Paint shades of love with flower words.

Praise nature with the wings of birds.

Heal wounds with liniments of calm.

Show Death that living is the balm.

Brave politicians when they’re wrong.

Uplift the soul with rousing song.

Caress the ear with velvet sound.

Convince the lost that they are found.

Carolyn Raphael retired from the English Department at Queensborough Community College, CUNY, after more than thirty years of teaching. Her poems have appeared in journals including The Lyric, Measure, Oberon, Blue Unicorn, Long Island Quarterly, and on the Newington-Cropsey Cultural Studies website for the American Arts Quarterly, where her poem, Honorable Mention, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her chapbook, Diagrams of Bittersweet, was published by Somers Rock Press in 1997. Her poetry collection, The Most Beautiful Room in the World, was published by David Robert Books in 2010, and her second collection, Dancing with Bare Feet, was published by Kelsay/White Violet Press in 2016. A chapbook, Grandma Poems—Not Too Sweet, was published by Kelsay Books/Aldrich Press in late 2017. Her newest book Travelers on My Route was published on March 2, 2023 by Kelsay Books.