By Bruno Talerico
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Caw, caw, caw,a raven flutters, percheson my minds frozen windowsill.Lawn perfume on smoggy air;I fall through the trapdoorof my own thoughts.As I gaze through frosted glassI watch the old maplering its wind chimes.Is it natural to desire destructionof something you can never have?Trapped in the mind’s castle, warmedby flames flickering in the massive stone fireplace,I…
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Gray skies.Heavy days.Greed-heads running everything.Burning landscape. Suffering desertsurrounded by serrated peaks.Never touched by the heat of the day,they live in another climate.Glass and cooled corridors.Outside the limit of reason only the resilient survive.Closing the notebook.The moon rose.© 2025 Bruno TalericoStafford challenge 352/365.Image found online.
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Skritch skritch skritchof pen on paperno flaw, no hesitation. Words flow like water.Perfect phrasesstream like electrons.Tiny haiku:Bleeding petals ofpassionate mirrorsforever tangled.Everything forgottenwhere I am,why I’m here,where I’ve beenor would rather be.Peacock choruslawn perfumepure simple pleasure—fearless as Zen.© 2025 Bruno Talerico Stafford challenge 351/365.
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Our task is to see things right,not to set them right.People are in our life for a reason,(not necessarily the one we expect).The first person to talk toabout anything to do with you—is you.Other people’s behavior toward youis a brief glimpse of their relationshipwith themselves.Their reaction to youdoesn’t define your journey.The feeling that you’re missing…
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On the last day of 2026,I want the world to look back and say—2026 was the year of hope,the year of transformation.A Transformation.from conformity to resistancefrom greed to generosityfrom corruption to integritywhen every vote is fairly counted.A Transition.from ideology to evidencefrom division to unityfrom barbed wire—to invitations: long tables, extra plates—a place for everyone.A Passage.…
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He peers looking with all his might.Something unfamiliar appears.Something beautiful, something exciting,something new.Amazed at the wonder of unexpected change,he realizes the powerof occasionally gazingwith all his mightin another direction.© 2025 Bruno TalericoStafford challenge 348/365.
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It is important to do meaningful things, even when you don’t get paid right away.I don’t smile on cueand say it’s healthysometimes I choose difficult things—pulling weeds, shoveling manure—not glamorous, but necessary.I want to be busy.I want to be challenged.I want to be fascinated. Just because I’m dirty, sweaty,and I curse under my breath,don’t assume…
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I watch highlighted pages ignite,as I burn my spiritual books.I declare I am a non-believer.I am not agnostic or fence-sitting.Atheist is too political.Secular humanist is the nearest labelfor my non-belief.I’ve wasted a lot of my timeexploring belief systems that didn’t fit.The sweet smell of paper burning—prior certainty fading—scents the cool night breeze.I do not believe…
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Sky-scraping monoliths abrade the atmosphere like coarse sandpapercreating grandlifeless canyons.© 2025 Bruno Talerico Stafford challenge 345/365.
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Oozing crimsonfrom fresh scratches tracking down my bare shin.Chill morning air seepinginto ancient bones and jointsdark brew steaming—an orange sphere risingover the chipped rim.Calico and tuxedo kittensplayfully climb my legsas if they are trees.© 2025 Bruno TalericoStafford challenge 344/365.
Desert Dweller 