Alberto Ríos — December Morning in the Desert
Standing at the edge of a desert, surveying the stars on a December morning, the speaker in this poem observes the everything of everything. He is so small; the universe is so loud and so silent. Thin...
10 Dec 202115min
Yehoshua November — 2AM, and the Rabbinical Students Stand in their Bathrobes
Yeshiva students stand around in the middle of the night while firemen find the cause of the alarm. It’s a student — distressed by distressing news at home. The teachers cancel classes for the morning...
6 Dec 202115min
Aria Aber — The Only Cab Service of Farmington, Maine
In a taxi, a poet speaks to the driver. It’s the only taxi in town. He mentions travel, mentions Afghanistan, that he was there with the forces. She’s from Afghanistan and the conversation continues —...
3 Dec 202118min
Donika Kelly — In the Chapel of St. Mary’s
Why do empty places sometimes lend themselves to reflection or contemplation? In this poem, a poet — describing herself as a nonbeliever — goes into a chapel to sit. In the corner there are some girls...
29 Nov 202114min
Linda Hogan — Song for the Turtles of the Gulf
In a poem called a “Song,” Linda Hogan crafts a song for turtles and other creatures killed through oil spills in the gulf. At once a praise song for the beauty of the sea, the earth, and its animals,...
26 Nov 202115min
Lory Bedikian — On the Way to Oshagan
The exile’s return to the motherland is the theme around which Lory Bedikian’s poem “On the Way to Oshagan” circles. She, a proud Armenian, stops by a roadside stall on a trip to her home country; and...
22 Nov 202117min
Nico Amador — Flower Wars
Telling some of the story of the Flower Wars of the Aztec era, Nico Amador’s poem pits wars against creation. In a poem that begins by recalling creation myths from multiple cultures, he then poses qu...
19 Nov 202112min
Darrel Alejandro Holnes — Amending Wall
In a poem that directly addresses Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall,” Darrel Alejandro Holnes asks questions: who gets to build walls, or guard borders?. Do good fences really make good neighbors? Taking a...
15 Nov 202117min
