With Time
by Brian Satrom
I’m the one to hollow the pumpkin and carve a face. The doorbell rings
Naming the Day
by Phillip Sterling
He had asked and in reply—
swallowtail, joe-pye weed,
balloon flower, skipper
—the boy recalls a beach
where his father is teaching
the perfection of stone,
honed smooth and flat as
possible and best sized,
if possible, to fit exactly
the thumb and forefinger
of one’s throwing hand,
and to send it on a plane
like a pilot practicing
take-offs and … Continue Reading ››
A Day of Good News
by Sherry Rind
I raked the wet apple-leaves into the hen yard
where the young chickens prowled around the pile, suspicious of this new thing
until the boldest, the chestnut tinted Rhode Island Red
picked at a leaf, dropped it, lifted a minute bug,
stepped forward, followed by the other three
and then began their dance of foot forward and pulling back
head dipping … Continue Reading ››
Hornworm
by Susan Okie
I pearl a leaf’s bottom,
a marble drinking light,
hatch out minute,
green as the leaf I rest on,
devour, mixing its yellows
with my blood’s blue
to match this leaf,
the next, the next, eating
my way down stems,
no time to savor. Your fruits
are dreams. I’m my own
ballooning. I embody,
transform—goliath worm,
a giant, pliant,
undulant cigar.
I swell till you can’t miss
the white … Continue Reading ››