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 fifth issue (Volume 3 - Number 2), 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 Joep Jilesen from this issue:

Seas of Air

Can a pear fall without bruising?

Eat it then with eyes closed.

Equally Mont-Saint-Michel cannot be reached

Unless seated on shoulders of fishermen. Fishermen, who gaze out to seas of wind

-Powered mills, which turn brackish vapors

faster and faster, make sea foam climb

Higher than breasts. Can Lucy look at herself without blushing?

Spiraling hurricanes cannot undo her cloud

-stretching, ready to reach the marble pinnacle

With her lips.

A poem by Judith Grace from this issue:

The Delightful Improbability of Dining Alone

Stirring the greens carefully seasoning them

Arranging them

On the white plate Shall I light a candle?

Lay out a cloth? Placing a rose from the bush

into the slender vase Sitting down with myself

My own beloved now All my old loves far behind