Poetry
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Paperback edition of “Uprooted: Poems of Resistance, Witness, and Survival” is now available
The paperback edition of Uprooted: Poems of Resistance, Witness, and Survival is out now. Order it direct from IngramSpark or ask your local indie bookstore to order it. The full book remains free to read and download on the site. Continue reading
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Umbilical Cord
Nina Kodrič and Snježana Vračar Mihelač the news of the day cut right throughmothers start refusing foodas if it could be realit’s not a hasty decisionit stirs our indifferencethey have nothing left to loseblasts throughexcept for their voicethe rampant apathythey stop impassable bodiesendless pretence knows no boundsscattered like cargoesinstead of a containable everyday lifevital like… Continue reading
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Mother of Removal
Nick Allison after “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus Not like the torch-lit welcome of storied fame,With open arms set wide from land to land;Here at our tower-lined, floodlit gates shall standA stone-faced sentinel with a torch, whose flameBurns warning now for strangers, and her nameMother of Removal. From her closed handNo welcome glows; her… Continue reading
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The Exiled Colossus
Barbara Harris Leonhard A golden shovel sonnet after “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus The suffering of people de-fame-dand cast from this landbased on their skin color, not where they stand.The would-be king, who speaks with flame-sand double-checks his list of name-s,refuses refugees a hand.Instead, he issues heartless command-s.Without the the facts, DHS frame-sPoet Renee… Continue reading
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Stars of Minneapolis (Sestina)
Karen McGee This heart fractured and frozen as the iceoutside the window and on the nightly news. Losing powerno longer an idle threat. Then, resistance breathesnew life—neighbor by neighbor they map routesand deliver food—commoners tenderizedby compassion contrast the cruelty of men wearing stars on their Nazi-wannabe jackets. L’etoiledu Nord this city—a city forged by cold… Continue reading
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Eye of the Storm
Rachel Armes-McLaughlin Quiet now – We mistake it asa pauseto breathe. It is not. The silencestretches, lengthens intosomething that feels safe even while familiesare taken – shh, shh –today, next door. The twins are no longerfeatured news, yet their families write to usfrom afar, describingscenes from war. So calm and deceptive,what do you see in… Continue reading
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Indivisible
R.M. Carlson tiny bare toeszip-ties cut into tender skinloose-limbed, heads lollingslammed togethernaked skin flinchingcold metal of a box truck Still We Come predators pacingcirclingleaning inbullets shatter glass, enter skullblood dribbles down onto chin, chestfucking bitch Still We Come woman shrinksa rabbit flattening to the pavementstaring at black bootswhite collared shepherd steps in:take me insteadstrapped goon,… Continue reading
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somewhole
Robin Rich three things brokencount the parts they aremore than the wholeone jigsaw billions of parts to interlock count the parts One:body in the doorway how they have folded up their bitsrough sleepers sent off in shipstouch paper, i am a blue fuse in yourpost code Two:citizen typesbodies in movementin transport or in commute.one a… Continue reading
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The Possible
Merril D. Smith “When we come to itWe must confess that we are the possible”—Maya Angelou, A Brave and Startling Truth Snow falls, feather-softa silent shroud, but ice is unyielding, strident,treacherous— hard, cold, cruel—it can murder you.even if you just stand there,even if you’re trying to help others, ice can kill heroes. You could fall… Continue reading
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Refugees
Rainer Neumann On the bordersOf abstractionLines drawn upon the earthFought over killed over defended and agreed uponDemarcations of circumstanceThat history won’t let goAll earthly life fills the spaces in betweenHumanity must pay heed to the barbed wire the wallsThe lines at the airportsWhere the authorities decide if the passports matchAnd the dogs sniffAnd the guns… Continue reading
