Spilling out over morning boxes the sleepiest Flowers languish — vanquish notions that greedy Time offers only three sublime wishes They thrice request steamy days lounging in Sun’s delicious gaze They turn curious faces to me — insist I too arch my silkiest petals Stretch long in hungry meadows forget Time ticks across my skin […] The post WAKING UP BESIDE EMILY BY DANA KINSEY first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post WAKING UP BESIDE EMILY BY DANA KINSEY appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

This poem moves a bicycle toward you on a milky day mid-mo(u)rning doves foraging for food These lines decide to walk the bike toward you across a city alight with anticipation heavy knowing they may never make it: your democracy miles from mine They may not cover them before night falls again Can you see […] The post IT’S A LOT TO ASK, JUNE JORDAN BY DANA KINSEY first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post IT’S A LOT TO ASK, JUNE JORDAN BY DANA KINSEY appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

Men groan, lifting and tugging at machines. Women knit. St. Justine has made a sweater of red and yellow wool. Women groan, tugging and lifting at machines. The sweater is given a little carrier, tucked inside like a small dog, a medium turtle, a large bird. You asked for help with your glasses. I tucked […] The post AT STUDIO 151 BY KELLEY WHITE first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post AT STUDIO 151 BY KELLEY WHITE appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

I miss Bob’s. I miss Jim working the grill and June with the menu and even J.C. with the clean-up rag. I miss the swiss cheese omelet and the bacon on the side. I miss home fries. I miss the terrible coffee. I miss the tinny radio tuned to the all-Christmas-song station from October to […] The post BLUE PLATE SPECIAL BY KELLEY WHITE first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post BLUE PLATE SPECIAL BY KELLEY WHITE appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

Whispering, rolling in dreams, my husband had lost interest: we are all distanced in these days of the unknown unknown. His thoughts are ants seeking bread crumbs. They are ready to be useful, though tangled in vines and piles of grass. I nailed up his back door—even here I felt his anger in the dissolution […] The post CENTO MIO BY KELLEY WHITE first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post CENTO MIO BY KELLEY WHITE appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

it was 3am… the road went right through her toes, galloped up the hill never to be seen again. except, when she dreamed of him, spider webs, aches of the moon             and                   the Key The post INSOMNIA BY VICKI VOGT first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post INSOMNIA BY VICKI VOGT appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

She’s gone. I slowly open her closet I breath in her scent. Shakily, I tell myself that what lies in her closet are just things, she is gone. There isn’t much here. 2 pairs purple pants, 27 scarfs, a beaded purse, a diet book, shabby red boots, 6 blouses in rainbow colors. A notebook lies […] The post WHAT’S LEFT BY VICKI VOGT first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post WHAT’S LEFT BY VICKI VOGT appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

Music by Max Richter Misery and Mercy joined at the heart mercy embraced misery forgiven. From misery’s limb a feathered lark takes flight and rises lark’s song rises too. Be patient Be patience Be enduring comfort Be merciful Sing softly of mercy softly as lark’s feather resting in your palm Sing gestured language to others, […] The post ON HEARING “THE QUALITY OF MERCY” BY JMC DAVIS first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post ON HEARING “THE QUALITY OF MERCY” BY JMC DAVIS appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

At home he always wore Red-and-white striped boxers. Barefoot. Legs crossed, blue sapphire ring on his left pinky. Curly gray hairs sprang off his chest—I had never seen gray chest hairs before. My father was never vulnerable like that. In public Grandfather always wore khaki pants or shorts and a khaki shirt crowned with a […] The post GRANDFATHER, THE FISHERMAN BY MAUREEN MCDOLE first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post GRANDFATHER, THE FISHERMAN BY MAUREEN MCDOLE appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

We hurt each other over and over—no one is safe yet the word family keeps us sharing meals together. We are soaked to the bone with brutality and bitterness—drenched pieces of paper—our stories blur—unable to live our own narratives—our ink muddled by sea air—we are tears and tight lips from family secrets with no resolution. […] The post FAMILY BY MAUREEN MCDOLE first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post FAMILY BY MAUREEN MCDOLE appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more