BARBARA F. LEFCOWITZ
The Limbs

the amputated tree limbs
dumped in the backs of trucks
that block city traffic all afternoon,
branches with leaves still abundantly green,
will never become violas or totem poles
popsicle sticks coffins carved rockingchairs 

none will return from exile, recover from 
the vertigo that comes from loss of contact
with the ground, sway in a breeze again, 
take in stray birds, wear corsages
of iceflowers with slivered petals
that break and fall to make their own music

none will know in whatever way trees know
tomorrow's rain, the color of next summer's sky,
whether the trunk from which they were cut
feels any phantom pain
in the empty spaces still shaped to fit
missing loops and curves

stalled in traffic we curse
both the trucks and the trees themselves
for such wealth of branches despite city air
that they threaten antennae and telephone wires
strings of messages from parallel worlds
with just shadows of trees and cars

and the men who continue their raucous cutting
dumping limb on top of limb
some still writhing
will never offer anaesthesia 
or dream about the pain of trees,
a sharp dark green pain, 
feel guilt for doing
what they were paid to do.

Murder of the First

(Greencastle, IN) Given the recent tragedies our country has faced, it seems almost everyone has revenge
on the mind. What can we accept as just punishment and where do we draw the line? If the outcome is an
end to universal suffering, is the act - no matter how evil - ultimately forgiven? Ward Kelley throws us all
in the jury in Divine Murder (Word Wrangler, ISBN: 1-58630-084-9, May 2001, $18.95), where he
asks the main characters, Warren and Zoe, to assassinate God.

After 14 years of marriage, Warren and Zoe have grown bored with their lives . . . until the very ocean they
are vacationing at disappears. The couple traverses into another universe where among other things, two 
near-perfect beings confront them with a plan to murder God. From devils to angels, from earth and beyond,
the couple must single-handedly decide what is best for mankind, and whether they are capable of carrying
out what must be done. As their guardians try to convince them to execute the plan, we find Warren and Zoe
anxiously attending “the most extraordinary lecture of their lives.”  

Now more than ever, we as a nation are attuned to these characters and their dilemma. We have been
forced to accept the sacrifice of life to make amends for those that have suffered. Just as President Bush
was faced with a difficult decision after the tragic events of September 11, the characters in Divine Murder
must decide if they can kill in order to rid the world of suffering . . . a suffering world that was created for
mankind by God. Toward the end of the novel, as the characters witness the earth's destruction, Kelley 
explicitly mentions New York, and the two towers we have all come to know as everlasting monuments 
and symbols of freedom.

Ward Kelley aptly considers his book “theological science-fiction,” saying, “it's a search for God . . . by going
to the opposite extreme.” This search for God reverts to an adventure including what Kelley's publisher 
describes as “the most sinister plot known to humanity.” In fact, the publisher is so sure readers will enjoy 
the book Word Wrangler has offered a money-back guarantee to anyone dissatisfied with the read. 

Kelley and his wife live outside Indianapolis with their four adopted daughters. He is a 51-year-old business
executive and poet who has seen more than 1200 of his poems appear in journals worldwide. 

“ I thoroughly recommend this compelling story concerning the divine, the diabolical and the struggles of 
two mortals to discover their momentous destiny.”
		Poetry Life & Times, Sara Russell

“Ward Kelley's Divine Murder is an odyssey on par with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. It is a playground for
temptation and  a test of moral cues.”
		Janet Buck Ph.D., author of Calamity's Quilt and Reefs We Live

To request a review copy of Divine Murder or to schedule an interview with the author, please 
contact Ward Kelley at (765) 653-5889 or send an email to Ward708@aol.com.