If I could have lobbied the gods for you to stay,I would have sunk to my knees.Asked them to choose any price.Diamonds and gold and dignity forjust one change: all the times I was too tired,too impatient,turn them to kindness. And if their glacial eyes did not seem too shocked, I would add,let me remember to…
Tag: Poetry
The Dining Table
Day comes and he brandishes a small pocket-knife, silver and whetted; he sticks it in my back and the blade twists in my body, drawing not only blood but a soundless cry as well. It’s hard to practice indifference and even harder to let a wingless bird go, so I cut myself open and this…
“leukemia,” “die doktor,” “process & finale”
leukemia blood ate from his body wrapped in radiation. his tongue embrace the nectar that his mouth spills out. a hummingbird hovers above his lips—still nothing new. still the body caves onto itself. still there are little whispers to find the sick dying, & sick are dying. worms detect his eyes; sparrows discover the worms….
Albi Querci, Florida
Let’s get pebbles in our boots As the motionless sky gradients And the mountains turn grapefruit Let’s get out of our dents And escape from faux wood panels, scuffed beige walls, the popcorn ceiling, the off-white cracked molding, and our haphazard decor Before the sky petals white Upon a bright blue canvas Let’s take a…
“Homeland” and “Death, if you were a Lover”
Homeland I went to summer camp on old Keyauwee ground. We called returners Weekaya, as if we had been on a long journey away Though I could have driven it back and forth Sixteen times a day. And I would Just to feel like I was home Even though it was a home I stole….
Life During a Good Time
Q: Where do you work?A: I’ll tell ya.Q: Where do you live?A: Attempting to live at the intersection of stoicism and chill, wherever that is.Q: What did you have for dinner?A: It needed a little more depth.Q: What are you watching?A: A new car wasn’t even $10,000.Q: What are you reading?A: Sometimes you grow up…
“When the Future Appears”
Remember, the time of year when the future appears like a blank sheet of paper -Jackie Kay “Promise” “Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes…” -Rent “Seasons of Love” Theater kids, or at least theater kids of a certain age know exactly how much time that is. Maybe you know even if you weren’t…
“Puzzle Box Rattling” and “An Oil Painting of an Abyssal Surface”
Because of the intricate layout of these two poems, we had to upload them as images rather than text. That makes them opaque to screenreaders, so we included the full text of the poem in the caption and again in the alternative text. -ed. Puzzle Box Rattling Nitya Budamagunta Nitya Budamagunta is a BFA creative…
“Secret” and “A Box from the Storage Shelf”
Secret the gate creaks open beckoning. pavement turns to rubbery mulch When we enter. silent save for the creak of Swings black but for the colors on the slide and the rusty play truck. we swing swing towards the stars and the blinding orb and we’re ready to end the adventure when a new door…
Mornings
Late to rest, early to rise, she gets bored and her old hips have got nothing to do. She carves a single notch on the baseboard each and every time she dreams of you. Thick-mattressed, four-posters are for lovers. She gave away your bed to the neighbors, and now their dog sleeps atop the covers….