poetry

Home › Article › Page 2

The Myriad Lives I Lead Inside My Own

by David Ades

Observe the day. Observe how it is spring warm in the middle of winter, the sky unclouded blue, the air full of undefined promise. Observe my daughter’s excitement at the prospect of a birthday party, running with arms flapping, singing for the joy of it, unbridled, unrestrained. Observe how picturesque all the houses look on …

The Myriad Lives I Lead Inside My Own Read More »

Naming It

by Jen Ashburn
There should be a name for it: driving into a spring storm with the sun behind you, the spray kicking up from the interstate, the stacked periwinkle clouds, the sunlight still glowing into the trees, finding the naked white birch, the new green of the underbrush. Light has a name for high contrast chiaroscuro, and …

Naming It Read More »

The Spirit of Animals Glows in Robin Becker’s “The Black Bear Inside Me”

by Fred Shaw
There’s a favorite scene in Don DeLillo’s sprawling masterpiece of a novel, “Underworld,” where a priest asks his student to name the parts of the boots the pupil’s wearing. The young man struggles with the assignment, allowing the priest to walk him through each aspect of this common accessory, an extension of the body, saying …

The Spirit of Animals Glows in Robin Becker’s “The Black Bear Inside Me” Read More »

O Say Can’t You See?

by Samuel Hazo
We shout when we should be discussing, and the country in chaos accepts it. We shoot when we should be disarming, and the country in chaos accepts it. We claim that the poor are just lazy, and the country in chaos accepts it. We budget to build bigger prisons, and the country in chaos accepts …

O Say Can’t You See? Read More »

Still Life with Leg Brace & Pontiac

by Jason Irwin
We’re standing next to my grandfather’s ‘73 Grand Prix — newly polished, royal blue — my mother, my grandmother and I. I’m five years old, dressed in a wide collar suit and plaid tie. Under my pants, my leg brace — with its cork lift, metal bars, and leather straps — reaches to my groin. …

Still Life with Leg Brace & Pontiac Read More »

Sheryl St. Germain Muses on her Son’s Overdose in “The Small Door of your Death”

by Fred Shaw
According to the National Institute of Health, more than 115 people in the United States die every day from opioid overdoses, adding up to well over 40,000 deaths a year. And while statistics lend a sense of scope to this epidemic, it’s often the tragic aftermath of a single death with its unanswered questions that …

Sheryl St. Germain Muses on her Son’s Overdose in “The Small Door of your Death” Read More »

Recalling Poet Muriel Rukeyser and her Work on the Hawk’s Nest Tunnel Disaster

by Jody DiPerna
When she was just 23, poet Muriel Rukeyser drove from her home in New York City to the hollers of West Virginia, fueled by a desire to investigate and document the Hawk’s Nest Tunnel mining disaster. By the time she arrived in 1936, many of the men who had dug the tunnel were dead. More …

Recalling Poet Muriel Rukeyser and her Work on the Hawk’s Nest Tunnel Disaster Read More »

Aaron Smith Takes on Big Issues in Readable “Primer”

by Fred Shaw
Dualism, a philosophical concept, asks thinkers to consider the relationship between mind and body, often leading to inquiries such as: What is the self? What is consciousness? Do the physical and mental influence one another? Plato and Aristotle pondered the topic centuries ago, their questions often leading to more questions as humans continue to be …

Aaron Smith Takes on Big Issues in Readable “Primer” Read More »

Top