Poetry!
Meaghan McDonald, “Return”
“The same shadows stretch long from the trees
The same crows peck at the unfortunate seeds
And I, unchanged, lay myself down in the womb of the earth”
Meaghan McDonald, “Abbey”
“I knew her as a horse splashed seafoam white
Atop the wine-dark sea of her body
I knew her as a friend before she carried her hundred children
upon her broad back.”
Meaghan McDonald, “Everyday Divinity”
“She talks to me
About dyeing it
I talk to her about...
dying”
Carla Sarett, “Mad Junius”
“He died on a steamboat
gambling his way back East.”
Sean Ahern, “The City Underneath”
“The broken ones
can't find home,
so they wander
and live in cardboard boxes
that held someone else's life,
a family, a husband, a wife.”
Sean Ahern, “Midnight Sun”
“Chest pressed against her
a city Angelless
dressed in concrete skin,
listening to her hum, a hymn.”
Alex Rettie, “Petition”
“… Have mercy on this little soul
who cannot summon any strength,
who cannot forward any goal,
who cannot find the height or length…”
Alex Rettie, “Consequential I”
“…Why do they call you Consequential I?”
And he’s all, “Well, because my name’s Ivan.”
So I say, “Sure, but why Consequential?…”
Melissa McGeary, “Post-It”
“… I have saved them all, the scraps and post-its
hoping to create something out of nothing…”
Melissa McGeary, “A Prayer”
“… & I wonder what tempest simmers in your ribcage
what passions I could unleash…”
Melissa McGeary, “I’ve Lived Entire Lives in Daydream”
“… my imagination spins entire lives
lived in the infinite spaces between seconds.”
Kristie Patterson, “Coffee (Sonnet 64)”
“… I used to hate this drink, now I crave it
And the cup reads ‘caution’ as a mocking
As if I’m too stupid to know it burns…”
Bethany R. Belkowski, “Agonal Respirations: The Space Between Words”
“…I bartered quickly
with god on the bathroom floor,
decided I’d be fine to go—but mom argued
it matters how we die…”
Ace Allen, “Listless Pleasures: The Bathtub Poems #3”
“… A rope descends from above,
Two officers drop onto my patio.
They grab the pots,
Using both hands…”
Richard Stimac, “Homer”
“… For the love of God,
Hector would one day strip Patroclus naked,
leave him in rot under the Anatolian sun…"
Richard Stimac, “Scamander”
“… The river grows thin.
Near the Greek camp, at the mouth, a wild grin
scars Achilles face…”
Rohan Buettel, “After Ninety”
“…As thinking channels are clogged with grief.
A cloudy view occludes tomorrow’s cares,
The events of long ago in sharp relief…”
Rohan Buettel, “The Studio”
“… below the easel rest some artist tools,
a Spanish skin of wine hangs near to hand —
it’s thirsty work to reinvent the rules…”
Richard Weaver, “Chicken Processing Plant Allegory”
“… They had to be held, upside-down
squawking at arm's length, their legs
pinned together, or they'd peck…”
Richard Weaver, “Inheritance”
“…Take a thread, a single thread,
and loop it around
one of the dark hind legs.
A simple knot will do…”
Richard Weaver, “Family History”
“… The house stands tall in memory,
bare of light, barely visible
in the layers asking…”
Ri Ekl, “born with thorns”
“… So I go through the world, stabbing
because pain is the only certainty I know…”
Ri Ekl, “passenger”
“… heart is a train without brakes …
looking for a way to find… freedom in own fallibility…”
Hailey Spencer, “Womanhood”
“…He kisses her, lips pull taut over teeth.
At night, she climbs the castle’s highest tower…”