The Singing Stone by Bradley Thomas

In a flowing brook bed 
Water rushed over 
A large smooth black stone 
Embedded above the other smaller ones 

You could hear the water 
Gently breaking against it 
The trees spoke in the wind 
Amid the dusk sun bathed flowers 

In the evening light 
The song of the stone remains the same 
A treasured memory 
Of a calm fall evening







Bradley Thomas was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He received his B.A. degree from Georgia State University in Business Administration. He was an inspections manager for the government of Fulton County, Georgia. On the weekends, he played electric bass for a top forties cover band and he currently plays electric bass for his church. He is the author of the book Conversations and the chapbook The Breath of the Land. Thomas’s poems have appeared in Rattle, the poetry anthology books Whispers of Inspiration, The Colors of Life, and online e-zines such as Poppy Road Review, Your Daily Poem, SubtleTea.com, and Black Hills Audubon Society.

The Photograph by Bradley Thomas

In a bowl of Victorian design 
Black cherries overflow its rim 
Spilling across the table on a paisley table cloth 
Highlighted in a low light atmosphere 

A moment created for a renaissance feel 
A reversal of perception of time 
The illusion of a placid history 
Through the medium of a precision image 

Planned, choreographed, and presented 
To ease the mind through the eyes 
An invitation to imbibe 
In a work of the ethereal 

Through a trust of its spirit 
To look at old ideas 
And entertain a few concepts 
Of a new future







Bradley Thomas was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana.  He received a B.A. for Georgia State University in Business Administration.  He was an inspections manager for the government of Fulton County, Georgia.  Bradley’s poems have appeared in the poem anthology book Whispers of Inspiration and on online e-zines such as SubtleTea.com, Your Daily Poem, and Poppy Road Review.  He is the author of the poetry books ‘The Breath of the Land’ and ‘Conversations’.

Silent Beauty by Bradley Thomas

Raindrops shimmer on the rose bush leaves
In the evening as the summer sun
Gently falls behind the clouds
The first rose of spring sheds its bloom
After the midsummer afternoon rain
As many more unopened rose buds 
Wait their turn to blossom in their season
Silent beauty waves in the breeze
Amid the ordinary and the useful in the garden
The chaotic and bustling life in the town
The world still keeps to its own
Leaving silent beauty alone
To have a place to dwell on earth







Bradley Thomas was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana.  He received a B.A. for Georgia State University in Business Administration.  He was an inspections manager for the government of Fulton County, Georgia.  Bradley’s poems have appeared in the poem anthology book Whispers of Inspiration and on online e-zines such as SubtleTea.com, Your Daily Poem, and Poppy Road Review.  He is the author of the poetry books ‘The Breath of the Land’ and ‘Conversations’.

The Breath of the Land by Bradley Thomas

Would you like to receive a free poetry chapbook and also help a fellow poet? Flutter Press is offering 10 PDF copies of Bradley Thomas' latest chapbook, The Breath of the Land, in exchange for an honest review on Goodreads, Amazon.com, or both (if so inclined).

As you know, it's so difficult to find an audience for any writer. Poppy Road Review would like to help poets gain more exposure for their books. Bradley Thomas has been published at Poppy Road before and just needs a little help getting his chapbook out there.

The Breath of the Land, a poetry chapbook containing 33 poems by Bradley Thomas delves, into how the “breath” is the life given to us to live as we choose.  These small works are crafted observations of life as he has seen it and lived it.  

BRADLEY THOMAS was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana.  He received a B.A. for Georgia State University in Business Administration.  He was an inspections manager for the government of Fulton County, Georgia and supervised a team of inspectors for the building, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical trades for new and retrofit construction.  On the weekend, he played electric bass for a top forties cover band and he currently plays electric bass for his church.  Bradley’s poems have appeared in the poetry anthology book Whispers of Inspiration and on online e-zines such as Poppy Road Review, Your Daily Poem, SubtleTea.com, and Black Hills Audubon Society.

If Interested, please send an email to the editor. The first 10 requesters will receive a free PDF copy. Reviews and ratings should be posted within two weeks of receiving the chapbook.  If you do not receive a copy, that means that your request wasn't one of the first 10 submitted.  Please only request this chapbook if you intend on writing a brief review and a rating.  Poppy Road intends on providing free copies of other poetry chapbooks at least twice a month or more, depending on how this goes.

Pianist by Bradley Thomas

The air of coffee, bacon, eggs and toast still lingers in the air 

The pianist sits down to his piano to play a short etude

Before he begins work on Rachmaninoff’s Piano concerto No 3

A piece from his childhood, setting him on his path for piano

Stephen Heller, Op 45, No 24 – Over Hill and Dale




His fingers flow with energy

As his memory remembers the diligence of the piece –

Continuous legato in the right hand in broken triads

With a mobile wrist in ascending and descending movements

Damper pedaling so the left hand staccato notes echo clearly




Remembering going to his piano lessons with his mother

Traveling on the El in Chicago to his tutor 

With the etude done, he immediately goes into the concerto

Putting on the finishing touches before he performs tonight

For his community, the passion of his work
























Bradley Thomas was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He received a B.A. for Georgia State University in Business Administration. He currently works for the government of Fulton County, Georgia and lives in Norcross, Georgia. On the weekends plays electric bass for his church. Bradley’s poems have appeared in the poem anthology books Whispers of Inspiration and The Colors of Life.