Winter 2014: Poetry
Current Conditions
by Carol Ellis
Their front yard fence with a rabbit hutch and a chain link fence and a number of rabbits running from my dogs on leash walking past because even Alice in Wonderland worked with a rabbit who was always late – held a watch pointing that out – especially to Alice who cared. I had an aunt named Alice – her nickname was Stormy – reflecting her independent streak that her family hated – besides she wore too much makeup and drove men into thinking about Ava Gardner and other wild women who pleased them – their breasts and hips easy enough to reach for – Stormy’s smile showed teeth and lips red lipsticked into commission. I watch a movie old enough to be my mother and see a man take out a white handkerchief from his pocket and wipe the kiss marks off his face and hope none was on his collar – the women wore white gloves – white gloves and their many fingers touching his arm then his face – someone is saying goodbye – leaving for war probably – the man in a uniform ready for blood – the man himself – hi soldier says a passerby passenger – no answer – what’s there to say when love leaps away – that grey rabbit over there leaping. Sometimes I take a pair of white gloves out of a drawer and wear them around a few rooms – then take them off – slide them back in the drawer – stare at them and the life they promised. |
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Multi-faceted, poignant and inspiring. We’ve caught thirteen never-before-published poems by twelve master-class voices. |
Five women share their talent and themselves in new, surprising and heartfelt ways. |
Established craftswomen and aspiring visionaries add colorful richness to our most recent issue. |
The lyrical language of five young poets will delight you. |
Meet the authors and artists who make the Winter 2014 edition a rich, varied and engaging experience. |
LETTER FROM THE MANAGING EDITOR
POETRY After the Ice Storm by Linda Strever Waiting for a Diagnosis by Linda Strever Anticipation by Penelope Scambly Schott How to Survive the Loss of Your Best Friend by Diane Averill Current Conditions by Carol Ellis For a Hot Shot by Susan DeFreitas Focal Distance by Jenna Thompson Bridge by Jennifer Liberts Weinberg Motherhood by Elizabeth Stoessl Nice Girl Regrets by Pattie Palmer Baker Lost Child Lullabye by Tiah Lindner Rephael To Inhabit the Body by Willa Schneberg Love Letter by Annie Lightheart PROSE Like Water and Stones by B.E. Scully Messages by Mary Mandeville Fear Jars by Jessica Zisa Pie by Susan Lehman Confinement by Valerie Wagner ART Where the Buffalo and Unicorn Once Roamed by Katie Todd Midwestern Dreamin' by Katie Todd Monday's Child by Sarah Fagan Sweet Tea by Sarah Fagan The Daydream by Kendall Madden Beatrice by Kendall Madden YOUNG VOICES Chinese Mangos by Sophia Mautz The Bridge by Kate LeBlanc Ephemeral by Jillian Briglia The River by Sheila Panyam Compost by Sophia Mautz CONTRIBUTORS |