Category: Poetry

Facts about Snakes & Hearts, a 2015 poetry chapbook by Flower Conroy

Image: Michael McConnell Winner of the 2015 Heavy Feather Chapbook AwardJudge Kristina Marie Darling, author of Dark Horse: “Formally dexterous and luminous in its imagery, Flower Conroy’s Facts about Snakes & Hearts skillfully situates the age-old tradition of the love lyric in a postmodern literary landscape. Presenting us with ‘flames,’ ‘a wishing bell,’ and…
Flavor Town USA Poetry: “The Lowcountry Chef” from THE DUST THAT SINGS by Alex Gregor

down on the banks of the Ocmulgee River,we ride that coal train to the steps of the cemetery,where the lowcountry chef soaks red beans in well water& grinds down brown rice to flour, sayin, i crack an egg open on the spring equinox, slice offa piece of salami & squeak. holdin a jar of honeysuckle…
Three Haunted Passages Poems by Jordan Stempleman

Problem Solving I wanted to watch a Western,a dirtier the better Western, where everybodyaccidentally kills everybodyjust after they say in unisonThe purpose of pop cultureis summary, and just after they take off their hats,and long before they ever revealwho they really are.Guns are allowedif they’re always going off.And the people who do survivesurvive in spite…
“Dream of Me,” a Haunted Passages poem by David Ly

I’m walking downa cold tunnel. The walls curveup to a ceiling of water. An enormoustentacled shadowpasses over, making the hairs stand on the back of my neck.Ahead of me, a boy appearsturned away from me, dripping wet not even shivering.I tilt my headand so does he. My heart begins beating quicker because nobody should be…
Flavor Town USA Poetry: “The Hourglasses” from THE DUST THAT SINGS by Alex Gregor

when i carried my fiddle down to the river of silver,i paddled upstream through currents of molassestill i heard the bellows of a bandoneonfill up with the fog & the dew,then push out steam. so i slipknot rope round rusty iron cleat& followed the trill of that squeezeboxthrough the vines & the reedstill a boat…
“while we wait for a vaccine,” a Bad Survivalist poem by Michele Popadich

i flock to the lawless. bleachmy hair purple & lob uneven bangs.finally, a stranger to wave to in the foggy medicinecabinet. the sink sprouts split ends & i ask a boyup. pinky my finger into his elasticband. he replaces the cat that has been tuckedbetween my legs for seven months. i write storiesthat mean nothing…
“The Taxidermist”: Poetry from The Future by Jonas I. Tijerino

This city of ours, whose land reaches across its two lakes like the arm of a drowning Man, is burdened by the Taxidermist and his tourniquet.For a testament to the heart of our nation resides at the heart of our city, dividing it, and Likethe foxes and snakes decorating its offices, what the Taxidermist leaves…
Kodi Saylor: Three Poems from The Future

Subject: Requirements for Emulation To: Octopus GirlsFrom: Bureau of EconomicsDate: 6/2/16, 10/25/16Subject: Requirements for Emulation We, guardians of—it has come to be civilization—yellow xylophone played on moonless nights—music is extraneous; the luxury of sound can no longer be preserved and in the new world we—you are building, dear girls, you are unnecessary—remember to wipe the…
John B. Oldenborg: Three Poems for Bad Survivalist

Eco-TerroristAfter the Great Miami-Dade Snail Invasion of 1966 I.When there are no more breadcrumbsflocks of the elderly and seagulls dissipatescents from their cottage chimneys (yes the seagullstoo have chimneys) Scentsof windowsill piesand chamomileThere are many contractsThis is one of themSince grandma gets depressedwhen the seagulls don’t visitAnd the seagulls attackmy grandma She forgets who she…