The Day Barque

The Day Barque is a review of poetry, prose and works of art exploring the age-old quest for the divinity within. It focuses on the moment-to-moment struggle to connect with that which is timeless and eternal while being bound by time in an earthly body.

The Day Barque is published bi-annually by the Apollo Poetry Society in the foothills of Northern California. The Day Barque contains poems, stories, paintings, drawings, and other works of art from contributors worldwide, all of whom are actively involved in the effort of being present, also known as self-remembering, mindfulness, self-inquiry, prayer of the heart, and know thyself, among many other names.

Our central theme-the journey of the seeker to awaken from sleep-is that at the heart of all the world's great traditions, including Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Jewish, Sufi, Egyptian, Mesoamerican, Stoic, Platonic, Non-Dualist, the Fourth Way, as well as the principal subject of the world's epics, myths, and fairy tales. In this second issue (Volume 2 - Number 1), we feature contributions from poets, writers, and artists from Rome, Athens, Moscow, Istanbul, London, Prague, Ahmedabad, Cairo, and Apollo, California.

Here is a poem by Jo Anna Mortensen from this issue:

THE GREAT LAND

I want to hide between the wind's fingers.

I want that vast turquoise lake to thirst for my return.

I want to catch up on the fireweed's gossip

and search the dall sheep's gaze for secrets.

That the child may wander without betraying

the name of her creamy-barked birch;

that she will be awake first and her bare feet

memorize pebbles and the cool licks of waves.

Can you see fog coveting morning's colors

scheming to pocket the lake's beauty?

Sunlight rebuffs this mischief;

whips violet and gold across the water.

But do not wake the stranger sleeping on ferns

or let the vole strip bark from the birch;

nudge me if the Great One appears

sobering, shattering, immense in the midnight sun.