The Touch: Poems & Prose

By Aurore Leigh Barrett

Fear Not my dear, Fear not of me
Fear Not for fear shall not help thee
The time is short, my plans are made
Your casket shall be trimmed with jade.

Thus begins Aurore Leigh Barretts poem, Fear Not an homage to one of her favorite poets, Edgar Allan Poe. It masterfully combines the macabre with the humorous. This stellar work, which Poe, no doubt, would wish he had written, is just one of a few poems in this current collection written in his honor and one of many poems you will find that ably represent Barretts enormous talent.

This collection of poems and stories by Aurore Leigh Barrett invites you to step into the world of this creative artist, and sample the breadth and depth of her literary world. Rather than being an exhaustive representation of a solitary style or mood, this book is a buffet of delights as it takes you from the lows of her loneliness to the heights of her happiness - from the dark and scary side of her imagination to the forthright and intelligent adventures of her alter-ego, Holly Hedges Whistler.

Through it all, we share in her view of the world, and the way she makes the most of every day this life has to offer. In Stardust, Barrett tells how she begins each day - throwing a spoonful of stardust into the wind. The Stardust flies, the light sparkles, the grass begins to twinkle as the blades catch each falling star, and the flowers bow their heads as if to receive this glistening gift.

As Barrett lays bare her feelings, she tells us that writing is a beautiful sweet torture of the soul. She tells us that writing is the pain of pulling away precious bits of memory or time. It is the quickening of birth within the loins of creation. It is the delicious ecstasy of desire that only I can satisfy.

Welcome to her world. This all-too-brief collection of Aurore Leigh Barretts writing will leave you hungry for more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Oct 9, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491707401

Aurore Leigh Barrett

Aurore Leigh Barrett is first and foremost a writer and poet. When not writing, she is a Life and Creativity Coach, and a student of Celtic history and lore. She lives in Las Vegas where she runs a small business with her husband and fellow writer, David St. John.

Book preview

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My Celtic Muse

My Celtic Muse

She speaks to me

I must write

I must fill the

blank page

with my thoughts

I pick up my

purple pen

with the purple ink

And I start to

slowly glide

across the page

The ink flows

easily from my pen

And the words

come quickly

as the pages fill

with the purple ink

Do the words say anything

anything of substance?

That is for the reader

to decide

But as for me,

I fill the sheets

with the purple ink

and go forward into

wherever the Muse

takes me

For I am hers

And she is my teacher

Flow ink—flow

onto the pages

And let the Celtic Muse

have her way—

For I—nay we—wait

for that breakthrough

of flowing words

on a blank page.

What is it to Write?

Is it a driving urge to cross a vast wasteland of

        emptiness

        driving, moving, inching this bit of graphite

        across an empty tablet of nothingness?

Is it a method of pouring out the soul upon the

        virgin land lying on a desk before me?

Is it the desecration that only I can do upon the

        pages of this book I call mine?

Is it all these things…

        all that I see, feel, touch,

        hear, know and think?

Is it me…

        Open…

                and with beauty or ugliness…

                pain or ecstasy?

Writing is a beautiful sweet torture of the soul.

It is the pain of pulling away precious bits of

        memory or time.

It is the quickening of birth within the loins of

        creation.

It is the delicious ecstasy of desire that only I

        can satisfy.

Grace, Love, Gratitude

The soaring feeling

hits just below the waist

It is so deep I could

        scream—yet I don’t.

Instead I say a prayer for

        strength—strength

        to bear this soaring pain

With grace, love, and gratitude.

It is easy to know

        when it will hit

Just stand long enough

        walk too far—

And the soaring feeling

        strikes just below the waist.

Good Thoughts

Keep it quiet

Keep it still

The quiet gives me time to think

Too much noise creates

        an atmosphere of chaos

And with the noise I       

        cannot hear

My thoughts that move

        through my mind

Thoughts so important to me.

Thoughts can be used

        for a creative life

Thoughts can be all we

        hear and see

But good thoughts are necessary

        if we are to create

Good thoughts we need—

And to hear the good thoughts

        we need the quiet.

I Set a Place for You Today

I set a place for you today,

        on a linen cloth of

        snowy white…

I used my china, the one you like,

I thought that you would come tonight.

The candles were fresh,

        the flowers too.

Warm food on the stove,

        waiting for you.

I set a place on my oak tabletop.

The Enchantress

The Enchantress lives

        within me—

She is hidden deep

        from view

I don’t let others see her

        There’s nothing I can do—

She is mine and mine alone

She is here—where I call home

She is inside those hidden places

She is moving through empty