Category: Poetry

Zach Savich: Two from The Motherwell Sonnets

“. . . the purpose of abstraction in any field—art, science, mathematics—is, out of incredible richness and complexity and detail of reality, ‘to separate,’ ‘to select from’ the complexity of reality that which you want to emphasize . . .” (Robert Motherwell, “On the Humanism of Abstraction”) The Motherwell Sonnets considers what this kind of abstraction…
Original Prose Poetry: “Kiddie Pool” by Brad Rose

People seem to like it when I lie to them. It gives them peace of mind, although I’m not sure whether this is due to my strategy or tactics—that’s for the experts to decide. After giving the matter my full attention, I’ve resolved to pull more rabbits out of my coonskin cap. Until then, I’d…
New Poem for Bad Survivalist: “Dishes” by Lane Devers

I am telling you this because I have nowhere else. In my teens, I don’t cry for years at a time. In one of the first home videos I find, we had just bought a new washing machine. I still don’t know how to swim, never learned properly. I try to cure the dry spell,…
The Future Has Poetry: “Begging to Be Marooned” by David Dodd Lee

The geese cross the highway—five silent film comedians—while snowfalls on their slate-gray backs. I’m in seclusion. My parents are ata remove, like dolls placed in doll-shaped holes, but when you openthe box there are only cardboard edges giving shape to nothing but air.The narrator signs a lease. He lives in a haze of monofilamentand insurance…
Poetry from The Future: “The Night the Moon Left Us” by Sam Bovard

The night the moon left us all the spiders lost their webs.Gossamer lay empty in the corners as they crawled outThe windows and cracks, haphazard,Drunk in the dull wind. We climbed onto the roofUnder a light drizzle, the darkening terracottaSliding like scree underfoot.She was the head of a nail at that point,Barely visible through the…
Side A: Three Poems by Peter Leight

As Long as I’m Patient I’m Waiting for You Laying my laptop on my lap like a paperweight holding it in place, smoothing my lap opening up my hands like a checkbook, when you add up the profit and you add up the loss is it supposed to be the same amount? As long as…
Side A Poem: “A Fierce Menagerie” by Janet McAdams

A Fierce Menagerie On October 17, 2011, Terry Thompson released his menagerieof 56 exotic animals from his Zanesville, Ohio, farm.While a handful of animals were recovered,the majority were shot by local law enforcement. 1.The Next-to-Last Zanesville Tiger How many ways to enter the tiger’s body. This one bred downthe generations and so prized for its…
New Side A Poem by Annalisa Hansford: “Last Night, I Had a Nightmare That My Elementary School, Along with My Childhood Memories, Caught on Fire”

Last Night, I Had a Nightmare That My Elementary School, Along with My ChildhoodMemories, Caught on Fire Golden Shovel of “Televangelism” by K-Ming Chang A few hours ago, I dreamt of my childhood burning in prayers. When noone was looking, grief lit a match behind my elementary school. Oneghost licked the place until it smoked…
Two Poems for Flavor Town USA by Anne Panning

The Butter Principle Life is like cold, hard butter. A pebble in your shoe.A stubborn child who won’t release the Snicker bar inthe checkout line. An axe to grind against the iceberg. But.How about that shy, self-deprecating toast burnt black? Theknife hacks away at like it a he-man. But. Cold butter standsup for the underdog.…