Flag the Play They want to hit. They want to hit. – Donald Trump, 22 Sept 2017 Even though my initial reaction to your protest was one of anger, I’m trying to listen to what you’re saying and why you’re doing it. – Green Beret Nate Boyer’s open letter to Colin Kaepernick, 30 Aug…
Poetry
on divorce II
"A season of dragon scales and broken dolls"
“A season of dragon scales and broken dolls”
Florida Man Robs Bank and Runs Naked Throwing Stolen Money
One approach to redistribution.
One approach to redistribution.
Lynxes
"Something /lay waiting just for me, the lynxes at alphabet's end."
“Something /lay waiting just for me, the lynxes at alphabet’s end.”
A Story About the Body
Anthony DiPietro considers how the body reacts when told something horrifying. For one thing, "the hot water drains from your skull."
Anthony DiPietro considers how the body reacts when told something horrifying. For one thing, “the hot water drains from your skull.”
Counter Clockwise
Telaina Eriksen recalls the surreal, backwards feeling many of us felt on 9/11.
Telaina Eriksen recalls the surreal, backwards feeling many of us felt on 9/11.
Ontology
"Hey, white guy!" Adam Hughes writes on labels, tokenism, and physics.
“Hey, white guy!” Adam Hughes writes on labels, tokenism, and physics.
Jazz in a Small Town
Dwight Gray evokes the smells and sounds of a small town in the South, where "So much of what I see /already has words, images and judgment attached."
Jazz in a Small Town So much depends on a thick southern air fused with honeysuckle, lilac; a little carcass and cowshit adds. One scent riffs of the next. So much of what I see already has words, images and judgment attached: green to life, white and pure, blue skies and calm. But smell a…
Abella Danger
Nightwatching: "[an] LED lover /covered in fingerprints" and "an open window in view /of eucalyptus and jacaranda."
Nightwatching: “[an] LED lover /covered in fingerprints” and “an open window in view /of eucalyptus and jacaranda.”
Not Quite the River of Tears
Over apologize? Under apologize? Be passive-aggressive? Where's "that elusive middle ground /where yielding to acknowledgment /opens the door to recognition"?
Over apologize? Under apologize? Be passive-aggressive? Where’s “that elusive middle ground /where yielding to acknowledgment /opens the door to recognition”?
Father
What does a father love? "Blossoming lupine. Devil’s claw. /All that tallness, that teeming, /that return."
Father You love what’s not there. What’s not there is what’s there to love– a lawn half mowed abandoned to the afternoon, the pale abrupt of the short cut rows ending in lushness. That’s the future of absence. An upswell. Upswell is your favorite metaphor. A wave. A birthday.…
Red, White, Black, or Before the Eclipse
Ancient swastikas on Balinese temples, American Neo-Nazis gathering in Charlottesville, and the August 21st solar eclipse.
Ancient swastikas on Balinese temples, American Neo-Nazis gathering in Charlottesville, and the August 21st solar eclipse.
Best of the Net 2017 Nominees
Our poetry picks for this year's Best of the Net!
Our poetry picks for this year’s Best of the Net!
Ortho
Liz Ahl gives a succinct portrait of aging and knee problems.
Liz Ahl gives a succinct portrait of aging and knee problems.
Yars’ Revenge
Video games have long been a refuge for awkward gay boys. Matthew Hittinger remembers what it meant "To hide in that rainbow /zone somewhat invincible."
Video games have long been a refuge for awkward gay boys. Matthew Hittinger remembers what it meant “To hide in that rainbow /zone somewhat invincible.”
Dark Eyes
Having observed the men around her, Sarah Summerson offers a few brief, textured portraits of masculinity.
Having observed the men around her, Sarah Summerson offers a few brief, textured portraits of masculinity.