Can you tell me:

If words attire thought

what is thinking

when carnage is daily weather—met with an itch

to switch the channel—a call to the misnamed

Department of Public Safety to confront gun awe—

no words–but flesh is all that’s left

to cover the eyes—no camera present—no way to choose sides

between the bloodshed that flows at home—and the

blood stains on shrouds—the white spaces we can’t see—drown out all but

an unsteady heartbeat—surrendering its count—in place of solace

suffering is a predicate

we don’t see it or hear it

as news

breaking us.

Self-Portrait as MRI

 

For Immediate Release:

On July 1st, 2022, neurologist Jane Smith discovered the original
Ingalls Cabin. While conducting a routine MRI (patient: 36, F,
Dena’ina and white, familial history of aneurysms) Smith …

October Poetry Curator Allison Adelle Hedge Coke

Fresno Is Like a Kettle of Fire for Poetry

Allison Adelle Hedge Coke is the author or editor of 18 books, most recently, Look at This Blue, a 2022 National Book Award finalist. She is a distinguished professor of creative writing at …

When I Hum Improvised Songs | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

When I Hum Improvised Songs

After “One Last Love Poem” by Juan J. Morales

 

Aside from the time they might’ve
Been casting curses for others,
Helping priests for the Inquisition
Banishment and cleansings
Bruxaria, …

Grandmother

Grandmother/ i want to cause discomfort/ squeeze these angled bones/ between warmth & the side of Your armchair/ tell me i am pinching Your leg/ allow me to stay/ …