issue 24 > poetry
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Cosmology Past Midnight in Midsummer
by Ned Balbo A swimming pool in darkness cannot hold
the sky’s starlit immensity, but two,
sleepless together, can’t resist the view—
Cicadas surge; no guard’s on watch tonight.
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Remembrances of Yours
by Ned Balbo My love, I have remembrances of yours
to give back now that nothing else remains—
letters or cards delivered to the doors
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The Death of Angels
by Rosa Alice Branco. Translated by Alexis Levitin. It was the larvae (she tells herself).
They filled the car
and you drove among their wings,
your eyes filled with butterflies.
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The First Stone
by Rosa Alice Branco. Translated by Alexis Levitin. You lean forward and stumble over what once was:
the horse’s leap before check mate, before memory
could move the position of our roots. How to escape the vicious game
of memory?
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Spilled Earth Where Least
by Rosa Alice Branco. Translated by Alexis Levitin. We’re passing through, but in no case
will we forget the dew (her face
moist with light).
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Unaccompanied Minor: Cleveland to Baltimore
by Deborah Burnham The father’s face is round and gray;
the son’s is round and smeared with tears
and snot and orange Cheezits dust.
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Water and Air
by Deborah Burnham Knifing down the river, the polished sculls
cut solid water into blue-gray flashing,
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Ephemeral
by Astrid Cabral. Translated by Alexis Levitin. While
foliage unfolds
trees turn to trees
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Waiting Room
by Astrid Cabral. Translated by Alexis Levitin. Here a world
of mysteries
immune
to microscopes.
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Sign or Prop
by Astrid Cabral. Translated by Alexis Levitin. No matter how well-lit
all waiting rooms
are dark.
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Bones or Stars
by Astrid Cabral. Translated by Alexis Levitin. Immobile on its hinges
we cannot move
the leaden door of death.
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The Last Moment
by Astrid Cabral. Translated by Alexis Levitin. By the time his friends had gathered
round, he'd already gone:
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Between Gardens
by Astrid Cabral. Translated by Alexis Levitin. On the sidewalk, silk-cotton trees
undo the spring.
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Hills and Mushrooms
by Astrid Cabral. Translated by Alexis Levitin. Hills don't die.
Slopng shoulder blades
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in homage to death i
by Donald Kuspitno regrets, life on fast forward to the infinite, the flesh abidingMore... -
in homage to death ii
by Donald Kuspitbright with shadow, the skull lights every inch of the emptiness.More... -
in homage to death iii
by Donald Kuspitkeepsake on my desk, discomforting inspiration, i wear your brazen mask to the carnivalMore... -
in homage to death iv
by Donald Kuspitbefore creation spoiled the nothingness, you created it. before the mirror could see, you saw through it.More... -
Dindi Visits Aunt Harriet
by Kenneth Pobo Aunt Harriet calls, tells me
she’s sick, her same claim
for decades, tells me to come over
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Dindi Slips
by Kenneth Pobo I’m walking to the convenience store
which isn’t convenient because it never carries
the things I need: love, acceptance, encouragement.
On a frigid Yooper day, Northern Michigan is
sawdust pie frozen on a sill.
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Stranger
by Margaret A. Robinson A strange woman has invaded
my house. There’s a footfall
on the stair, strong cologne
in the bath.
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Parachute Wedding Dress
by Jane Satterfield More fetching than the gowns
themselves, sail-white
and confectionary sweet—
the stories concealed in
pieced panels, in cascades
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Bisclavret IV
by Marie de France. Translated by David Slavitt It hasn’t happened lately, but then
every once in a while some men
were transformed into werewolves and went
into the forests where they spent
their lives doing mischief. They would eat
anybody they happened to meet.
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