a note from a late romantic
by Bonnie K., San Antonio, TX
meet me at the coffeehouse
after the concert
the orchestra can play
that adagietto movement for us
and as the harpist plucks ...
Continue...
|
Autumnal Freedom
by Jessie L., New City, NY
Autumnal freedom spreads its wings
For me today
Catches onto the flutter of
Caramel and ruby foliage
And rests in the tranquility ...
Continue...
|
Brilliance and Red
by Allie H., Herndon, VA
Who are you, Baby Blue?
Do you have a wish in your soul?
Where are your tigers, your renegade fire
That sings with colors you stole?
Teal eyes ablaze on an overhead screen ...
Continue...
|
Circles and Life
by Michelle O., Ottowa, ON, Canada
let the earth swallow her,
hold onto this broken body
like a mother’s own flailing child
screaming to be loved,
nurtured into silence. ...
Continue...
|
College Bound
by Caley M., Elmira, NY
As the radiant sun rose over the hillside,
I jolted awake with pure excitement.
After months of counting down, and
crossing off calendar days, the day had finally come ...
Continue...
|
Dear Momma
by Alexandra S., Napa, CA
It flushes out your throat
Drowning out the lump of guilt that lodges itself in you
A burning hole in the back of my chest
Eating away at my flesh
Flaking away and blowing to the wind, ...
Continue...
|
Do The Trees?
by Annie W., Dayton, OH
There’s too much noise around
The rapid chatter of toothpaste advertisements,
Vocalizing their fine print
The clap as a stack of books sinks heavily to the floor
The biting hiss of the heater starting up for another cold night, ...
Continue...
|
Eradication
by Christine S., Arlington, VA
Eradicate me from this garden of sin
Replant me beside the roses
The angels’ ever-faithful spaniels
I do not deserve this dust and dirt
This chalky soil which fails to feed me ...
Continue...
|
Picture Perfect
by Dan R., Traverse City, MI
Somewhere,
in a high-clearance government building,
in the middle of Maryland,
there is the Department of School Photography.
For a study made long ago ...
Continue...
|
Prying Eyes
by Niki W., Baltimore, MD
You glare.
It makes my eyes burn.
I look away.
I still feel your stare upon my skin.
It claws at me, ...
Continue...
|
Scar Tissue Sidewalks
by Kady M., San Antonio, TX
Time to go back to
rhythm and readiness and
stop this music
this time
as beats lay ...
Continue...
|
Sunday Morning
by Melissa M., McKees Rocks, PA
The pews are hard on all of us at 8 a.m.
We squirm discreetly, trying hard to be holy
As Saturday night’s sins swim through our brains.
Our lazy eyes roll about dim yellow lighting,
And narrow at wailing children ...
Continue...
|
Tango in the Leaves
by Juliana S., Rolling Hills, CA
They dance in a whirlpool
of color
Their movements
mimicked by the yellow
leaves spiraling around ...
Continue...
|
The Whitewashing
by D.B. H., Mountain Home, AR
you whitewashed my indian summer blank.
(or blanc.)
torn from leaves i became a poet
and i began a career of procrastination
as a litterbug. ...
Continue...
|
Trash Talker
by Sarah M., Vancouver, WA
I am the rind of an orange
tried with eager mouths and tossed
into the wastebasket
with a handful of other
almost successes. The outside ...
Continue...
|
Turkey, Dark and Light
by Brianna M., San Diego, CA
My shaved-head-pierced-
Gay-pride-shirt-wearing best friend
Came to Thanksgiving this year.
Though proud to say,
“Meat is murder,” among her ...
Continue...
|
