-chocolate covered espresso beans capture the essence of From the Cafe and Beyond by Nadia Hasan. Her emotions are powerful and so is the espresso. Both keep you awake and wanting more.

Sandcastle and Other Stories

Sandcastle and Other Stories by Justin Bog sifts through your consciousness like the crumbles of a Butterfinger. These psychological thrilling stories are ones you don't want to miss - much like your next bite of chocolate delight.

Trailer Trash, With a Girl's Name

Stacey Roberts is talented and hilarious in his book Trailer Trash, With a Girl's Name. And what candy sounds more funny than Whoppers Malted Milk Balls?

Pulse

Pulse by Natasha Head bleeds words like the dripping chocolate of a rose. It is intense and memorable.

Now, I'd like to tag my partner in poetic crime, Chris.