St. Peter's Square
by Marc Alan Di MartinoColumns rooted like treeswreathe the square beneatha turquoise-splattered sky.The fountains, given the weather,adorn their hats with a feather. —Marc Alan Di . . . . Continue Reading »
Inniswood in September
by Daniel JabeThe forest still is rich, if not as green,As flecks of gold and umber decorateThe canopy, and caterpillars crawlUp grasses tipped with ochre. ByzantineBrown-banded honeybees investigateThe beds of Black-eyed Susans. Pumpkins lollBeneath their broad-leaved vines. I see the Fall Arriving, and I feel . . . . Continue Reading »
Comb of Leaves
by Adib SaabEnough, I am to crumble to the floor;But all around me are perceptive eyes.I feel like going to my Father’s doorWhere His house with its many mansions lies. There shall I praise Him with tongues manifoldBorrowed from sounds and scents, from clouds and light,From leaves of poplar combing streams of . . . . Continue Reading »
Waning Moon
by Marc Alan Di MartinoA translation of Mario Dell’Arco’s“Luna calante” Pendant around the neck of night:ringed by Taurus, Capricorn,Ursa Major on the risebefore so many fiery eyeslittle by little, whittles to a horn. —Marc Alan Di . . . . Continue Reading »
The Prodigal Son’s Next Life
by Andres RojasHe forgave firstnot forgivinghimself before as he then forgavethe dust trailing his stepsfaithful as his shadow, as one who has gottenaway with somethingforgives a fallen nestling, a lost yearling,another selfwho never turned back from a landof lean cattleand empty of bees. —Andres . . . . Continue Reading »
Sunflowers
by Sarah RossiterWithout warning, they appear, eachcluster separate from the next, goldbeads strung on strands of grass,glowing on the darkest days beneaththe fringe of summer trees, though whoknows how, or where they came from?Yet faith, not knowledge, is the sourceof hope that each bright blossom bringsalong with . . . . Continue Reading »
Briefly Noted
by VariousTyll: A Novel by daniel kehlmann, translated by ross benjamin pantheon, 352 pages, $26.95 Daniel Kehlmann’s novel Tyll, like its title character, is full of dark surprises. Tyll Ulenspiegel, a legendary figure from German folklore, is a prankster, magician, and traveling performer. Throughout . . . . Continue Reading »
Seeds
by Timothy SandefurTiny packets of life, these seeds. They seeminvisible in our busy days, and, tossedby shoes, or cracked by birds, or cast by breezeamong the weeds and stones, they might be lost;might be scorched, or washed away—or, worse,bloom in all their grace, and be ignored—but some of them take . . . . Continue Reading »
The Cat Jeoffry, on Smart
by Daniel GalefFor I will consider my Man Christopher.For he is shut in a box, and betimes scratchesAt the door, but is not let out. For his purrIs varied and choked. For he has patchesOf calico, and these he sheds at dusk.For he sleeps not when he would, but all of a night,Straight as if lashed to board. For his . . . . Continue Reading »
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