Writing is an act of resistance
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Two Poems by Robin Michel
The Grand Staircase Railing is Rotted The frayed red carpet a trip hazard.Proceed with caution. Inside the oval office, no light.The thick coat of grime on bay windowsheavier than drapes. Drapes now replaced with lace curtains.On closer inspection, the lace is sticky.Tatted cobwebs. Dead flies. Busted sills. Gold sconces above the white mantelwhere unlit tallow…
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Trashy
By M.R. Mandell Artist’s Statement: I am interested in what surrounds me when I step out of my box and into the streets. What I see while taking a walk, sitting in a café, waiting at a corner. The moments of city life that make us stop, reflect, think, dream, cry. That pull us into…
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Duality of Dogma
By Nardien Sadik In the church of lights,where the nuns pray faithfully each morning,beating even the sun in rising.There is undeniable spirituality in every crevice,every knee bowed a testimony to our God’s authorityand a defiant expression of faith in a country that would rather seea Copt shot dead than alive and evangelize. The invasion was…
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No Vacation
Poetry, climate change, climate crisis, Gaza, economic inequality, Raymond A. Mazurek, the cost of warBy Raymond A. Mazurek I. Remembering Towers of brown concrete and steelline the beach and reflect the morning sun,each with a balcony that is private,a capitalist’s dream of peace. Thinking how you, father, would have loved this Vacasa,the vacation you could never afford.But every summer you took us to the beachon day trips, and you…
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On the Road to Samarra
school shootings, Chris Kyle, mass shootings, Marissa Glover, gun violence, fate, drones, weapons of war, Sandy Hook Elementary, Kennedy assainations, Poetry, D.C. sniperBy Marissa Glover “I shall ride like the wind to Samarra . . . and Death will not find me there.” —from the ancient fable The Appointment in Samarra I met a man in Utahwith a bullet in his neck,shot from a rooftop —a coward’s distancenot like the lady in Minnesota,killed up close by a gunby…
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planning the ballroom
East Wing destroyed, Poetry, Alexis Rhodes, Trump’s ballroom, let them eat mcdonald’s, Bastille Day, le 14 juillet, Storming of the Bastille, feudal systemBy Alexis Rhodes i watched him stroll the roof:Queen of Hearts with a croquet malletsurveying his kingdom.placingsix hundred and fifty seatsin a ballroom yet to be built. twirling ladies andcaviar truffle burgers dancedacross his pupilsas he tossed cake to the crowd below.Eat Meit read. a cheer, a crowna light game of croquet on thelawn he’ll…
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Pledge
Poetry, social justice, Dion O’Reilly, social inequality, pledge of allegiance, liberty and justice for allBy Dion O’Reilly At Mountain School, the white-faced,clock clicked eight. I stood, right hand to left breast,recited rhythm, felt safety in meter,felt—like a door flown open—the finalfor all, which I took to mean four-legged beasts, bugs, clouds,geese, moons, planets, billions of suns.For all meant us—pinafored girls in cotton socks& patent leather, hemlines to knee,legs pimpled…
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When Should We Senior Women Not?
By Ann Grogan after former First Lady Michelle Obama at a Kamala Harris for President rally at Kalamazoo, MI on October 27, 2024 “You look amazing” Michelle Obama saidto a lady sitting front and center.When should we senior women not look good?What is amazing about a woman age one hundred? Inherent in what Obama said,…
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Choices
By Alice Benson “Watch me, Gram,” Tammy yelled, waving her arms and leaping into the air. Janet smiled, watching her granddaughter bounce on the trampolines. At ten years old, Tammy was athletic and graceful and loved nothing more than playing physically active games. Janet took out her phone, set it on record, and tried to…