by Melissa Slayton
Whether it was the cinnamon time, fall,
or spring, the time of the mayapples,
you could smell our bonfires from a hundred miles out at sea,
and the coast swam with clotted villages–
a thick mass–and the trees fell and fell
and the trout swam in this river big as dogs.
Continue reading
Filed under Poetry
by S. Bennet
In ballet class on Wednesday
we wondered about Dame Groltz’ sin;
whether it involved her wide buttocks or
ropy-fingered hands…
When the confessional door clicked shut,
you could only hear breathing and see feet
underneath—poor clues. Continue reading
by Hillary Kobernick
When we got to Lake Michigan
I intended to jump in, ice included.
Or at least strip boots and wool socks
and dip my toes in.
This is how I imagined the new year
beginning, crawling like all evolutions
from the bottoms of water. Continue reading
Filed under Poetry
by JC Reilly
Like that cow-mother we saw once on our Grandpa’s Pennsylvania farm, straining with her calf that warm November day, you too lay impatient and writhing for your boy to come. Late, it would be the first of many times he’d defy you. “No drugs,” you’d said.
Tied to machines and IV, the nurse-call button strangled in your right hand like a dead mouse, you were trussed as the turkey your in-laws would roast ten days later on Thanksgiving. Something tar-like and unholy lurked in your all-pupil eyes. Curses no devil dare speak steamed from your mouth like poisoned milk. Continue reading
Filed under Nonfiction
by Ed Bok Lee
The castle where I happened upon the roundness of suns
was an island prison on the ocean
No one visited my distractions here
or my more joyful sins
A sanctuary of sound and sense
The waves brought shells and seaweed I learned
to fill with palm honey Continue reading
Filed under Poetry
Hawaii Pacific Review 