Poetry Posts

Close-up of a black snake

Black Snake Wound

by Dee Allen The old Lakota prophesyHas come to passIn our lifetime.As any creatureBound to the land would,A long black snakeSlithers over turf,Then travels underground.Below, it steadlily travelsAnd along the way,It gets woundedBy anything, even byPouring torrential rainsFalling like a guillotine blade,And slowly bleedsOunces of visceraSlick, thick andDeepest of black.Nearby…

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School of fish under the ocean

A Poem is an Ocean (after Charles Bukowski)

by Amanda Valerie Judd a poem is an ocean full of depths and reefsfilled with sharks and sailors and seaweedfilled with plastic and whale spermwhipping up a tidal wave and a hurricanea poem is an ocean working for industriesa poem is an ocean losing its relevance as a living thinga…

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Person holding an amethyst stone

I Traded My Heart

by Laine Derr I traded my heartfor an amethyst – Gifted it to a girlwho sits in the sun. She touchesmy smile, w/ lips rubbed smoothby winter rain. Hands holdinga stone beating my love, shiningdays of pale purple. I traded my heartfor lilac, for her.

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Silhouette of trees and mountains against a sky full of stars

You in Space

by Leila Farjami After you walkor fly awayfrom your body,a long winter takes hold,with its slumped oaksand graying sun. From your windowinside an empty house,I could watch the garden for days.From above, your eyesmight watch me. Our words to each otherwill be breathwoven into the airoutside of time.My language will…

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Woman lying in bed

When My Eyes Have Turned Gray

by Roxanne Finniss It starts at night,when my mind has fallen asleep,leaving me defenseless.The trauma of the blade,thick in width and sharpened to a point,causes bruises underneath my eyes.Why don’t you ever brush your teeth?My fiancé said the other day to mewhen I was laying in my bed all comfy.I…

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Plants sprouting up between cobblestones

Usher Me In

by Hibah Shabkhez Usher me in, whispers chaos, grinningWickedly. The earth rails at the grey squaresOf concrete bordered with red lines of brickUpon which you are grotesquely wobblingIn the aimless revolt of youth that caresFor order, and ashamed of it, is quickAnd ferocious in calling for endings – Usher me…

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Man sitting on an overlook and thinking

Clip

by Laine Derr When I getmy wits . . . I keep onein the head ready to runready to pop points spray –rat-a-tat-tat that’s howthe thoughts get got, cutand beveled too short totrim the top.

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City at twilight

Like the Dinosaurs

by Mitchel Montagna Evening came, and never passed throughIt clung to the valley like smokeThe heat settled in and no earthly wind blewA layer of clouds swiftly broke. People looked strange in the dim purple lightTheir pallor and features were goneThey huddled on corners and waited for nightBut twilight just…

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Desert with mountains in the distance

Earth Hour

by Dee Allen MARCH 26, 2022—8:30pm to 9:30pm PT On this Saturday evening,I take a breakFrom electricity. Decisive move,Hand to wall switch.Lights off. Candles on. Lit match to a few candle wicks.Shadows on walls and ceiling shimmy,Dance to flame’s spontaneous rhythm. Dimly litComfort zone, filled withComfort food on a plate,…

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Dandelion blowing in wind

Birthing

by Leila Farjami I Would you liketo own a broken heart? Do you have any usefor one? I’ll give you mine for free. II I have a fatal—black-haired,immigrant-status,countryless,head-in-the-clouds,awful-daughter, bad-sister,nagging-wife, bitter-hermit,wild-witch, human-imposter—condition. III I am all pain. This pain isthe eternal ash treeoutside my windowthat rehearses dyingeach winter,clings to whatever remains,…

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