Poetry

Featured image for ““Ephemera,” “Provence,” and “Fortis & Fugues””

“Ephemera,” “Provence,” and “Fortis & Fugues”

Denise England

Spearing the oil-sheen shell,
the feathered and gossamer wing,
the snail-curved scales,
Marley pins their still life
now dead, arrays in prismatic
patterns like Fibonacci,
recaptures their stained-glass flight.
Featured image for ““Elegy to Jack Kerouac,” “Elegy for Amelia Earhart,” and “Among the Ruins””

“Elegy to Jack Kerouac,” “Elegy for Amelia Earhart,” and “Among the Ruins”

Edward Baranosky

It seems as if you still stroll across a fallow field,
Walking forever past all the things Nirvana offers,

And you stumble onto the right words that take
Their place around the Great Mandala,

And the air that rises on the road you left behind,
And everything that cannot speak after you—Now
Featured image for ““Mythos,” “Echidna, as depression,” and “Hereditary””

“Mythos,” “Echidna, as depression,” and “Hereditary”

Ashling Meehan-Fanning

Red ribbon around the bark of an old oak tree,
a present to the woods, a marker to a walker
down its dirt paths. This afternoon I am the walker.
I pause at the tree and wonder at the sight
of a violent color tied up amongst mineral green and dirt.
Featured image for ““Reckoning,” “Crowned by the Crowd,” and “The Turning””

“Reckoning,” “Crowned by the Crowd,” and “The Turning”

Lauren Lindsay

Peace through strength—
our strongman’s favorite slogan.
When will they learn?
You cannot gain peace through bombing.

Divinely guided, cross hung around the neck, Bible in
hand, quoting scripture as we bomb foreign land—
Sanctified greed, embodied in tailored suits.
Featured image for ““the bears bound this way,” “upstate,” and “the burn pit””

“the bears bound this way,” “upstate,” and “the burn pit”

James Shapiro

all night the bear is coming down the mountain
bound for the strong river
running down to the distant city
but still she comes,
swimming, dripping, shaking her fur in the Tivoli
mud banks,
loping through pussy willow, rose brier,
inhaling honey suckle
Featured image for ““Effortless,” “Hypothetically,” and “Uncelebrated””

“Effortless,” “Hypothetically,” and “Uncelebrated”

Nick Boyer

A song by The Beach Boys
washes through satellite dead spots.
Riding in a used Corvette
the kind with the hammerhead headlights
that flip up and down.
Papa’s hands wave and point above the gear stick
like he’s discussing spots on a family burial plot.
Featured image for ““Truth,” “Travel,” and “Death””

“Truth,” “Travel,” and “Death”

J. Chester Johnson

I tried guile at times
And haste often, but far worse
Was the unknowing. . .

I said it slowly
But did not forgive myself
For being truthful. . .

Poetry

Featured image for ““Ephemera,” “Provence,” and “Fortis & Fugues””

“Ephemera,” “Provence,” and “Fortis & Fugues”

Denise England

Spearing the oil-sheen shell,
the feathered and gossamer wing,
the snail-curved scales,
Marley pins their still life
now dead, arrays in prismatic
patterns like Fibonacci,
recaptures their stained-glass flight.
Featured image for ““Elegy to Jack Kerouac,” “Elegy for Amelia Earhart,” and “Among the Ruins””

“Elegy to Jack Kerouac,” “Elegy for Amelia Earhart,” and “Among the Ruins”

Edward Baranosky

It seems as if you still stroll across a fallow field,
Walking forever past all the things Nirvana offers,

And you stumble onto the right words that take
Their place around the Great Mandala,

And the air that rises on the road you left behind,
And everything that cannot speak after you—Now
Featured image for ““Mythos,” “Echidna, as depression,” and “Hereditary””

“Mythos,” “Echidna, as depression,” and “Hereditary”

Ashling Meehan-Fanning

Red ribbon around the bark of an old oak tree,
a present to the woods, a marker to a walker
down its dirt paths. This afternoon I am the walker.
I pause at the tree and wonder at the sight
of a violent color tied up amongst mineral green and dirt.
Featured image for ““Reckoning,” “Crowned by the Crowd,” and “The Turning””

“Reckoning,” “Crowned by the Crowd,” and “The Turning”

Lauren Lindsay

Peace through strength—
our strongman’s favorite slogan.
When will they learn?
You cannot gain peace through bombing.

Divinely guided, cross hung around the neck, Bible in
hand, quoting scripture as we bomb foreign land—
Sanctified greed, embodied in tailored suits.
Featured image for ““the bears bound this way,” “upstate,” and “the burn pit””

“the bears bound this way,” “upstate,” and “the burn pit”

James Shapiro

all night the bear is coming down the mountain
bound for the strong river
running down to the distant city
but still she comes,
swimming, dripping, shaking her fur in the Tivoli
mud banks,
loping through pussy willow, rose brier,
inhaling honey suckle
Featured image for ““Effortless,” “Hypothetically,” and “Uncelebrated””

“Effortless,” “Hypothetically,” and “Uncelebrated”

Nick Boyer

A song by The Beach Boys
washes through satellite dead spots.
Riding in a used Corvette
the kind with the hammerhead headlights
that flip up and down.
Papa’s hands wave and point above the gear stick
like he’s discussing spots on a family burial plot.
Featured image for ““Truth,” “Travel,” and “Death””

“Truth,” “Travel,” and “Death”

J. Chester Johnson

I tried guile at times
And haste often, but far worse
Was the unknowing. . .

I said it slowly
But did not forgive myself
For being truthful. . .