By Brennan Berryhill ‘Hope’ is the thing with clawsThat scratches hold the soulNo matter how I shake the branchI cannot make it go The little bird was nice at firstIt kept me warm and dryBut cold hard truth’s a nasty thingAnd still the bird won’t fly I hate the looks to peripheryI hate the lingering faithBut the worst part of this clinging hopeIs that I … Continue reading “‘Hope’ is the thing with claws”
By Zelda Gilbert Nothing is extinguished in the human personality but, on the contrary, everything is set ablaze. —Valentin Tomberg You threaten, with your blazing Self, The sweet decay of solitude,In which affection would be coarse And sacraments seem almost lewd; For stillness grown from emptinessShrinks back, as mushrooms do from fire, At contact with another Self.I cannot build my phoenix-pyre, But, if you pile … Continue reading Sacral Friendship
By Campbell Collins The gloomy clouds hang just above the treesBut we, determined, dive, and once againUphold tradition. Rising now, the breezeRipples the lake and warns us of the rain.Yet on we swim, small froggish strokes, and rushUngainly toward the hazy, distant beach.The journeys mark each summer out for us:The year a cousin feared for snakes beneathAnd, wide-eyed, watched the deep for slithering things.The year … Continue reading Creative Writing Awards: “On Caspian, July 2018”
By Henry Ahrabi “…O ye of little faith…” – Matthew 6:30 It all was easy enough to remember: a world of blood in the water, the infestation of small things, and the cloudy shape that none of us have forgotten with folded wings. Cloud and fire, rock and water, heaven’s bread, but the sea closed back, and so did our stony hearts, hardening to distrust, and to action. It all … Continue reading Creative Writing Awards: “Work Out Your Own Salvation”
By Alexandra Comus Look at the sun, it is sinking; the forest revives with the moon’s rise. Crickets begin their long vigil; a crisp, dreamlike air that awakens primeval fey in the twilight; their shapes melting out from the gnarled oak toward shadows dancing, contrasting bark bathed in ambrosial firelight. Nearing the center, a drum-beat quickens its warlike concussions; forms brushing swiftly past bushes, gripped … Continue reading Creative Writing Awards: “Μαινάδες” (Maenads)
by Dr. Eric Hutchinson Aeneas There once was a hero, Aeneas.Nearly everyone said he was pius.He left Dido aloneSo that he could found Rome:Fate’s decree; it was not spontaneous. Ulysses There once was a drifter, Ulysses.He thought the Phaeacians were sissies.They knew nothing of war;It was rather a bore.He would not stay to wed Nausikissies. Achilles You’ve heard of swift-footed Achilles?He gave all the Trojans … Continue reading An Epic Trio
by Dr. Eric Hutchinson Atreus There once was a man from Mycenae.His brother was such a big meanie.He fed him his kids,Put his life on the skids—Drama fit for a pulp magazine-y. Agamemnon There once was a king, Agamemnon.He knifed his own child; it was no fun.Sure, it altered the wind,But his wife thought he sinned,So she ruined his bath—“Welcome home, hon!” Orestes There once … Continue reading “House Pelopides”
Oh cruel heav’n and earth, You nurture me ‘til this dayTo wither and die. — Yaozhu “Charlie” Cheng (junior, history) Lonely little bird, Don’t despair the dark of night. Wait; the dawn will come. — Olivia Finch (junior, English and classics) Give me wisdom now Not in broken retrospect Honey on a burn — Avery Nowowiejski (junior, Spanish and English) Autumn Death without pity Life renews itself, ending, Changing, leaf by leaf — Emma Wilkson (junior, English … Continue reading Issue #46: short poetry
Love is the colossal mystery at the heart of the universe—a mystery that haunts every corner of our lives as we ponder what we see around us. It is the light illuminating the nothingness within the atom and the chorus singing through the darkness between the stars. We often have a utilitarian view of nature, with horses for riding, trees for building and burning, and … Continue reading Poetic Creation: Illuminating the Mystery of Divine Love
Have you ever heard of Henry Herbert Knibbs? Or cowboy poetry? Or a chuckwagon cook? I hadn’t either. At least not until I met John and Randy, who are cowboys. Actual cowboys, as in leather chaps, frisky horses, and open spaces. The marvelous thing about poetry is that it bursts out of every seam of human experience. Look to the Wild West. Their poetic tradition—heart-wrenching, … Continue reading Cowboy Poetry
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