Poetry
-
Two Poems by Julie Allyn Johnson
ArcticPolar bear reclines on the ground beneath me,stretches out white and still on his long & lovely spine,in need of touch,in want of connection.Head tilted to the side, eyes closed,he reaches out his paw; perches it looselyon my upper arm, holds it there—holds it.And I rub his white fur,his jolly belly. My soothing ministrationsundo him Continue reading
-
Ode to Resistance
by Ellen Gerneaux Woods Wisteria curls in delicate bloomsheads bowed in surrender long flexible stem known to wanderand twine in unpredictable patternsclimbs the lattice he builtto control her meandering waysthe poetry of her mind the plant outlasts the lattice now copious lavender expressionsedge her home wander near windowsdrop long blossomed branchesover the face of the Continue reading
-
Three Poems by Richard Jordan
Herring Run No one will convince me the sky was ever cloudy over South River those late April afternoons when Grandpa and I went to the stone bridge to witness herring battle swift currents, the run so dense I imagined I could walk upstream on a trail of blue-black backs. Grandpa would hold my legs as I Continue reading
-
Three Poems by Nancy Cherry
A Bottle of Summer There were summers bright with sunlight glancing off chrome truck bumpers where we’d beg a dime for a cold Fanta Orange, or a Coke in green glass.Already rusty on the rim, the cold box held the bottles in a web of metal, and a crate forthe returns, and we returned them, Continue reading
-
Three Poems by Carla Sarett
Unsent Postcard I own too many heirloom timepieces like the broken grandfather clock, it never strikes the hour properly, it lags a minute then longer so by mid- summer 9 a.m. it might be any hour. It chimes the same for hours gained or lost. I can never grasp Daylight Savings, the flying back, the Continue reading
-
To Clean
by Amelia Elaine Pearce Standing by the window as light beams in, it’s clean. The bed made, soft, inviting, No need for tiptoeing around on a clean floor. Show up. Rummage through my drawers, grab and yank sweet silk and rip and fling every folded shirt, and pull drawers from safe cupboards and haul candles Continue reading
-
Mourning Before Death
by Diana Raab we sit by the riverand like waterthat hasn’t moved in decadesmy eyes become filled with tears. at ninety-two, my mother is dying reclined in someone else’s brown vinyl chair, drooping orchids on windowsill.television blaring nonsensical dialogue which she no longer hears, black and white cat on coralbed cover, the same color of her horsewhich I made Continue reading
-
Cold War Sonnet
by Charlie Brice In Cheyenne we never did those drillswhere we hid under our desks, paperatop our heads, to fend off the falloutthat would kill us. Frances E. Warren Air Force Base was two miles away.Cheyenne was ringed with ICBMs hiddenin prairie-silos. In Cheyenne, we practicedgetting home on time. If it took more than fifteen Continue reading
-
Two Poems by M F Drummy
Bindweed It seems almost laughable now but,in those early months of lawlessness,many still held out hope. The tanks had not yetrumbled across Main Street, the elders among uscautioning restraint with the arrestof the first judge. So,when the snow began to melt,spring giving way to summer onthe vast grasslands,little patcheshere and there of blue flaxand buttonsof Continue reading
January House Literary Journal 