All Things, New and Old 

 

 

    2007 is officially gone.  Welcome 2008!

 

    There are plenty of things to remember about the past year.  I won’t be going over them here, though.  Instead, I’ll be taking some time to preview what’s ahead for 2008...at least as it specifically involves The Coffee Press Journal.

    After experimenting with a few different formats over the years, it has been decided to try something new that both makes sense and could make the majority of readers happy.  That is, beginning with this issue, there will be TWO VERSIONS of each issue of The Coffee Press Journal!
    One version is a throwback to one of the ways we used to post poetry on our website.  Many of you will remember the format...poems on a web page, with links at the bottom to “Last Page” or “Next Page”.  You will find this format exists again, as a TOTALLY FREE version of The Coffee Press Journal that everyone can view.
    The other version is what we’ve been doing for more than a year:  making a downloadable and printable PDF version of each issue, which has a better (read “truer”, perhaps) magazine feel to it.  This version, however, is going to be AD-FREE, and made available to our subscribers.
    Overall, we think this will make The Coffee Press Journal more appealing to a broader set of readers.  Our goal, of course, is to make TheCPJ available to more and more authors and readers.  At the same time, there are, of course, real costs associated with what we do here.  So, the back-and-forth has (hopefully) been solved, at least for now.

    We’ve also made some changes to the layout of the website.  Some of the links have been renamed and some graphics have been changed or moved.  Content-wise, revisions have been made to our submission guidelines and subscription benefits.

    To add to the sense of “community” here at  The Coffee Press Journal, we plan on implementing a message board in the near future!  We’d like to see our authors stay in better contact, as well as have a place to mutually encourage, assist, direct, and create!  We hope this new addition will be a huge hit!

    One final change we’ve made is a big one…we are bringing back our POETRY CONTEST!  We’ll be announcing themes and prizes for our first contest of 2008 during the first week of January.

    Of course, your comments and suggestions are always welcome.  Please email them to "editor at coffeepressjournal dot com".

    Cheers!

    =jb=

    James M. Brown, Editor
    The Coffee Press Journal

"The Road To Me" 

 

Many years it has been
Since my being first began
This vehicle I did not choose
Yet doomed/destined to travel in

 

Driving frustratedly, my youth
As many do, tried to move
Faster than the limit allowed
And still, at times, pay for it

 

Each off-ramp and on-ramp
On this highway of time
Sometimes off, sometimes not
The offs too often, too long

 

Stretching out, the highway
Weaves predictably at times
And at others, surprises appear
Just around the next bend

 

The warrantee, no regrets
In opting for the extended version
The way I drive, though,
There will be no trade-in value

 

Each sign pointing the way
To one place or experience
Or state of being or acting
Or loving or striving or else

 

Creativity, procreative,
Inventive, inventories
Of nothing anyone cares for
What of the uglier destinations?

 

What luggage is packed!
After all, I am the master
God only knows what sits
On or next to what in the trunk

 

A clearer windshield, a wish
Not granted, per the norm
I get to host dim fore-vision
Yet my rear-views are crystal

 

The radio plays on and on
Audience of one, mostly...
Mostly when nobody else
Is here to share the rhythm

 

Always time for top down
For volume up, and—guess?—
Pedals often “to the metal”
More than up and at rest

 

So, why contemplate each bend?
Whether behind or ahead
It is all to enjoy, for joy, in this
Ultimate lifelong roadtrip

 

Knowing me, as you now do,
Thirsty always to understand
Hoping more to ‘get it’ than
To make good time on the trip

 

Parked at this peak, this night
Stars and valley and you
Here, sharing, my outlook
On this highway, the road to Me.

 

Cheers!

 

=jb=

James M. Brown, Editor
The Coffee Press Journal