Oh, These Wires We Place
One bell ringsWhere angels weptShoulder to shoulderWe came togetherTo show no fearI pick upand easily throwupon my shouldersa long white jacket ofpatchwork...
Issue 15: Summer 2022
Dear Friends of eMerge, I am delighted to present to you the Summer 2022 edition of eMerge. This issue is full of summertime delights. Here you'll find fruit...
A Bone of Contention with the Ghost of John Lennon over Strawberry Fields Forever
last year I turned each unripe berry’s curve to the sun,creeping through a single row; their red hearts and greenleaves dotted by starry blooms. they were...
The Rupture/The Silence
The classroom breathes warm vanilla sugarfirst chill of winter fogs the windows cloudycome for one of us, come for us all: a poster warnsacross the room a...
Names
If you had named me thatNever would I have gotten away withPlaying ghostAnd mimeAnd girlAnd shapeSo call me FleetwoodAnd LottieAnd WolfeAnything even...
What’d I Say?
Fayetteville, 1963-1965 The Land of Opportunity, the Arkansas license plates said. First thing I noticed, coming to the University from sunny Southern...
Orchidaceous: Word of the Day
For Jen, who else?How do I love thee? Let me count a way.Thou art more orchidaceous than an orchid,which is obvious, which is to say not ghostly,for gods’...
Pinwheel Heart
Does yourpinwheel heartscour for a windlike a carriagefor a driver?Or are you lookingfor a co-passengerto help youkeep spinning?
Kiss Bye Kate
I feel a little stuck, as stuck as a golden goddess of goodness gets. I keep telling myself, all is part of the journey. I pushed myself this past month,...
Traveling
My last sight of N’awlins, early New Year’s Day,pretty girl standing outside Big Daddy’s Barshivering, talking to her friends; lightweight pink coat,sparkly...
A Gift
Your ears rest quietlyin boxeson your dresser topas you snugglewith your blue blanket,you drift into a worldonly you knowa dog barksunder the neighbor’s live...
The Thinnest of Lines
ThisThe thinnest of “tents”We call a homeThisThe most valued of lifeWe call a soulAnd we all ~Living in the blackest spaceUnderneath the greatest Heavenly...
Kaleidoscope
Please, don’t worrythe earth is still here ~the wind and the sky ~they wait for usThis indigo sky ~on a clear starry nightgives way to a gentle dawn ~held in...
Reflection
Eyes of Earth,lakes.To help another, youmust first watch self,return to a pointof pivot, begin at Earth,fan into sky, intoatmosphere. Changeseasons,...
Sissina’s Orecchiette with Rapini and Sausage
This is a dish I learned from my Italian mamma, Rose (nicknamed Sissina). It is a typical dish of the Italian region of Apulia (Puglia) where she was born in...
Four Haikus
5/19puttering right heremaking bits and bobsand my own sunshine5/20how to knowslide under the surfacefeel the nudge6/19tendernessbehind my eyesmemory and...
Ode to Parentheses
My wordscupped in yoursoft hands.Suspendedin anticipationof an exclamationI am frightenedto put in fullyfleshed ink.Holder of allunuttered phrases.Your...
Two Guinea Stories
The following is an excerpt from a collection of essays about raising guinea fowl.New Guinea Hens - Lost and Found, June 2021After major losses of our adult...
Famous Poets
My name is nota poet’s name.It doesn’t flow likehoney off the tongue,the sweet aftertastehanging on the tiplike a dew drop.I want a name likeOliver,tied to...
Robin Metz
Reckless and cautious at once— or, rather, teacher yet student. Best to accept that in his sweet and generous way no telling what might follow.Maybe one...