By: Frances Leitch Tapestry of Morn The dawns soft line The morning light The opening eye of the sunlit sky The pearly clouds on the blue field sewn The taste of warmth in the soul known To revel at the mountains green smooth folding hills From which the dawn behind is seen The flash of light upon earth longing Rising sun serene In the tapestry of being Morning Life Song The flowers that spew Across a barren hill That shove their heads Out of rock and cranny And from beneath bush top Fling every which way Dress mountain slopes In petaled gowns Allow meadows to wear Bonnets in their hair And si ..read more

By: Imrana Muhammad Nata’alah. DEBT OF DEATH, DEBT OF LIFE BLEEDING HEART DEAD POET BLOODED ROSE LIFE IS A CUP OF TEA DEBT OF DEATH, DEBT OF LIFE At midnight, I felt a warm hand with thousand fingers jacking me by the neck, like my bowtie. These were practically hands of death taking my life; as the bucket of my lifetime on earth is full—and about to flood the house of death with my sins tho! My good deeds were more; they formed a silver-like foam on top of the bucket—dancing to the waves of my charity, patience, and compassion. I couldn’t help but ask ‘Is my time up?’ ‘Yes,’ he said, with ..read more

By: John Robinson Francis Bellamy did not intend his publishing gimmick to turn into a national ritual, nor did he intend his words to be taken up in the mouths of those seeking asylum or new beginnings in a democratic society such as ours.  In spite of the author’s true intentions, something greater and more honorable came from his later reversed efforts.  A pledge cannot be treated as poetry, nor can it be treated the same as prose, even though it is closer to the latter in style.  There are, however, certain poetic qualities in the Pledge of Allegiance which permit it to be ..read more

By Bruce Levine Spring was officially the season. The Spring Equinox had taken place on March twentieth, and it was now close to the end of April. But for Gary Sounding spring was never truly spring until he’d seen robins prancing around and the lawn getting its first cutting. There was no special significance to the lawn being cut, but, to Gary, he placed its own significance, almost as if it were some sort of rite of passage between winter and spring. And lately he’d noticed, as he walked his dog, that the grass had grown significantly. He’d even mentioned it to his wife. This morning he’d a ..read more

By: Judith Ferster Fevered, unconscious, I was ambulanced to the ER where, worried I had had a stroke, they sent me, I learned later from records, to the nearby wing with a CT scanner and another with an X-ray machine, through tunnels posted as shelters for emergencies–perhaps tornadoes?– which in other emergencies worse than weather could also be military posts. My hospital has tunnels reaching out to tunnels. Staff whizzed me attached to my rehydrating with antibiotics bag on a pole, tunnel to tunnel, machine to machine, wing to wing, saving my life underground. I surfaced ..read more

By: Judith Ferster One day in November 2019, when I was traveling with a group in Israel and Palestine, we were walking along the wall separating Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.  There was much to see because the wall was heavily decorated with graffiti and  murals.  In some places, expert artists had painted things like doors opening out to vistas, including the Old City of Jerusalem, that we couldn’t actually get to from there.  The tromp l’oeil emphasized the real-life limits. Suddenly we heard buzzing in the sky—American-made  bombers on their way (we ass ..read more

By: Paweł Markiewicz The quire of the sheep We are calling for your soul for a benevolent autumnal source May the hoary times arrive full of sunny gloom endlessly dream! with a fancy coming from tender sea we are conjuring you dreamer your mythical pearls Come propitious birdies from Olympus-mountling! Recite my songs about the mellow dawn about brave honest hoplite-like treasure! Poetry from the stepherd boy The Spartans were today by vultures’ tone awakened the august chasms still nearby the autumn heart light autumn wings I am immortalizing them delicately in the superbest vase as well as i ..read more

By James Aitchison Courage in a society controlled by secret police was a rare commodity.  In Nazi Germany, the party controlled the news media, police, armed forces, judiciary, travel, and all levels of education from kindergarten to university.  Indoctrination started from childhood with membership of the Hitler Youth.  Yet in July 1942, a clandestine group of students at Munich University — signing themselves the White Rose (Die Weisse Rose) — began circulating anti-Nazi pamphlets calling for active resistance to Hitler’s regime.  The white rose symbolised purity and inn ..read more

By: David R. Topper I often think that they’ve only gone on a journey, and I shall see them all returning homeward! Compelled by an inner urge, some “pre-established harmony of notes and words,” Mahler composed Kindertotenlieder. The day is bright. Fear not! They’ve only gone a long, long way. Five songs on the death of children. Gustav knew childhood mortality ― 8 of his 11 siblings died in childhood. Yes, indeed, only on a journey, and soon they’ll be coming home. Mahler felt some remorse for writing these songs ― “so terribly sad was their content.” Alma rebuked him: “You’re tempting Provid ..read more

By: James Aitchison Life whispers, and we dream. We have escaped from the cage we made. We are no longer contained. Calmness reigns, and stars glitter like grapes on the moonlit vine. Freed, the soul shimmers for all humanity to see. Truth leads us into a garden where the heart blossoms ..read more