Daniel Hess: At Least Four Examples
At Least Four Examples
by Daniel Hess
a day after the rains
an innocent mallard
stood close to the full ditch Continue reading . . . “Daniel Hess: At Least Four Examples”
Stead
by Obi Martin
The seed of my life is aching,
yearning to fall from its height;
and find rest, find soil. Continue reading . . . “Obi Martin: Stead”
Kenneth Godoy: Where Two Things Intersect, a Cross Is
Where Two Things Intersect, a Cross Is
By Kenneth Godoy
Where two things intersect, a cross is,
like the cross between silence and light,
the cross of noise into words into any meaning.
I am a cross of skin and awareness. Continue reading . . . “Kenneth Godoy: Where Two Things Intersect, a Cross Is”
Claudia Lehman: On Trying to Write a Christmas Poem
On Trying to Write a Christmas Poem
by Claudia Lehman
There’s nothing left to say that’s not been said
a hundred times before by better tongues
or fingers than my own, and maybe yours. Continue reading . . . “Claudia Lehman: On Trying to Write a Christmas Poem”
Visitation
by Daniel Hess
The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing… to find the place where all beauty came from. – C.S. Lewis
Beauty exceeds knowledge. How, for instance, she could be so
unmistakably herself, here and now, with pleasant rightness, though Continue reading . . . “Daniel Hess: Visitation”
My Cheeky Mole
by Phoebe Anthus
Written after the incessant playback of Cotton-Eye Joe:
Jan M. Eriksson & Orjan Kjell Anders Oberg & Patrick Edenberg
I’ve named you Cotton-Eyed Joe,
You velvet headed woe! Continue reading . . . “Phoebe Anthus: My Cheeky Mole”
Jeremy Troyer: The One Who Weeps in the Night
The One Who Weeps in the Night
by Jeremy Troyer
The one who weeps in the night
Weeps either for himself or someone else. Continue reading . . . “Jeremy Troyer: The One Who Weeps in the Night”
Sheri Yutzy: The End of November
The End of November
By Sheri Yutzy
O beautiful desolation
The ice of emptiness
Trees bereft
Creeks heavy with cold Continue reading . . . “Sheri Yutzy: The End of November”
Behold
by Conrad Stoltzfus
The veil slides off and the marbled irises behold,
The brilliance shafts into depths long dark,
Pain, sharp and cleansing, severs the murky cold,
The crackling blackness ignited by the spark— Continue reading . . . “Conrad Stoltzfus: Behold”
Lynn Michael Martin: Blessed Is He Who Cries Out in the Night
Blessed Is He Who Cries Out in the Night
by Lynn Michael Martin
Blessed is he who cries out in the night,
Who sees and is not satisfied with peace,
Who will not sleep amid the world’s caprice,
Who knows that darkness does not disprove light. Continue reading . . . “Lynn Michael Martin: Blessed Is He Who Cries Out in the Night”
Hearth
by Anita Yoder
What ember sparks,
Alights your eyes?
It harks to mine and
Begs to hold
My eyes and warm them. Continue reading . . . “Anita Yoder: Hearth”
Ill Gaiety
by Joella Wadel
I take this walk.
Affection cold, corroded steel—
Company unnecessary—
Solitude an uncanny, joyful occasion. Continue reading . . . “Joella Wadel: Ill Gaiety”
Jeremy Troyer: After an Ice Storm
After an Ice Storm
by Jeremy Troyer
Outside my window, branches fall
from the ice of a long day.
The winter rains did not nourish them,
and now in the darkness, I hear them cracking Continue reading . . . “Jeremy Troyer: After an Ice Storm”
Friday Night
by Phoebe Anthus
Tired ankles creak from the weight of the week
where we have toiled in an Eden gone mad with grief.
And now we sit on the rim of the night,
stretched bleak as the highway roads, Continue reading . . . “Phoebe Anthus: Friday Night”
Mack
by Daniel Hess
Look at the pad of your thumb
magnify the size, round it some,
harden the print, trace
and duplicate in rough Continue reading . . . “Daniel Hess: Mack”
Magic
by Marilyn Martin
Etymology of Glamour:
From Scots glamer, from earlier Scots gramarye (“magic, enchantment, spell”).
September Baby
by Joella Wadel
Go, gilded flag of goldenrod—
Announce the autumn guest
Perform in haste my bright command
Make genial request Continue reading . . . “Joella Wadel: September Baby”
autumn leaf
by David Shafer
a whisper on a shallow breath
drifting to a gentle death
the leaf, it falls without a sound
to join his fellows on the ground Continue reading . . . “David Shafer: Autumn Leaf”
Enough
By Daniel Hess
Like Obi, I want the confrontation of words;
the solid smack, the concrete slapping and fact
inhabiting onslaught of meaning and sound.
Like Mr. Bultititude, my good friend Jer, and maybe you, Continue reading . . . “Daniel Hess: Enough”
We Wake to Sleep
by Kyle Lehman
We wake to sleep, we breathe to cry.
Our mothers dreamed and brought us forth to die;
For every cradle opens up a grave,
And every child is one we cannot save. Continue reading . . . “Kyle Lehman: We Wake to Sleep”