by Elisabeth Horan Frost might think we have forgotten how it is to mend a wall. Good neighbors we are not. What once was rolling acres of deforested masterpieces, framed by such precise and plaintive cairns – rolled by hand of man or brutish ox to the edges of the gently wooded glens – To keep the sheep so neatly grazing Read More
Tag: poetry
The Afternoon of Your Cremation
by Leah Mueller Strip from bone and evaporate to wherever the dried blood goes. Memories seethe: your abrupt assault, your terrified love. Bulbous digits, teeth in a sawdust box embossed with an Indian’s head. Wishbone and sage. You always said I talked too much, though my voice never reached very far. I pretend you were kind, pretend you wanted our Read More
Ode to Cheese
by Jarvis Subia Click play below to hear Jarvis read ‘Ode to Cheese’ aloud. Born and raised in the San José Bay Area, Jarvis Subia‘s work delves into his relationship with his communities, sexuality, masculinity, national/global politics, lineage, race, gardening, mental health, personal growth, love, love, and love. Jarvis is San José’s 2018 Poetry Grand Slam Champion. He has been Read More
The Hemlocks Have No Doors
by Elisabeth Horan Something there is that wants to eat me – wants to eat me alive. He is the thing with yellow eyes and I’m never safe for there are no doors, There are no locks on hemlocks. Some get the pleasure of being eaten dead. Never feel his jaws crush their head – There is a thing called Read More
Elephants Never Let Their Loved Ones Die Alone
by Elisabeth Horan Elephants never let their loved ones Die alone Never let God come first for their tired, Broken bones But protect the soul from jackals, Hyenas Endeavor to prevent the cruel rape of her Ivory for profit Elephants enact their ceremony; Create a circle of love and protection For a friend, a loved one; A child, a mother. Read More
At the Memorial
by Leah Mueller Afraid to weep, my son carries his father’s ashes in a cardboard box. As water roils in the distance, he steps inside a crater filled with loose gravel, twists his ankle, crumples to the ground. We stand above, hands outstretched while he tosses in agony on the asphalt. On the shore, beachcombers climb dead tree branches, pick Read More
Three Facts and a Rhyme
by J. Douglas Johnson An elephant never bothers about the impossible obstacles. Their obstinacy in the face of hardship is practically world-famous. For this reason an elephant herd trouping through the desert is also sometimes called a persistence. Clearly this is not the “immovable object” kind of obstinacy, grumbly-grey and hard-headed as you might imagine the parched and cracked pachyderm. Read More
the last laugh
by Linda M. Crate i don’t languish in the fact that i met you, but i do regret that i couldn’t see through the gauzy fabric of your lies; but a starving heart is so hungry she’ll devour anything that she hears so it was with you— i fell so hard and fast that i could not stop my love Read More
Neglect
by Sam Rose Wrapping trunks around tails, calves follow their mothers calf to calf, toe to toe keeping up or gently towed tail to tail, wrapping their heads around each other’s murmurings, they catch the tail end of every tale told end to end like elephant strings tales unfold, friend to friend an elephant has every intent to listen because Read More
Grandma
By Allison Zdunczyk Click play below to hear Allison read ‘Grandma’ aloud. I used to regret mom taking me to visit you. I used to regret going to the movies and you falling asleep during the preview. I used to regret the time away from my friends and weekends “wasted.” And I used to regret you making me eat gefilte Read More