Red-Tailed Hawk
By Patricia MonaghanJust past dawn in early fall,
a sparrow screamed at me
as I walked into the woods.
Calling poets to a greater role in public life and fostering a national network of socially engaged poets.
By Patricia MonaghanJust past dawn in early fall,
a sparrow screamed at me
as I walked into the woods.
By Rachel M. Simonthe name altered from parent's choosing
the threshold of a home
white gloves on the windowsill
By DaMaris B. HillI dream of hounds. Their teeth loose in my veins.
Their howls consume me. They growl and feast.
She whispers not to run. I can't refrain.
By Sheila BlackThe brace was metal, and it fastened around the ankles.
Outside in the street there was the beggar with elephantiasis; there was
the leper, the neighbor with eyes milky blind,
By Camille T. DungyThe poet's hands degenerate until her cup is too heavy.
You are not required to understand.
This is not the year for understanding.
By Melanie GrahamShe appears again, 2-year-old riding her hip,
grief so great he can see through her birkha, past Qualaday,
into the kitchen, his mother nurturing chicken
in popping grease.
By Jaime Lee JarvisWas it the rush of words in that language
we understood only when we cocked our heads,
speaking on the slant, slurring our way
By Richard McCannWhat I could not accept was how much space
his body was taking with it: for instance, the space where
I was standing, the dazed fluorescence of his hospital room
By Fady JoudahWhen the shooting began
Everyone ran to the trucks
Grabbed whatever their backs needed
And made for the trucks