THE BAYFRONT BLUES FESTIVAL Deaf to the singing day the Aerial Lift Bridge rings its bell.A steel girder curtain of sky rises.Upstage from Lake SuperiorGreat Lakes boats and oceangoing ships promenadeunder the bridge and cymbal ride into the harbor. Shy as guys who trip up to girls to ask them to dance,green, red, and white … Continue reading Four Poems by William Tecku
Stuck in My Head by Madison Stuart
I am heavy with the daygravity pools thick in that soft place between ankle and heela pink sock peeks through the hole in my tennis shoeright, left, right, left say my name say my nameit’s been stuck in my head all day say my name say my nameright, left, right, left Today a boy scrawled “F EVERYTHING” … Continue reading Stuck in My Head by Madison Stuart
Fibonacci Spiral, or Why Four Middle Schoolers Are Enough by Sheryl Lain
A Fibonacci spiral follows the sequence 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 11, etc., where each number is the sum of the two numbers before it; pineapples, starfish, sunflower seeds, snail shells, waves of ocean, maybe even the spiral of the galaxy obey this pattern. So does my writing group. Early in the morning … Continue reading Fibonacci Spiral, or Why Four Middle Schoolers Are Enough by Sheryl Lain
Three Poems by Jean Prokott
BIRTH And at night, Uncle Duane would sleep with the upstairs window open in the farmhouse, let the wet, August night saturate the sheets and listen for the gurgling cries of the heifer from her slot in the hot barn. And when he heard the pain of the cow’s echo— not the lull like the … Continue reading Three Poems by Jean Prokott
We Follow by Sheryl Lain
I rode with Dad in our old Ford pickup, through a spring blizzard. Thick white snow blinded us. I was safe and warm inside Dad’s competence as he drove to rescue sheep, bound and determined to follow the leader and die. At the fence corner, Dad stopped and held the door for me, straining against … Continue reading We Follow by Sheryl Lain
We Made it for You by Daniel Ellis
I’m here to speak truth. I’m here to speak truth. I’m here to speak truth. Truth in the light of histories textbooks. That deny my heritage. Truth in the light of men’s ignorance. Whom infringe upon the rights of those who’re indigenous. Truth in the light of broken dreams. As they carried us in chains … Continue reading We Made it for You by Daniel Ellis
Poetry Selections from Joshua Feliciano
More Than Just Words Poetry is like a song written on paper It doesn’t always have to rhyme It doesn’t always need time You could make a poem in poetry about everything It could take seconds and it can take hours But poetry is like a way of expression You can always use it when … Continue reading Poetry Selections from Joshua Feliciano
The Four Deaths of Mitchell Fish by Luke Daly
[pdf version here: Daly-FourDeathsofMitchellFish] [see the companion essay "Teaching Fiction: Craft, Composition Theory, and a Lie"] I. Oxygen I slash in like a dull knife but don’t tip into the abyss. Just wow at the Formica. Some wrongful oxygen rises up the ways in my neck. I do fall then II. Oxygen Slick Mick pushed … Continue reading The Four Deaths of Mitchell Fish by Luke Daly
Five Poems by Dallas Crow
[pdf version here: Crow-poems] Antigone in Her Tomb _____________________________________________________________________________ Zeus, Your will, finally, is unknowable. I am exhausted, exasperated. Look where my most willful vows have landed me. Father, mother, and a brother already underground, exiled for eternity from our native Thebes . . . I claim no kin in that city. My so-called sister … Continue reading Five Poems by Dallas Crow
4 Poems by Richard Robbins
St. Francis and the Birds —a painting by Stanley Spencer The parade will go no further than the wall, where the gardener shields her eyes, the ducks, hens, and geese scuttle toward his frock, each dove and jay leaning forward on the low tiled roof to watch the boy lead each one, saint and bird, … Continue reading 4 Poems by Richard Robbins
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