I’m honored to announce that my poem, “If it Comes to Pass,” has been published today on Masticadores Philippines. I want to thank Michelle Ayon Navajas for publishing it. Masticadores Philippines is a new member of the Masticadores family of online literary magazines. Please visit and show them your support.
I’m thrilled to announce that my poem, “Supernatural,” has been published today on Masticadores USA. I want to thank Barbara Harris Leonhard for publishing it. Please visit Masticadores USA and show them your support. Thanks!
Supernatural
by Dawn Pisturino
When you held my hand
your fingers felt limp and cold
like a corpse reaching out from its coffin.
When you called me dear
your voice sounded thin and hollow
distant and indistinct
like a shadow calling out from beyond the grave. . .
I had intended to honor Earth Day (Monday, April 22, 2024) in the United States by planting trees and tomatoes and sprucing up my garden. I support the National Arbor Day Foundation, which promotes planting trees to combat CO2 emissions and climate change. As soon as my back felt better, I planted orange, lemon, lime, and avocado trees (one each), bought 9 tomato and 2 lavender plants, 2 cherry trees, and 2 green seedless grape vines. It means a higher water bill (the county raised our water rates to discourage overuse), but trees cool warm temperatures, act as windbreaks, and improve the habitat for birds and other wildlife. My husband is obsessed with growing some of our own food, and I enjoy the exercise and hard work outdoors. I use as little water as I can to maintain the plants that I grow.
Recently, we received word that a predatory land developer wants to build a 3,000-home, high-density housing development down the road from us. My husband and I have lived here since the 1980s. This isn’t the first time we’ve been confronted with this type of development, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Our community has successfully fought incorporation, housing developments, and agricultural projects that sucked up water and caused dust storms across the valley. The county board of supervisors approved a much smaller development on the south side of our valley two years ago, and we’ve had problems with our water system ever since. Approving the smaller one paved the way for them to possibly approve the much larger one. Local residents are outraged because we live in an agricultural/residential zone, and the developer wants city-size lots in a rural area that is all desert. It’s irresponsible, environmentally unfriendly, and threatens our precious water resources.
So, I am using Earth Day to fight the county board of supervisors, the predatory land developer, and anybody else who wants to destroy our precious water. I’ve been using my writing skills (take note, all you writers out there!) to contact state and federal agencies, politicians, journalists, environmental groups, and anybody interested in protecting our water. Exposing the flippant attitude about water resources held by members of our county board of supervisors and taking advantage of the pro-water climate in Phoenix, is my main strategy. It’s an important issue among Arizona voters, and if these clowns want to stay in office, they’d better address it. I’m a registered Independent. I do not support any political party, and I’m willing to work with anybody who will help address this issue. Once you go down the path of unreasonable, greed-driven over-development, and all of its consequences, it’s almost impossible to go back. That’s why we have so many communities struggling to survive. The boom-and-bust phenomenon is real.
Here’s my Letter to the Editor, which I sent to the local newspapers and every member of the board of supervisors:
“Water concerns are one of the top issues for voters in Arizona, and they span the entire political spectrum. Attorney General Kris Mayes has launched an effort to protect groundwater aquifers in Arizona. The Mohave County Board of Supervisors must do the same. The 3,000-home, high-density housing development proposed by Angle Homes/Pennington will put stress on the current water system and affect the Sacramento Valley Basin aquifer. It will be an environmentally unfriendly development that residents in the area oppose. The density is out of character within the neighborhood and creates problems with traffic congestion, pollution, overpopulation, and water. Golden Valley is growing naturally on its own. We don’t need or want forced development threatening our water supplies and ecological system. Our community belongs to us – not the Mohave County Board of Supervisors – and they have a duty to respect and honor the residents in the valley. I have reported the situation to the Arizona Dept. of Water Resources, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, AG Kris Mayes’ office, Gov. Katie Hobbs’ office, our senators and reps at the state and federal levels, the Arizona Water Assoc., and reporter Brandon Loomis at the Arizona Republic. Water is our most precious resource. Save our water! Say NO to Angle Homes.”
My husband and I will attend the BOS meeting on May 6th, along with all other concerned residents. Signs are already popping up to oppose the project.
Wish us luck!
Dawn Pisturino
April 21, 2024
Copyright 2024 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
[NOTE: I’ve been inundated with emails, comments, and notifications. I am slowly catching up. Thank you for your patience!]
As most of you know, I was voted Author of the Month for March 2024 on Spillwords Press — thanks to all of you! Today, my interview with them is live. Check it out here:
Thank you so much! Have a beautiful, flower-filled April day! Our cactuses are already starting to bloom. And while you’re at it, please check out my author website: https://www.dawnpisturino.org.
Dawn Pisturino
April 18, 2024
Copyright 2024 Spillwords Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2024 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
I want to give a big THANK YOU to editor extraordinaire Barbara Harris Leonhard for publishing my poem, “Summer Eden,” today on Masticadores USA and sharing my book, Ariel’s Song: Published Poems: 1987 -2023,” with all of her readers. I feel truly honored to be part of the international Masticadores family.
“Summer Eden” is included in my first poetry collection, Ariel’s Song: Published Poems, 1987 – 2023, available in paperback and Ebook on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Kobo, Lulu, Smashwords, and more!
Thank you for visiting! Have a spectacular day!
Dawn Pisturino
April 15, 2024
Copyright 2024 Masticadores USA. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2024 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
I was so touched this morning to find out that Thomas Wikman, author of The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Lowenhohle (Amazon link https://a.co/d/6M2SdtH), had written a review of my first poetry book. Thomas is a dog lover who writes about his experiences with his Leonberger, Bronco, and the other dogs who form a part of his family. His blog is a delightful read, and I highly recommend it.
Please go HERE to read his touching review and to learn more about Leonbergers – a breed I had never heard of until I discovered his blog.
Have a beautiful weekend!
Dawn Pisturino
April 13, 2024
Copyright 2024 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
Walmart isn’t the first place I think of to buy books, but what the heck! Anything is worth a try, right? My husband and I like to browse Barnes & Noble when we go to Henderson/Las Vegas. I buy books on Amazon, too. In Flagstaff, I like to visit Barnes & Noble and Bookman’s Used Books.
Where do you enjoy browsing and buying books?
Dawn Pisturino
April 12, 2024
Copyright 2024 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Walmart, and other fine retailers and platforms.
(Graphic by Michelle Ayon Navajas of Poetry by Mich – Thanks, Michelle!
I’ve been absent the last couple of days because I injured my back. The pain was terrible, and I could barely walk. I’ve been resting and taking muscle relaxers and ibuprofen. I’m much better now. And our spring weather finally seems sustainable. It’s 73 degrees, sunny, and clear. I sat on the porch last night until 8 pm and watched the stars come out.
~
The exciting news is that my Ebook of Ariel’s Song: Published Poems, 1987 -2023, is now available on a new book club social networking platform called Fable. The company is based in Palo Alto, California (Silicon Valley.) I never heard of it until Draft2Digital emailed me and let me know that my book could be listed there. Of course, I agreed. Here’s the link:
With National Poetry Month in full swing, I’m pleased to share that my first poetry book, Ariel’s Song: Published Poems, 1987 – 2023, is now available in paperback on Barnes & Noble.
It’s 35 degrees this morning where I live in Northern Arizona – too cold for April! In fact, this has been the coldest April I can remember. I’m thrilled to share that my poem, “Springtime,” has been published today on Gobblers & Masticadores. Thank you, Manuela Timofte, for publishing it! The poem addresses how winter lingers on while Spring tries to settle in. Please visit Masticadores and show them your support.
Springtime
by Dawn Pisturino
Springtime struggles to survive
The clasping arms of winter,
Stirring up the honey-hive
And bringing forth the flower.
She hastens to restore the sun:
The melting snows recede;
And when the sap begins to run,
The worm returns to feed. . .
Please click HERE to read the rest of the poem. Thanks!
“Springtime” is included in my new poetry collection, Ariel’s Song: Published Poems, 1987 – 2023. It was originally published in the World Poetry Anthology (1987) and the Best New Poets of 1988 anthology.
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