Mirrorwork Blues
By Nandita Modhubonti A blind woman fly fishes with her cane soft white jumper, fraying gray ends her piercing blue eyes are distracting, as I observe the early inhabitants of … Continue Reading Mirrorwork Blues
Postcards from Charlottesville
By Stephen Sossaman A ghazal Some postcards lie with I wish you were here. This states sincerely my wish you were here. My sudden sadness in Jefferson Park? Twilight birdsong … Continue Reading Postcards from Charlottesville
I WANT TO DIE
By John Tustin The grass will not grow where we have stepped together. The flowers will not flower in the garden And the violin sits atilt in the corner of … Continue Reading I WANT TO DIE
The Letter
By Melissa Purswell There’s a letter in the console of my car buried beneath carbon copied evidence of oil changes, brake pads, a new muffler. I’ll see it every so … Continue Reading The Letter
Rust Image
By Diane Webster The caterpillar of rust predicts a harsher winter than average as it crawls in tiny steps, leaves behind fuzzy outline of path across metal like a pink … Continue Reading Rust Image
Evening Stroll
By Richard Dinges Jr. To live without guilt is to swim through water and not get wet. Shadows along pond’s shore form spoken words early in evening. Sun’s glare dims … Continue Reading Evening Stroll
Shoebox
By Frank Modica I am grapevines and olive trees heavy-laden with broken promises, working for another man’s harvest in the hot Sicilian sun, I am basil leaves torn in ragged … Continue Reading Shoebox
Vines and Branches
By Frank Modica I The Foreman I watch the landlord beat another tenant farmer who’s fallen behind paying his rent. I am afraid to speak up. I need to keep … Continue Reading Vines and Branches
“5th Avenue and South Second Street” and “Golden Years”
by Thomas Elson “5th Avenue and South Second Street” One evening in this dying river town on the eastern part of the state – whose biggest exports are corn … Continue Reading “5th Avenue and South Second Street” and “Golden Years”
“Henry’s Room” and “Birds on Parole”
by Bruce Robinson “Henry’s Room” When the wind blows the door closedand shuts Henry inside the bathroom,he’s perhaps reminded of the mysteryof the shrewd proviso, or concerned aboutthe erstwhile inviolabilityof … Continue Reading “Henry’s Room” and “Birds on Parole”
“Redneck Tell No Lies”
by Gerard Sarnat “Redneck Tell No Lies” “You like tomato and I like tomahtoLet’s call the whole thing off” -Ira and George Gershwin Gerard Sarnat has been nominated for the … Continue Reading “Redneck Tell No Lies”
“Home Manufactures,” “Acorns in a Mast Year,” “Moosehead Lake,” “Nature Did That,” and “American Bittern”
by Charles Weld “Home Manufactures” We could call the creek behind the school Sea Cook Creek because that’s where our black lab, dead years ago now, dove without warning into … Continue Reading “Home Manufactures,” “Acorns in a Mast Year,” “Moosehead Lake,” “Nature Did That,” and “American Bittern”
“Lake Death” and “Natural Causes”
by Phil Huffy “Lake Death” The killer left few clues that might be found. The violence could not have lasted long. Right to the heart a mighty shock did pound, … Continue Reading “Lake Death” and “Natural Causes”
“Your flowers, my garden”
by Clover Estrada Part One. The scars that trace down my skin,past my shoulders and down my backto my arms, to my arms, to my arms – They leave reflections … Continue Reading “Your flowers, my garden”
“NEW YEAR’S EVE,” “BODY AND SOUL,” “JANUARY DREAM,” and “THE LAST HOUSE YOU LIVED IN”
by Mark Jackley “NEW YEAR’S EVE” Upon inventing the puzzle, our forebears left the garden, searching for answers, oddly shaped pieces of the picture. Tonight, uncounted snowflakes land on cars, … Continue Reading “NEW YEAR’S EVE,” “BODY AND SOUL,” “JANUARY DREAM,” and “THE LAST HOUSE YOU LIVED IN”
“Little Elegy,” “Kansas, 1950 “Dirge,” and “Nunc Dimmittus”
by Don Thompson “Little Elegy” Last night I found her name Listed in the catalog Of dead sisters. Just one of many—so many. Touching it, my finger burned, My tongue … Continue Reading “Little Elegy,” “Kansas, 1950 “Dirge,” and “Nunc Dimmittus”