Death

Relentless Ian

He makes his way
over miles of ocean
gathering strength
looking like a threat.
Bold landfall in Cuba
slices off the power,
leaves families homeless
his eye aimed at the … Read more

Why Are You Here?

for Sayeh (Shadow)

Poet
from the forest-covered mountains
you celebrated the land that jailed you
When the radio broadcast your patriotic song
your jail guards and cellmates asked,
“Why are … Read more

The Last Text

We drove with the sunroof open
So the breeze could tangle our hair.
We rolled through stop signs,
We ran reds as the others did,
And we pressed send on … Read more

5/25/22

I was impressed
the normally heedless traffic
for a second stopped, unprompted
—some goslings crossing.

I think we all feel a little raw about that.

It was likely the same … Read more

Snow and Fire

Image by Claire Matturro

Snow which quells
fire meshes cinders
of cold and heat
falling too late to save
the man and woman
dogs now search for
in stark and … Read more

As It Happens

As it happens, reeling
from losses of strangers,        
Joan Didion always slouched.
She made it glamorous,
articulate, and suave.

As it happens, Desmond Tutu.
Said “You don’t choose your family.… Read more

When another school

shooting crawls
across the bottom

of the screen, she scrambles
upstairs to Dylan’s

den, where she hugs his mended
bear— fixates on his class

photo—the blue
of his eyes over … Read more

Aggressor

by Mitchell Hartley @mtchllhrtly at unsplash

You look like an actress
who, when she was young, kissed a man
fully-grown, not with tongue
but with teeth, sharp; vampiric & piercing… Read more

AM 567

I never thought
the Charlie Watts
tribute
conceived by
James filling in
for Phil on Radio 3
Hong Kong I used to think
jaded about the Stones we were
small … Read more