The Poetry of Emotion
we shot three cowsthen randesperate wolvesbrothers through a field of berrieshidden in the bushesa nest of bunniesnearby an indifferent mowerand decapitated motherswirl of green clippingsholographic lightningthe enormous hawk circling overheadtulips turned awaywe knew it was our faultmaybe not thisbut somethingsunlight’s strand of pearls on the edge of the forestwe stole the snow shovelstowed our shadows... Continue Reading →
Did you know Krista Lathamwho died in a Florida motelaround the time Katrina floodedNew Orleans and Houston?Krista who is buried in PrairieHaven, whose grave I can’t find,even though her sister saidit’s there. Krista laughedeasily at her own bawdy jokes.Her light brown hair, a shadedarker than her skin, matchedher eyes. I wrote a poem Davidmy friend... Continue Reading →
So complicatedthe wiring which makesa memory. I rememberbelieving wind was bird wingsflapping over head and brancheslined our palms to lead uswhere we need to be. I am oldernow and less clear on howI came to view this world–the roots of my beliefsthe sky or water? About the Poet: James Croal Jackson is a Filipino-American poet... Continue Reading →
We were given a green world Blessed with abundanceAnd still we cut it downunsatisfied needing to make more Destroying our own beating heartsWithout air struggling to breathe About the Poet: Iris Davis is a poet and an environmental activist based in Colorado.
Copious amounts of guilt.Anxiety has crept in,like foul weather.Drivers of all models hydroplaning,on horrendous roads.Holding the steering wheel,as if human and leather skins melded as one.Recollections of a six-year old child’s mind.Car accident near Binghamton,family station wagon,crashing on the bridge,hovering near the river.Telling myself to plow through,my frightened children’s horror.No clear windshield view.Too much fog…Too... Continue Reading →
I cannot see the horizon in your eyes.I can only overlook you, my love,Only overlap your cries with my cries.-Marc di Saverio (2013). Sanatorium Songs, 46. A pilot learns to navigate ad misericordiaby levelling the control wheel and rolling his eyes skyward. The zodiac above him ruins empires and trips calendar pages.Fresh paper arrives, charted... Continue Reading →
Love is more than just an oceanand its waves that never end,It is laughter, tears, emotions,It's a secret, wondrous blend.Love is more than sunrise, sunset,It's the life between the two,It's a trust, a safety net,Where the "I" becomes a "You".Love is more than winters, springs,It's a rose that has thorns too,It's the wind beneath our... Continue Reading →
“there are those of us who treatour bodies worse than amusementparks and we don’t know when toget off the ride”This I learned from a sallow-facedelectrician whose name I didn’tbother to learneven though he said it twiceduring his timeto talk and I didn’t point outhis was an imperfect metaphor;I go to the nearest collegeacross from the... Continue Reading →
5 a.m. chiaroscuro of cloudsdark & lightlike day & nightlike right & wrongI climb over theseat into the backof the car whenwe reach Buddy's house."Who is that, Al? Buddy asksas he sits, pumpkin-sized headin silhouette.I am a shadowon vinyl:the hum of the car enginesoothes me like a lullaby.In Pittsfield a bottle of boozeis found beneath... Continue Reading →
An old friend calls himOut of the blue,He can’t rememberThe last timeThat they spoke,His friend isPacking up his thingsAnd moving out,Going through A separation And getting readyFor a divorceAnd whatever comes next,He tells hisFriend that He feels his painAnd that he’s Really sorryBut the main thingThat he wantsHis friend to knowIs that things Are going... Continue Reading →
Ephemeral Elegies 