Fall 2012: Poetry

315c

by Kristin Roedell

The sign said W LL W SPR GS,
a nod to the muddy creek bed
where autumn leaves
floated like dead spiders,
bellies and legs to the moon.
It was the only hotel in town
that tolerated dogs –
with a pet deposit
management turned a blind eye
to its balding carpets.

At ten past, the street lights
cast parabolas
in the littered parking lot.
My daughter slept in the back
folded like an origami bloom,
dreaming dragons and fireflies.
Our collie had chewed through
the Mercedes floor mats
until bits of rug clung to her fur
like dandelion seeds.

There was a battered card stuck
to the office desk, tape curling:
HOURLY RATES, CASH ONLY.
My daughter yawned her way
into 315 C, her hair matted
on the left side, skirting the rain
channeled by a broken gutter.
Boys slouched with hoods
pulled over ball caps,
and watched her.
Their cigarettes made scarlet
A’s in the dark.

In the night, I counted the freckled
constellations on her back.
I thought long about what leads women
with unerring aim
towards the inhospitable;
no faith withstands it.
My daughter slept
folded into sharp corners;
she dreamt that hope fragments.
The rising sun kindled the scales
of dragons still gathered outside.

Poetry Fourteen poets fill this section with mothers, daughters, sons; with dreams, promises, hauntings; with joy, pain and what lies in between.		Prose I am a world creator ... . I am a voice finder. (S. H. Aeschliman, “On Voice”) Meet five prose writers who will guide you into unique worlds and invite you to hear their creative voices.		Artwork Three photographers and two painters make the pages of this journal sparkle with color, light, variety.		Young Voices We are proud to introduce five emerging writers whose work shows a depth of talent and creativity that will delight you.		Contributors Here are the 27 authors and artists whose work make our first online issue so extraordinary.

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS POETRY         To the Friend Who Talked Me Down by Amy Schutzer         Memorial Day on South Greeley Avenue by Penelope Scambly Schott         Lost Rubies by Deborah Brink Wöhrmann         Everything between your palms by Jaime R. Wood         315C by Kristen Roedell         In 4th Grade, Sally Teaches Me the Bases by Betsy Fogelman Tighe         Swan Song by Jaime R. Wood         We by Carrie Padian         The Supplicant by Emily Pittman Newberry         Jailhouse Call by Kelly Running         spoon by Brandi Katherine Herrera         my in mind ungrammared kiss by Melanie Green         Beyond Reach by Leah Stensen         You must give up your dead by Kristin Roedell         Tree Ghosts by Tricia Knoll         Personal Interview by Penelope Scambly Schott         Fairy Tale I Haven't Read Yet by Donna Prinzmetal PROSE         One Small Thing Right by Nicole Rosevear         How Mom Played Sad by Sally K. Lehman         Running with Dragons by Trista Cornelius         High Priest by Robin Schauffler         On Voice by S.H. Aeschliman ART         Lush iii by Tina Tran         The Commuter by Denise Hrouda         Which Witch by Denise Hrouda         The Center of Two by Jolyn Fry         A Knot Unties by Jolyn Fry YOUNG VOICES         weight bags by Calli Storrs         No Parking by Frances Bringloe         Falling in Love by Chaquita McClendon         Go On Then, Gunslinger by Allison Stein         Fishing Float by Sage Freeburg CONTRIBUTORS