The Ice Storm
by Roger Biehn
Spring is slow to come; from the south bearing
More winter moves the Colorado low
Casting ice pellets, freezing rain below
On the dreading neighborhoods, not caring Continue reading . . . “Roger Biehn: The Ice Storm”
Triumph
by Richard Stoltzfoos
Black
I lay a slender sword against his chest;
Against his lips a liquid black I press.
He never cowers, but—receives the draught. Continue reading . . . “Richard Stoltzfoos: Triumph”
Temple Court
by Anita Yoder
A stream of lament
Threads its line down
The curtain of the year.
An unraveling anthem Continue reading . . . “Anita Yoder: Temple Court”
Sheri Yutzy: Plant a Garden Over Me
Plant a Garden Over Me
by Sheri Yutzy
When I die, plant a garden over me.
Let moss curl round my edges
carrot tops spurt like laughter
let me be food for the earth. Continue reading . . . “Sheri Yutzy: Plant a Garden Over Me”
An Empty
by Daniel Hess
An empty, leather glove reclining there
holds well the shape, a hollow hand encased
in-girds the grip, which, pulseless, on its pair Continue reading . . . “Daniel Hess: An Empty”
Rebecca Weber: Lady of the Rain
Lady of the Rain
By Rebecca Weber
The lady of the rain walks the horizon
Back-lit by evening’s glow
Trailing fragrant dripping skirts
Along the wide lawn of forest and field— Continue reading . . . “Rebecca Weber: Lady of the Rain”
Hermann Miller: I Led My Love to This Cold-Echoed Tomb
I Led My Love to This Cold-Echoed Tomb
By Hermann Miller
I led my love to this cold-echoed tomb
And rolls of doom following soon upon
Each door fast drawn behind rolled and were gone
To mould the wall’s unbroken pool of gloom. Continue reading . . . “Hermann Miller: I Led My Love to This Cold-Echoed Tomb”
Cornstalks
by Jeff Gundy
Every end is a beginning. When everything seems lost,
Bald cypress finally plucked clean, empty bottle
Tossed in the weeds, muddy water escaping
Under the bridge, the deep hum and stir continue. Continue reading . . . “Jeff Gundy: Cornstalks”
Phoebe Anthus: Song to the Beech
Song to the Beech
by Phoebe Anthus
You wove your branches,
Netted in the frosty air,
Over the weary weathered stones,
Whose hard selves boast but weakness Continue reading . . . “Phoebe Anthus: Song to the Beech”
Ease of Entry
By Rebecca Weber
I thought that death was dim and distant
Some mountain difficult to climb
Beyond this flower and thistle meadow
Of full-orbed seasons, toil, and time. Continue reading . . . “Rebecca Weber: Ease of Entry”
The Ache
by Daniel Lowry
I found healing in a quiet burn
That played pellucid over stone,
In a winded leaf that flicked and turned,
Untroubled where its dance be blown, Continue reading . . . “Daniel Lowry: The Ache”
Lynn Michael Martin: The Grave of Robin Hood
The Grave of Robin Hood
By Lynn Michael Martin
Beyond the nunnery,
deep buried in the wood,
beneath the boughs of an oaken tree
is the grave of Robin Hood. Continue reading . . . “Lynn Michael Martin: The Grave of Robin Hood”
Jeff Gundy: Elegy for a Solid Man
Elegy for a Solid Man
by Jeff Gundy
Surely there are enough fallen leaves, slippery in the cold woods,
Acorn caps and sticks among them, mud and stone below,
A few still trembling Continue reading . . . “Jeff Gundy: Elegy for a Solid Man”
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”