Winter 2014: Young Voices

The River

Poetry by Sheila Panyam

She is my heart.
She runs along my side
Always loyal, never leaving, not once stilling,
Bringing with her the memory
Of lands we left behind.

She sprays and cries, harsh against the wind,
And is as wild as the forest through which she flows.
She whispers like the women of the villages,
Yet is playful as the child within her calls.

I see her smile
When the nights bring forth her silvery sheen.
Her belly fills with a good rain, then she gives a bubbly laugh
As the rays of the sun dance against her froth.

The river, she scares me; I see her scream.
Her face, as white and wild as a hurricane; she is defiant,
Hurtling against her boundaries, her limits, her ravines,
And then her rage ceases, and she drifts.

She pours into the sea,
Where she dissolves into memory.

The river is a tale, one about myself.
We have seen so much together.
She has become part of who I am,
And I do not want us to empty out into the ocean.
Not yet.

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