Now Appearing Online
Three of Fran's poems were published in The Ravens Perch online on April 3, 2024. Click on the titles to read. They are: What Stories Await You? based on a prompt from a class with Ann Quinn, Woman in the Glass based on a prompt from Quince Orchard Poetry Writing Group, and Surgical Removal.
Two of my poems--"Baking Lesson," an Abecedarian poem, and "Breakfast Multiplied," are included in the January 2024 issue of Pen In Hand, the journal of the Maryland Writers' Association. Look for them on pages 39 and 40 at this link: https://marylandwriters.starchapter.com/.../PIH... As always, a wonderful collection of work by Maryland authors.
Two of Fran's poems are included in The Aerial Perspective published by Quillkeepers Press who also published her second chapbook "Arranging Words." You can find these two poems titled "The Empty Place" and "Rest in Peace" on pages 19 and 20 https://www.quillkeeperspress.com/.../1-4-4th-quarter-2023 These are sonnets, a form she has been working on recently.
Fran's poem called "When We Each Bring a Dish" won First Runner-Up in Washington Writers' Publishing House 2023 Holiday Poems Contest. You can read the poem and the judge's comments here.
Fran's poems, "Follow the Directions" and "Paper Fan" were published by Mid-Atlantic Review. You can read them here.
Fran's poem titled "Flying Away" was published in Gargoyle Magazine Online #6. Read it here. This poem received a Pushcart Prize nomination from the publisher, considered an honor although it was not awarded a prize.
Two of Fran's poems were published in the July 2023 edition of Pen in Hand, the Literary Journal of Maryland Writers' Association. They are "Please Come Clean" on page 25 and "Greetings from the ATM" on page 26. Read them here or purchase a copy of the journal online at Amazon.com
Fran's poem titled "Classifications" was selected by Washington Writers' Publishing House for publication on July 11, 2023, in its "Tiny Poems Special Edition." Click here to see all the tiny poems.
Two of Fran's poems were published in the January 2023 edition of Pen in Hand, the Literary Journal of Maryland Writers' Association. They are "Selective Memory" on page 23 and "Rewinding History" on page 24. Read them here or or purchase a copy of the journal online at Amazon.com
On July 4, 2023, four of Fran's poems were published online at The Ravens Perch. Read them by clicking on the titles. On the Corner, Mother, Please, Pressing Matters, and Mirror, Mirror.
On April 1, 2023, Fran was named Storyteller of the Week on the Storyteller Poetry Review Blog and five of her narrative poems were featured. Read the poems here.
Three of Fran's poems appear in the December 2022 issue of The Write Launch Literary Magazine. They are "Death Means Not Sleeping," Ghazal from a Bottle," and "On Tuesdays." Read them here.
Two of Fran's poems were published on October 21, 2022, in Bourgeon Online. They are "In Love With Blue" and "New in September 2022." Read them here.
Four of Fran's poems are included in the June edition of arlijo.com (Arlington Literary Journal) Issue 161. They are: "Silver soup spoon," "This Poem Takes You to the Ocean," "Yellow Daffodils," and "Reflection." You can read them here.
Three of Fran's poems appear in Bourgeon Online. These poems about nature are "Trees Know," "Sudden Downpour," and "Last Seen Wearing." You can read them here.
Fran’s poem titled “Plumbing Parts” appears in the May issue of Hill Rag. Read it here. Use the arrows to turn to page 80 and look for the heading THE POETIC HILL.
Two of Fran's poems -- "The Price of Ignorance" and "Mailbox," are included in the April issue of Cathexis Northwest Press here. You can also hear Fran read these poems out loud at this link.
Fran's poems about books and libraries have been published online at The Library Love Letter. Read them here: https://libraryloveletter.com/letters/lettersone/ Her poems are titled "Stories Under the Porch" and "Ode to the Public Library."
Fran's poem titled "Newton's Third Law" appears in the January 2022 edition of The American Journal of Poetry. Read it here.
Fran's poem titled "It's Pi Every Time" is included in MacQueen's Quinterly Literary Magazine, January 2022, available to read here.
Fran's poem titled "Waiting for Snow" was named the winner of Washington Writers Publishing House first WWPH WRITES THE HOLIDAY CONTEST. Read the Editor's Comment and the poem here.
Three of Fran's poems appeared on September 10, 2021 in the bi-weekly journal of the Washington Writers Publishing House. They are titled "Safe," "Queue," and "Endings." Read them here.
Fran has three poems posted online at The Ravens Perch. The poems are "A Dream State," "No One Wanted to Get Involved," and "Celsius vs. Fahrenheit." Click on titles to read.
Fran's poem titled "Pandemic Survival" appears in the June 2021 issue of Cathexis-Northwest Press here.
Fran's poem titled "Words I Write" has been published by Bourgeononline.com. You can read it here.
The Winter 2021 Bulletin of Alan Squire Publishing includes two of Fran's poems. Her poem titled "Inventing a Vaccine" can be found here. Her poem titled "Speaking with Strangers While Shopping" can be read here.
Now in Print
Fran's poem titled "I Want to Order a Man from the Sweets Catalogue" is included in the 15th anniversary edition of Delmarva Review published in November 2022. Her poem is in the Cento form and takes its words from sweets.construction.com.
Fran's poems titled "Outside After Staying In" and "Lost Days" have been published in Poems for the Lockdown 2.022, an anthology from Willowdown Books available from Amazon here.
Fran’s poem “Do Not Throw Fish” is included in a collection of poems written by Maryland poets titled Maryland Bards Poetry Review 2022, published by Local Gems. Purchase a copy here.
Fran’s poem titled “For the People of Ukraine” appears in a collection titled Support Ukraine published by Moonstone Arts Center. Available for purchase here. All proceeds benefit humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
Fran's poem titled "Baggage" has been published in an anthology titled Poetica 4 by Clarendon House Publications. It is available from Amazon in paperback and on Kindle here.
Fran's poem titled "Complicit" has been published in Gargoyle 74, a publication of Paycock Press published annually. This edition includes over 400 pages of poetry, fiction, nonfiction and art. Fran's poem appears on page 50. You can purchase a copy at gargoylepaycock.wordpress.com.
Fran's poem called 'After "Hello"' is part of the Moonstone Arts Center 25th Annual Poetry Ink 2021 collection. Her poem is found on page 4 in this almost 300-page anthology. Books can be purchased at moonstoneartscenter.org.
Fran's poem called "Yellow Envelopes" has been published in an anthology titled Poetica 3 by Clarendon House Publications. It is available from Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.
Fran's poem titled "Nostalgia" appears in the March 2021 collection called Love and the Pandemic available for purchase from Moonstone Arts Center here.
Fran's poem titled "Highly-Developed Humans" is included in a collection of poetry written by Maryland poets called Maryland Bards Poetry Review 2020, published by Local Gems. You can make preorder purchases here.
Now available from Washington Writers' Publishing House (washingtonwriters.org) is a new anthology called This is What America Looks Like. Fran's poem titled "The Circus is Here" is included in this collection of 100 poets and fiction writers from DC, Maryland and Virginia.
Fran's poem titled "The Heart of Power" is included in a collection titled It Can't Happen Here, Reflections of January 6, 2021, published by Moonstone Arts Center. Available for purchase here.
Fran's poem titled "Antidote for Lonely" has been published in an anthology titled Poetica 2 by Clarendon House Publications. It is available from Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.
Fran’s poem titled “A Prayer for Our Nation” is included in a poetry collection titled Not Our President 2020 published by Moonstone Arts Center in Philadelphia. This chapbook is available for purchase ($10 plus shipping) from Moonstone Arts Center here.
Fran's poem titled "Awake at Dawn" appears in a collection called Diversity, a poetry collection by Wingless Dreamer. The title comes not from the topics of the poems, but from the fact that the poets come from around the world. It is available from Amazon in paperback and on Kindle. Here is Fran's poem --
Awake at Dawn
A quick look out the window
becomes a long moment
watching snowflakes drifting past.
An inch of snow now covers
every surface, blurring
features of cars and trees.
Flagstones under white disguise,
only a slight depression
shows the path.
As snow collects,
the street out front disappears,
telling us we have no place to go.
Soon every surface will be smooth,
some with soft furls where the wind
has swept its hand across the drifts.
How I wish it were that simple
to smooth away the cares on your face,
with my cool hand swept across your brow.
Three of Fran's poems about the pandemic were published in August 2020 on The Song Is . . . blog. Read them here. One of them, titled “Pandemic Guidance,” is shown below.
Pandemic Guidance
A global pandemic, a deadly virus
spread by breath or touch.
Keep six feet away from other people.
Why not eight or ten?
We're making it up as we go.
Wear face coverings when out in public
officials decree.
Overnight, face masks with pictures
of kittens and puppies, sports teams and more
are offered for purchase online.
We’re making it up as we go.
Stay at home governors order.
Good choice to work from home.
Set up an office wherever there’s space.
Now there’s a shortage of power strips for sale.
We’re making it up as we go.
Professional sports teams debate
playing to empty stands.
Already 100,000 individuals have died
in the United States,
enough people to fill all the seats
in Yankee stadium
two times over.
I wish I was making this up.
Here are some examples of poems I have had published in online journals.
A poem I wrote about the pandemic, titled The Old Woman Stays Home, was published online April 18, 2020, at Verse-Virtual. Read it here http://www.verse-virtual.org/2020/Pandemic/fran-abrams-2020-pandemic.html
When Siri and Alexa go out to lunch
Appeared in Work Literary Magazine
http://www.workliterarymagazine.com/submission/fran-abrams-4-6-2020/
When Siri and Alexa go out to lunch
they always eat at the best restaurants
and never wait in line
They enjoy themselves sharing stories
about the questions people ask.
Alexa, what is the location of the fountain of youth?
Siri, where did I leave my striped boxers?
They laugh knowing that their high-paying jobs
had to be filled by women. Of course.
Who else knows all the answers?
Should you contact Siri while she is out,
you will learn that the weather
in Minneapolis is 40 degrees and sunny,
even if that's not what you wanted to know.
While Alexa is at lunch, every question
will be answered with
I am away from my desk.
Please contact my Google Assistant.
When Alexa and Siri walk out of the restaurant,
they leave behind only a trail of electrons
Three Questions
Appeared in Cathexis Northwest Press
https://www.cathexisnorthwestpress.com/post/three-questions
Three Questions
Why is the sun so hot?
Hell is not down. The sun is the home of the devil
Does the moon have memories?
The moon remembers all that tides wash away.
Do the stars shine for everyone?
Stars shine only for those willing to wait
For the light to reach them.
Silent Movie
Appeared at Passaic-Voluspa.org
https://passaic-voluspa.org/2019/05/03/silent-movie/
Silent Movie
A dragon with tears in his eyes
follows me through my dreams
Not a threatening dragon, I’m sure
he wants to be my friend
With one claw, he gently pulls back
the edge of the screen
where my dreams are projected
He peeks around the side as if to say
Am I not an actor in your dreams?
My dragon is behind the scenes
Perhaps he shares my flawed social skills
Does he recognize I am the last to know
about a friend’s engagement
The one to whom they say
Didn’t you hear about the party?
My dragon is not on the screen
He shares memories I don’t want to recall
the one who was never in fashion
wearing clothes sewn at home
The one to whom it was said
Don’t you want to be part of our fashion club?
My dragon, always a step behind
doesn’t know his lines
never feels quite included
I wake up thinking of him
with tears in my eyes