Poetry

THE WIDOW’S SONBy Sandra Kolankiewicz  Aunt Ann Even nurses feared her swollen body.The neighbors brought balloonsand left quickly.Each night her husband strolled through the automatic doors,slapping a check book against his palm.She lost her hair and...

IF THE TRUTH BE SAID   Patrick Erickson IF THE TRUTH BE SAID                                                                                             and static arises                                                                                     to cause grievancesamong the several partiesof a multi-party line or if a single beamof fiber optic cablecarries multiple parties and the resulting staticcauses grievancesand sparks...

TURN AWAYBy Andy J Hale Tears of Stone Arrival in the valley of the sunA bowl of mountains burningA drink of water filled with fireFor my flower of the prairie If you want me to cryTell me...

(DIS)AMBIGUATION By Sarah Kohrs (DIS)AMBIGUATION It began with                   the forgetting.Sunlight sparked              off keysDangling eye-level           near the door; Yet I walked right by        and hadTo come back                   again whenThe car remained             silentDespite being...

HALF IRON, HALF OAKBy Simon Perchik  *Half iron, half oak, the bedall night honed on what went wrong–it’s an axe, striking upside down though you sleep facing northside by side an empty dressshaped into bulls and...

HIGH PLACE PHENOMENONBy Hailey Cragun High Place Phenomenon Along the red cliff sidewith staggering ten story dropswe cling to a chain, silver and black,its mark worn into the stone. The August sun warms the sandstonewhen my hand,...

OFF-BEATBy Julianna Bjorksten AT SMALLS On the night of starry time-bomb and twinkling blunderCaught in the stagnant bulk of two page compositions and futile coffee treksShared sheets and tender televisionWas a moonlit crater —a plungeunexplored I slipped...

A SIMPLE PROPOSITIONBy Evyn McGraw  WakeWith twisting muscles I whippedMy body into shape,I ran like a machine,Pumping down the pavement through the dead winter wood,When water’s whisper hissedMy name. The call led me off the path,Into...

THE PUSHBy Clay Reed DynamicAfter Denise Duhamel Having a child changes a relationship,at least that’s what our friends with childrenhave told us several times.“It changes the dynamic!” they say,acting as if they are letting us inon...

FISHING LOCK NESSBy Samuel W. James  Fishing Loch Ness the stones are cool grey or hairy brown;the water barely darkens themfor yards and yards out we argue about how deep it is,though it could certainly hide a...