Winter 2014: Poetry

Love Letter

by Annie Lighthart

I have written so many in my life, so many florid,
horrid outpourings of feeling to all the wrong suitors.
If even one of the those wrong hearts kept even one
foolish, earnest page, may the paper now ignite
and harmlessly, blamelessly crumble
into wordless ash in whatever drawer it lays,

because this is the true letter, the one that has taken
years to write, rising as it does from long marriage,
rising from its sleep the way you do at night
when the children call, or when I have left the door
open to the knocking wind, or when morning comes
and I find you already in the kitchen, washing
the dishes from the night before,
washing us clean as you whistle and sing.
There is only one page to this letter
as there is only one you, as there is only
one night sky faithfully unrolling above us
so that the moon, the one moon, can be seen
and be thanked, so that across the darkness
we can see what is whole and good, the endurance of light.

Poetry Multi-faceted, poignant and inspiring. We’ve caught thirteen never-before-published poems by twelve master-class voices.		Prose Five women share their talent and themselves in new, surprising and heartfelt ways.		Artwork Established craftswomen and aspiring visionaries add colorful richness to our most recent issue.		Young Voices The lyrical language of five young poets will delight you.		Contributors 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